Philip Weiss: Israel lobbyists say, Don't talk about the Israel lobby!

[MikeWB]

Israel lobbyists say, Don't talk about the Israel lobby!

The Forward does a piece on Olmert "shaming Rice" (what Pat Buchanan has called the last "poodle" moment for Olmert and Condi):

"I have no problem with what Olmert did," said Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League. "I think the mistake was to talk about it in public."
 
Another excerpt:
Douglas Bloomfield, a former chief lobbyist for the Washington-based pro-Israel lobby the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, dismissed the episode as "a spitting match between two lame ducks."

"This reinforces the perception that the Israeli prime minister and Israeli leaders have easy access to the leaders of the U.S.," Bloomfield said. "It is a fact that the Israeli prime minister can get the president on the phone. Not every prime minister in the world can do that. It is no secret that Israel tried to influence the U.S. regarding U.N. votes. It reinforces what the rivals of Israel say about the enormous clout Israel has in Washington, and I see nothing wrong with that."

But Bloomfield added, "It is a mistake to talk about it."

I guess that was Walt and Mearsheimer's mistake too.

http://www.philipweiss.org/mondoweiss/2 ... obby-.html