The numbers behind BBC promotion of the ‘Israel lobby’

As readers may recall, we have posted here a few times about the BBC’s unsatisfactory responses to complaints which have arisen due to its journalists having employed the loaded term ‘Jewish lobby’ – see for example here and here.Capitol

BBC employees are no better at dealing with their interviewees’ promotion of the notion of an all-powerful ‘Israel lobby’ either, as we noted in this recent post, perhaps because the BBC itself does not shy away from using either term – as shown for example in a 2007 article still available on the BBC News website titled “US storm over book on Israel lobby” which opens with the words:

“The power of America’s “Jewish lobby” is said to be legendary.”

Now a study on lobbying of the US government has been published which might be of help to members of the public making similar complaints in the future and, as Yair Rosenberg explains, the results are very interesting.

“If you estimated the amount of money a country spends on lobbying the United States based on critical media coverage of that lobbying, you’d probably put Israel at the top of the list. But a new study by the Sunlight Foundation reveals that not only isn’t Israel a big spender, it practically doesn’t even make the list. Of the 84 countries surveyed, Israel ranked 83rd, spending just $1,250 to lobby America in 2013. (The only country that ranked lower was Mali, which spent nothing at all.) By contrast, other key American allies unloaded massive sums to influence the U.S. government. Topping the list is the United Arab Emirates with $14.2 million. It is followed by Germany ($12 million), Canada ($11.2 million), and Saudi Arabia ($11.1 million).”

Readers may be interested to learn too that the eternally cash-strapped, donor supported Palestinian Authority spent $1,110,769.59 on lobbying the US via the PLO in 2013.

As Jeff Dunetz points out:

“Some of you may be thinking, “nice trick Jeff what about AIPAC? (The American Israel Public Affairs Committee)”. If one includes AIPAC, then other groups such as the American Iranian Friendship Council must be included. So asking about AIPAC is making demands of the Israel numbers that aren’t being made of other countries.

But I will bite anyway. According to Open Secrets, AIPAC spent $2,977,744 in lobbying in 2013, when the $1,250 is added it brings Israel’s total to $2,978,994 which puts Israel in eighth place between South Korea and the Republic of Srpska.

Even when AIPAC spending is included Israel’s lobbying dollars is only 21% of what the UAE spends, about a quarter of Germany’s spending, 26.5% of Canada’s, 26.8% of the Saudi’s, 48.6% of Mexico’s and about three-quarters of both Morocco and South Korea’s lobbying spending.”

If anyone comes across a BBC reporter or interviewee talking or tweeting about the UAE lobby, the Morocco lobby or the Canada lobby “taking control of a foreign government“, or perhaps the BBC’s World Affairs editor John Simpson writing that ‘the Mexican tail usually seems to wag the American dog’, please do be sure to let us know. We’ll pop out and buy a lottery ticket. 

 

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