Good Morning :
Israeli Influence in Congress (Final)
Good Morning:
=46rom August 5th through August 8th of 2007, Congressman Doc Hastings
and his wife visited Israel, sponsored and paid for by the American
Israel Education Foundation, a branch of the American Israel Public
Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
The AIEF Republican Congressional Mission to Israel's Itinerary is
listed on the attached .pdf do***ent I've included.
****muel Rosner, Chief U.S. Correspondent for HAARETZ.com wrote of the
trip on August 9th, 2007;
"The temperatures in Wa****ngton soared to 103 degrees and the humidity
was almost unbearable. Just the right time to flee the capital, first
back home - every congressman to his or her state and constituency -
and then abroad. For example, to Israel's shores, which are so well
known for their cool temperatures in mid-summer.
"More than 20 Republican congressmen finished this kind of trip this
week, and some 20 Democrats will leave for Israel Sunday. Steny Hoyer
is the leader of the Democratic majority in the House of
Representatives, number two in the hierarchy of the house and one of
the leading congressmen in the United States. He is the senior member
of this Democratic delegation. Hoyer is from Maryland, and this is his
third trip to Israel as a senior legislator and his "eight or ninth"
altogether, he says. He first visited Israel in 1976.
"A visit of 40 congressmen in Israel within the space of two weeks is
no small feat, but Hoyer, speaking on Wednesday morning, insists that
a tour of this kind is of 'crucial im****tance' for them. Israel, he
reminds all those who have forgotten, is 'our most im****tant ally and
friend,' and its friends have to understand the challenges it faces
from up close.
"Israeli leaders always found time for them, including the president,
the prime minister, the defense minister, the foreign minister, the
head of the opposition and the military's top brass. These 40
legislators are the ones who over the past few weeks sup****ted
additional funding for the Arrow missile, and for budget for
cooperation on combating terror within the framework of the Office of
Homeland Security. They are also the ones who will vote on the $30
billion increase in military aid to which the administration plans to
commit itself over the next 10 years.
"Hoyer is second in im****tance in Congress only to Speaker fo the
House Nancy Pelosi, but he is also one of her opponents. He waged a
difficult war against Pelosi before being elected to his position
since she preferred another congressman for the position, John Murtha
of Pennsylvania, who was much more vociferous in calling for a
withdrawal from Iraq."
This is a list of Congressmen and women who were on the AIPAC
sponsored mission, at $20,000 per couple.
Republican mission:
Michele Bachmann (MN), Gresham Barrett (SC), Roscoe Bartlett (MD), Gus
Bilirakis (FL, Vernon Buchanan (FL), Eric Cantor (VA), Michael Conaway
(TX), Geoff Davis (KY), Charlie Dent (PA), Mary Fallin (OK), Trent
Franks (AZ), Louis Gohmert (TX), Bob Goodlatte (VA), Doc Hastings
(WA), Jack Kingston (GA), Doug Lamborn (CO), Patrick McHenry (NC),
Devin Nunes (CA), Jean Schmidt (OH), Mark Souder (IN), Lynn
Westmoreland (GA)
Democratic mission:
Jason Altmire (PA), Shelley Berkley (NV), Steve Cohen (TN), Joseph
Crowley (NY), Keith Ellison (MN), Gabrielle Giffords (AZ), Gene Green
(TX), Phil Hare (IL), Paul Hodes (NH), Steny Hoyer (MD), Nick Lampson
(TX), Tim Mahoney (FL), Jerry McNerney (CA), Patrick Murphy (PA,
Michael Ross (AR), Albio Sires (NJ), John Tanner (TN), John Yarmuth
(KY).
Here is a list of people the group met with;
Wendy Singer: General Director of AIPAC. On IBA Reshet Bet Radio, in
Israel, Singer said, "Our representatives are in a pro-Israel
community. It does not matter which party will have control, because
we have invested so much in the relations. The whole pro-Israel
community has worked and has made huge efforts during the elections
over the years, so that now, our relations with the new chair people
are excellent. With both the Republicans and the Democrats, there is a
deep and close relation****p with all the central players. This has
lead to the strong, brave sup****t for everything concerning Israel and
the United States. It also comes from the efforts of our activists out
in the field. There are currently 100,000 AIPAC members throughout the
United States. They make efforts to identify the candidates of the
next generation long before the elections. We are talking about
constant activity. We try to inform them about everything concerning
Israel-United States relations. And of course, our goal is to
encourage the candidates to formulate pro-Israel stances in their
platforms.
Devora Patt: Head of Missions, AIPAC/Israel
Devora is with the law firm Zell, Goldberg & Co.'s office in Tel Aviv
under Asaf Biger. Devora Patt is in charge of the Firm's practice in
the area of international construction law, public contract law and
defense procurement. She is also partnered with Sonia Shnyder, who
heads the Firm's Russian Federation/CIS Practice Group.
"Until now, we had been servicing our clients' Israeli needs from our
headquarters in Jerusalem while expanding outside of Israel with the
opening of our Moscow office, our member****p as the exclusive Israeli
member of the Eurolegal network, our Wa****ngton D.C. office, and our
new Seattle office."
Natan Shransky: Former Israeli Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of
the Adelson Institute for Strategic Affairs, was one of the most
famous dissidents and refuseniks of the Soviet Union. Refuseniks were
Russian Jews who wanted to live as Jews and migrate to Israel.
According to Robert Friedman in his book "Red Mafiya," Natan
Sharansky, the former Soviet "refuseniks," head of Israel's Russian
=E9migr=E9 party, Yisrael B=E1Aliya, and a Sharon Cabinet minister,
readily
admits that he took millions of dollars from Dr. Grigon Loutchansky,
even after officials from the U.S. State Department, the Congress, and
the CIA told Sharansky to stay away from him. "We told Sharansky to
stop taking money from Loutchansky," said Jonathan Winer, a Clinton
senior State Department official and expert in international organized
crime.
In September, 1999, the London Times printed two articles about
Loutchansky, a Russian businessman with numerous connections to and
residence in the UK, which claimed that he could be linked to Russian
mob activities, including money laundering throughout Europe and the
smuggling of nuclear weapons.
Professor Stanley Fischer, Governor of the Bank of Israel since May,
2005. Prior to joining the Bank of Israel, Prof. Fischer was Vice
Chairman of Citigroup from February 2002 through April, 2005, chairman
of the country Risk Committee, and President of Citigroup
International. He was the First Deputy Managing Director of the
International Monetary fund from September, 1994, until the end of
August, 2001.
Dean Andromidas, in an article titled "Dirty-Money Scandal Points to
Sharon," Mega writes, "This neocon policy went into high gear with the
naming of Rhodesian-American Stanley Fisher to the position of
Governor of the Bank of Israel. A former deputy director of the
International Monetary Fund, Fischer is a prot=E9g=E9e of the radical
free-
market Chicago School. For more than 20 years, Fischer has been George
Shultz's economic hit man, tasked with transforming Israel into a
radical free-market economy. As deputy director of the IMF in the
1990's, Fischer more than anyone else was responsible for the collapse
of the peace process, by imposing radical free-market policies on the
region."
Dr. Salam Fayyad, is a Palestinian politician, who, on June 15th,
2007, was appointed the Prime Minister of the Palestinian National
Authority. His appointment, justified by President Mahmoud Abbas on
the basis of "national emergency," has not been confirmed by the
Palestinian Legislative Council, the parliament of the Palestinian
National Authority.
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