An Arab Lobby?

On August 2nd 1990, Saddam Hussein unleashed his disastrous invasion of Kuwait. Bush 41 immediately drew a “Line in the Sand” and Operation Desert Shield followed suit. The reaction on the Arab Street in the Middle East is not the subject of this essay. I will restrict myself to very briefly describe the dilemma that all of a sudden faced Arab Americans, for this is what this article is about.


      To be sure Saddam enjoyed some support in certain Arab American circles, disillusioned with American policy in the Middle East and readily willing to applaud any challenger of the status quo. Prominent Arab American leaders, however, quickly and wisely denounced the Iraqi leader’s foolish and reckless adventure, hoping against hope to contain the crisis through diplomacy before it was too late. Their efforts along with those of Liberal Americans however, were promptly frustrated by Bush 41, bent on war as a convenient way out of his domestic difficulties. Desert Shield duly mutated into Desert Storm as Arab Americans, overwhelmingly against striking Iraq no matter how they felt about Saddam, watched from the sidelines with shock and disbelief.

      American Middle Eastern policy often clashed with Arab aspirations. One American administration after another supported Israel against its Arab neighbors almost reflexively. What happened in the fateful 1990-1991 Kuwait crisis, however, was QUALITATIVELY different and unprecedented. For the first time the USA directly attacked a major Arab country and on such a massive scale as to render Israel’s raids puny by comparison. It has kept going from bad to worse since. Desert Storm begat the sanctions, the sanctions begat the Iraq Liberation Act, the latter in time culminated in “Operation Iraqi Freedom” in 2003, direct US occupation at a time when men believed that old fashioned colonialism was dead and buried in the dustbin of history. Where have Arab Americans been hiding? How could they allow Arab fortunes to sink that low? Were they really that helpless? I shall try to answer those questions or at least some of them.

      According to The Arab American Institute, Arab Americans number about 3.5 million. They are mostly of Levantine ancestry and Christian faith (2/3). The oldest, and most assimilated, communities originally came from Syria (mostly modern Lebanon) about a century ago. The immortal Gibran was one of them. The legendary surgeon Dr. Michael Debakey was another. Some of them chose a political carrier (e.g. James Abourezk, Ralph Nader, John Sununu, Spence Abraham, Darrell Issa, and quite few more).  More recently the percentage of Muslims has been rising through immigration as well as higher birthrate. So to summarize, they constitute a little more than 1% of the US population. This may not sound like much until you remember that the far more vibrant and influential American Jewish community is not actually much more numerous, about 5.3 millions (the actual population of Arabs & Jews in the USA varies depends on what reference you use). What is the secret behind the ascendancy of American Jews and can Arab Americans ever hope to catch up with those formidable rivals? Should they even try? And more pertinently, should they even consider American Jews as rivals?

      American Jews have impressive achievements to boast. At a governmental level, Jews all allover the Executive, Legislative, an Judiciary. The sheer number of US Jewish congressmen, senators, Supreme Court justices is mind boggling given the size of their community. Jewish scientists, doctors, lawyers, financiers, writers, and philanthropists have written brilliant chapters in the history of mankind. American Jews make their country proud. Their status was well earned and they did not become influential overnight as if by magic.

      Like Arab Americans, American Jews mostly started as poor immigrants. Their parents went out of the way to provide for the education of their kids and in time it paid dividends. Like Arab Americans, they were, and still are, a small minority in this great country. What they lacked number wise, however, was amply compensated by dedication and hard work. They supported each other while loyally serving their adopted country. Theirs was a success story, an epic.

      American Jews span the political spectrum. They certainly are not a monolith and they disagree on numerous issues. They are, of course, unanimous on fighting anti-Semitism and helping their less fortunate brethrens overseas (such as Russian Jews). Most of them, though by no means all, support Israel. Often with passion.

      Arab Americans’ assets, in theory at least, are far from negligible. Many, if not most are fully assimilated and have been present in this country for generations. All are enfranchised. And, as stated above, several are active in politics and should in theory at least be able to influence American political discourse. Certainly some tried but with such modest results as to border on irrelevance. What went wrong?

