AIPAC's supporters insist that these ob-
jections are based on a "ghetto mentality,"
and that they don't take into account the
realities of modem American politics. They
point to a long record of successes for the
group and the fact that its positions are
listened to as a matter of course on Capitol
Hill.
AIPAC, in its anxiety to avoid the glare
of public attention, contributes to its im-
age problems by its intense avoidance of
publicity. Routinely, its officials refuse to
allow themselves to be quoted, even on
seemingly innocuous issues.
AIPAC supporters insist that media at-
tention would only generate a backlash
against the pro-Israel agenda, and that the
everyday realities of lobbying are almost
certain to be misunderstood by the public.
Critics within the Jewish community argue
that this secrecy gives the appearance of
sinister conspiracies even when no con-
spiracies exist. The forces of the anti-Israel
opposition simply see confirmation of their
most outrageous theories.

A Phenomenal Growth

AIPAC was created in 1954 as the
American Zionist Council of Public Affairs.
From the beginning, its function was clear:
to foster economic and military coopera-
tion between the United States and the
fledgling Jewish state, and to give the pro-
Israel position a strong voice in American
politics.
AIPAC's growth is a major study in
itself. The process included an array of fac-
tors, including the remarkable unanimity
of American Jews on the question of
Israel's survival, the heroic image of the
new state and the failure of the Arab na-
tions to find the kind of respectable voice
that would earn them points in American
politics.
But an equally important factor was the
group's ability to adapt to the changing
realities of American government.
"When I came to AIPAC, it was a Ma
and Pa operation," says Ken Wollack, the
group's first professional lobbyist. "During
the 1950s and 60s, it was an organization
based on the personality of Sy Kenen," he
said, referring to I.L. Kenen, the first of-
ficial U.S. lobbyist for Israel and the
guiding light of AIPAC's early years. "At
that time, Congress was organized in a way
that a committee chairman, or an impor-
tant leader, could carry the day," Wollack
recalled. "Sy had a lot of respect among
these people, a lot of friends. But during
the 70s, power became much more diffuse.
So it wasn't enough just to have a relation-
ship with a handful of people. AIPAC had
to respond to that changing reality."
One way AIPAC responded was by its
mastery of information. AIPAC
understands the difficulty legislators face
in trying to keep up with the vast number

of issues that clog the legislative arteries.
Effective lobbies make themselves in-
dispensable to overloaded lawmakers and
staffs, and in this way help shape the
legislative agenda.
"They're a good source of information,"
says one congressional staffer who has fre-
quent contact with AIPAC. "That's their
stock and trade, and they're very good at
it."
A vivid example of this aspect of
AIPAC's operation is the slick, comprehen-
sive "briefing book" supplied to all 1988
presidential candidates. Color-coded sec-
tions provide candidates and their staffs
with every element of the pro-Israel
argument—including graphs showing the
overwhelming support of the American
people for Israel, a statistic with special
meaning for political aspirants. The infor-
mation is concise, well-reasoned and—most
importantly—accessible.
The information AIPAC distributes
naturally reflects the group's partisanship
on the question of Israel—but this is not
a liability in politics, where even the rawest
of data is suspected of bearing the stamp
of some interest group.
AIPAC's legislative technicians also

TOM DINE:
AIPAC's executive
director has brought
an aggressiveness to
the organization.

know how the convoluted system of
government works as well as any group in
Washington. AIPAC is adept at unraveling
the dynamics of a bill's passage through
Congress; its experienced lobbyists know
where to apply pressure, whom to supply
with additional information, when to go
public and when to stay behind the scenes.
It's not unusual for lawmakers to sound
out the professionals at AIPAC about the
best legislative strategies for certain bills.
Another element in the lobbying equa-
tion is the matter of money, the most sen-
sitive issue for the community of lobbyists
and a particularly unpleasant can of
worms for the pro-Israel community, since
it plays into traditional caricatures of
Jewish manipulation.

A Matter Of Money

The reality, again, harkens back to
changes in the broader political and social
system. Campaigns at every level have
become enormously expensive. "Grass
roots" appeals for funds generally cost
more to generate than they produce.
So there is a growing emphasis on big-
spenders, who can donate a thousand
dollars without blinking an eye, who can
fund a variety of candidates who are
"right" on a particular issue.
The inflation in campaign expenses also
increases the importance of political action
committees (PACs), most of which are
devoted to a single issue. Individually,
PACs are limited in what they can give, but
in aggregate, a large number of PACs con-
tributing to a single candidate can have a
sizable impact.
There is a relationship between lobby-
ing groups like AIPAC, and the distribu-
tion of money to political hopefuls— but
the exact nature of that relationship is the
subject of considerable controversy.
AIPAC is a registered lobbying group;
despite the "PAC" in its name, it does not
disburse money to candidates.
But the issue of AIPAC's influence over
that process rubs raw nerves on both sides
of the issue. On the one hand, there is no
proof to recurrent charges in the press that
AIPAC directly coordinates the political
contributions of the more than 80 pro-
Israel PACs in the country.
At the same time, it is undeniable that
major Jewish opinion-leaders have an in-
fluence on how PAC money and money
from individual donors gets channeled. As
the dominant body in the world of pro-
Israel politics, AIPAC's opinions provide
a kind of base-line standard for the pro-
Israel community's assessment of
candidates.
Hints about how AIPAC evaluates a can-
didate's record on Israel can have a signifi-
cant effect on how Jews dole out their
money. Rumors of AIPAC support or op-
position are favorite topics in Washington's
hyper-active rumor mill.
And all this interest in AIPAC's posi-
tions—official and unofficial—translates
into political clout.
"Members of Congress hear a million
good arguments every week," said one
House aide. "What counts in lobbying is
what your people can deliver—in terms of
votes or money. I know it sounds crass, but
that's the way the system works."
In the case of pro-Israel groups, the ap-
pearance of collusion between lobbying
groups and PACs may be stronger because
of the overlap between AIPAC's sprawling
organizational structure and the people
behind the PACs.
A Wall Street Journal investigation of
the pro-Israel lobby last year charged that
51 pro-Israel PACs are run by AIPAC of-
ficials, or by members of AIPAC's policy-

.