Grant F. Smith, the director of the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy, discusses the influential American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Smith has written several books on AIPAC. which was started with $60 million in foreign funding, largely from Israel, but eluded U.S. efforts to register it as a foreign agent.

While it's treated as a domestic lobbying organization, Smith says AIPAC today continues to act as a foreign agent for Israel, employing campaign contributions, covert pressure campaigns and espionage in collusion with Israel to advance policies that serve the state of Israel but not the United States or the public good.

Excerpted from the KKFI program Understanding Israel Palestine

On this January 18 episode of Corporations and Democracy Steve Scalmanini and Annie Esposito discussed "The Israel Lobby vs The Innocents of Gaza" with Norman Solomon, Executive Director of the Institute for Public Accuracy and author of “War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine” and twelve previous books, and Grant F. Smith, Director of the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy and author of “How Israel Made AIPAC: The Most Harmful Foreign Influence Operation in America” and eight previous books. KZYX & Z, 90.7, 91.5, and 88.3 FM in Mendocino County, CA

60 years ago today, the Senate uncovered $60 million in Israeli and foreign seed money had been laundered into the US to set up AIPAC. What really happened and what has been the impact? Grant F. Smith gives an overview of the 1963 Senate investigation of Jewish Agency money laundering into the US, why the Senate Foreign Relations Committee investigated Israel front organizations in America, what Israel and the Jewish Agency were trying to accomplish in the US, how the foreign influence node and legitimator network have reconstituted over time, and how that network is presently structured to serve as a foreign influence operation. Watch the May 23, 2023 livestream of this presentation at https://www.youtube.com/live/dfaLVkp6uY8?feature=share Today, the price of the book from which this research is drawn "How Israel Made AIPAC: The most harmful foreign influence operation in America" is now only $20 (down from $200!) Grab a copy at: https://www.amazon.com/How-Israel-Made-AIPAC-Influence/dp/0982775725/

James Bamford’s new book Spyfail: Foreign Spies, Moles, Saboteurs, and the Collapse of America’s Counterintelligence devotes nine chapters to the impunity of Israel, its spies and U.S. lobby.

Bamford is best known as America’s premiere chronicler of the ultra-secretive National Security Agency in his books The Puzzle Palace and The Shadow Factory.

Unlike most authors published through mainstream publishing houses, Bamford has not held back on exposing extremely damaging and behind the scenes exploits of Israel and its lobby in this damning look at U.S. counterintelligence. Grant F. Smith of IRmep reviews highly relevant sections of Spyfail directly contributing to instability in Israel as Benjamin Netanyahu tries to extricate himself from corruption cases in Israeli courts. We also review what's not so great about "Spyfail" (although everybody should still buy it.)

Report and links at: https://irmep.com/2023/03/bamfords-spyfail-exposes-corruption-at-center-of-netanyahu-judicial-reform-crisis-that-is-tearing-israel-apart/

On Friday explosive news broke that China had successfully concluded a secret peace agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The plan aims to restore diplomatic relations by reopening embassies within two months. They also agree to restart their April 2001 Security Cooperation. Also back on the front burner is a 1998 General Agreement covering economic, trade, investment, technology, science, culture, sports and youth ties. It is well worth reading the entire statement.

https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/wjdt_665385/2649_665393/202303/t20230311_11039241.html

The move signals Saudi Arabia does not want to be yoked to an Israeli "attack Iran Abraham Accord" coalition or open itself up to Israeli meddling like the United States. UAE, in congratulating Saudi Arabia and placing a halt on weapons purchases from Israel, appears to be questioning the value of its "Abraham Accord."

Report and links at

https://irmep.com/2023/03/israel-and-its-us-lobby-dealt-major-blow-by-china-saudi-iran-peace-initiative/

2024 will mark the fourth decade since AIPAC and the Israeli Minister of Economics stole classified American industry data to aid passage of America’s worst bilateral trade deal.

Among all bilateral “Free Trade Agreements” (NAFTA and CAFTA are multilateral) the 1985 U.S. Israel deal has produced the highest inflation adjusted cumulative merchandise trade deficit—$365.9 billion—since going into effect. In 1984 American companies were steamrolled by corrupt politicians on the take from AIPAC-directed stealth political action committees or PACs. Today, captured U.S. federal and state agencies channel hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars away from American companies into the coffers of new, often incompetent, Israeli market entrants. Read more at: https://irmep.com/2023/02/02202024aipac-israelfta/

The Israeli company Energix Renewable Energies has been lavishly subsidized by U.S. solar energy tax credits and the cadmium telluride solar panel manufacturer First Solar. But Energix has also been listed by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights as a category g human rights violator over its resource theft in the Israeli occupied West Bank and Golan Heights. Virginia communities have successfully challenged Energix across the commonwealth for over its importation of "worst practices" from its overseas operations. Sources cited in this episode: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/vchr-virginia-communities-petition-authorities-to-cancel-energix-solar-projects-jeopardizing-the-israels-firm-revenues-301724243.html https://irmep.com/2022/10/why-is-first-solar-externalizing-recycling-costs/ https://www.israellobby.org/energix/ https://townhall.virginia.gov/L/ViewPetition.cfm?petitionId=380

https://www.amazon.com/Israel-Lobby-Enters-State-Government/dp/0982775733

The ADL has been trying to liaise with the FBI by offering ADL investigators as informants, offering to exchange files to “avoid duplication of investigation” and “train” FBI and law enforcement personnel since the 1940s.

What have been the negative consequences for human rights activists?

IRmep presents findings from years of Freedom of Information Act filings at a number of relevant Washington, DC locations.

See the report "ADL files FBI “Civil Rights Threat” conflating white nationalists with pro-Palestinian charities" at https://irmep.com/2022/11/adl-files-fbi-civil-rights-threat-conflating-friends-of-sabeel-and-american-muslim-alliance-with-a-white-nationalist-group/

See FOIA documents about ADL and the FBI at https://IsraelLobby.org

Watch the video of this podcast at https://youtu.be/FqGv7qXNOt8