Nation Topics - Society | The Nation  Topic Page   News and
Features  On May 2 the Senate, in a vote of 94 to 2, and the
House, 352 to 21, expressed unqualified support for Israel in
its recent military actions against the Palestinians. The
resolutions were so strong that the Bush Administration--hardly
a slouch when it comes to supporting Israel--attempted to soften
its language so as to have more room in getting peace talks
going. But its pleas were rejected, and members of Congress from
Joe Lieberman to Tom DeLay competed to heap praise on Ariel
Sharon and disdain on Yasir Arafat. Reporting on the vote, the
New York Times noted that one of the few dissenters, Senator
Ernest Hollings of South Carolina, "suggested that many senators
were after campaign contributions."  Aside from that brief
reference, however, the Times made no mention of the role that
money, or lobbying in general, may have played in the lopsided
vote. More specifically, the Times made no mention of the
American Israel Public Affairs Commit