> By the way, there's something to the J Street argument that AIPAC is more and more a paper tiger whose bluff is worth calling. It would seem a lot more fruitful use of activists' time to topple some Congressional pillars of Israeli support than organizing boycotts of sandals and olive oil.
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I agree. And apparently so do the right-wing Zionists, since they're now launching an urgent, panicky campaign to defeat Joe Sestak, even though the Republican they're supporting, Toomey, has himself taken anti-Israel positions. It shows how far Mideast politics in the US has become structured around managing *perceptions* of how much support Israel has. Sestak on his own probably wouldn't have been all that great on the Mideast, but if he wins *despite* Zionist pressure it will make *other* politicians better on the Mideast - just because they'll now perceive the possibility of doing so non-suicidally.
SA