ISRAELI LOBBY MAY DETERMINE IF U.S. ATTACKS SYRIA-BRIEF ESSAY

         POWER OF ISRAELI LOBBY MAY DETERMINE IF U.S. ATTACKS SYRIA

 On August 30, in a conference call lasting 30 minutes with 1,000 rabbis Obama made the case for strikes on Syria.  The pro-Israel community, many of whom are pressuring members of the House of Representative to support missile strikes on Syria, contributed $14.5 million to federal campaigns for the 2012 elections, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. That’s more than the $11.1 million in donations by the defense aerospace industry, one of the biggest and most consistent political contributors.

According to Wm. Cohen, Former Secretary of Defense, speaking on today's BBC World News stated, to the effect, that the tipping point for getting the votes in the House for a resolution to attack Syria would be the power of the Israeli lobby.  Indeed, the pro-Isrel lobby AIPAC urged congress to "grant the president the authority to protect America's security interests."  The lobby's statement said that "barbarism on a mass scale must no be given a free pass.   According to several reports:

The Anti-Defamation League went a step further, lauding Obama’s “demonstration of U.S. leadership" and calling on congress to "swiftly add its voice to hold Assad accountable for the wanton slaughter of its own citizens."

 It obviously would be quite difficult to run for a House seat if one had the pro-Israel community's  huge financial resources arrayed against one.