      The major stumbling block, in my opinion, has to do with who are Arab Americans? Do they really have more in common than is the case of the Arab countries from which they originated? If not then calling them a community would be a stretch, even a huge exaggeration. Aside from religious and cultural differences (themselves quite significant) you have different and sometimes contradictory agendas. It is true that the rank and file of Arab Americans more or less agree on the Israel-Palestine issue but this alas is no longer the only issue and, judging by modern trends, may soon be delegated to the background as other tragedies unfold. Besides, it is not enough to agree to oppose something (say Israeli aggression), what is sorely missing is a positive common agenda.

      Back to the basics. Should an Arab Lobby be created? Should an Arab-centered political pressure group copy and paste the Israeli Lobby’s tactics, reflect them in a mirror, and project that reflection on Capitol Hill and elsewhere? Yes but..

      Arab Americans are, and should emphasize at every turn that they are first and foremost loyal Americans. Responsible citizens who abide by the law, cherish the Constitution, pay their taxes, vote regularly, and see that their kids get the best possible education. First things first. Political influence can wait. Meanwhile here are few measures that could be feasible:

      1. This can’t be repeated frequently enough: vote, vote, vote. Voting is a privilege we were denied in our birthplace and could potentially be a powerful tool if used judiciously. Voting “tribal” is wrong and counter productive. Vote not for a congressman just because he happens to be an Arab American. Before you hand him you vote or donate to his campaign, look at his voting record. We live in the age of Information Technology and your representative’s votes are relatively easy to track. You would be surprised to find self-proclaimed Arab American law-makers voting for the Iraq Liberation Act, the Patriot Act, the Syria Accountability Act, not to mention money for Israel’s military machine.

      2. There is nothing wrong if you happen to be a Conservative Arab American. Indeed it helps if Arab Americans spread across the political spectrum but a word of caution: we are a minority and, historically speaking, minorities belong on the Left of a political spectrum. What applies to Jews, African Americans, and Muslim Americans to name but a few, also applies to Arab Americans. That leads me to the next point.

      3. Jews are also divided between the Right and the Left but the majority of them are quite Leftist and Liberal. Just like Arab Americans, they are only too conscious of their minority status and are therefore mostly sympathetic to other minorities. Let me carry this argument to its logical conclusion: there is far more in common between Arabs and Jews in the USA that there are differences. No, we don’t have to agree on Israeli-Palestinian politics (though quite few Liberal Jews are indifferent, critical, and sometimes even hostile to Israeli policy) but we can agree on much else. Jewish leaders have often championed the cause of Arab and Muslim Americans before and after the tragic events of September 11. How about trying to enlist Jewish support to deal with the Iraq tragedy? To name but one cause.

      4. By enlisting Jewish support I of course mean joining cause with the Liberal Jewish establishment. Jewish hawks and warmongers certainly exist and it goes without saying that they are natural enemies to all Liberals and not just Arab Americans. By the same token, you don’t have to join Mrs. Darwish’ “Arabs for Israel” and you definitely don’t have to seek membership in the Reform Party of Syria (it hardly has any members besides Mr. Ghadry himself, a Quisling by any objective measure). One more thing, never fall into the trap of conflating Israeli and Jewish. Confusing the two has been a deliberate policy of the Israeli government and there has been too many suckers amongst the Arabs to oblige.

      5. One day there would hopefully be peace in the Near East. One blessed day mankind would hopefully abandon religious fanaticism and national jingoism. One day Arab and Jew would hopefully live in peace in the Near East and everywhere. We can only hope… until then lets join hands with our fellow Americans, all Americans, but mostly the Liberals and Progressives to build a better world for our children and grandchildren.

      An Arab Lobby, if and when it sees the light, should concern itself as a matter of priority with the welfare of Arab Americans. A dignified and prosperous Arab American community could then serve as a bridge between the Old World and the New to the mutual benefit of both.