Download Israel Lobby Lends Support to Greece

CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS – FOREIGN POLICY
Oct. 12, 2010 – 5:21 a.m.
Israel Lobby Lends Support to Greece
By Jonathan Broder, CQ Staff
American Jewish groups that make up the pro-Israel lobby are putting their muscle behind
Greek-American causes on Capitol Hill, angering Turkey but reflecting new strategic shifts in
the eastern Mediterranean.
Greece, once a sharp critic of Israel and an outspoken supporter of the Palestinians, has drawn
much closer to Israel this year, signing agreements that have deepened their political, economic
and military ties. The rapprochement between Athens and Jerusalem follows growing tensions
between Israel and Turkey, which spilled over after a May 31 Israeli commando raid on a Gazabound flotilla that left nine Turks dead.
The alliance between pro-Israel and pro-Greek groups comes amid growing anger with Turkey
on Capitol Hill, where many lawmakers support Israel and criticize Turkey, a NATO ally, for
voting against new sanctions on Iran at the United Nations in June.
In an initial show of force, the two ethnic lobbies helped push House passage of a resolution
calling for the protection of Greek Orthodox religious sites in the Turkish-occupied areas of
Cyprus. Turkey’s 1974 invasion and occupation of northern Cyprus has long been a major issue
for Greek-American groups, but the Israel lobby had not spoken out on the issue until now
because of its earlier strategic alliance with Turkey.
“With Turkey becoming increasingly antagonistic to the rule of law and moving eastward, it
behooves both Greece and Israel to bond together and forge a strategic relationship that
strengthens the security of each nation,” Florida Republican Gus Bilirakis told a Washington
audience last week. Bilirakis chairs the Congressional Hellenic Caucus, a group of lawmakers
who support Greece and its allies.
Pro-Israel powerhouses such as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the
Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee, all of which had advocated
effectively for Turkey before relations between Jerusalem and Ankara began to fray, were among
the organizations that joined forces with several Greek-American groups to lobby for passage of
the Cyprus resolution. Bilirakis said Jewish lawmakers and members of the pro-Greece caucus
teamed up to get the resolution passed.
“Greece determined that closer relations with Israel could diminish the strength of the TurkishAmerican lobby,” said Ekavi Athanassopoulou,a political scientist at the University of Athens.
More Than a ‘Political Stunt’?
The resolution (H Res 1631), which the House passed Oct. 1, urges the Turkish government to
protect the cultural and religious heritage of Greek Cypriots in the occupied areas of the island
country and to halt the continued destruction of Church of Cyprus property. Authored by
Bilirakis, the bipartisan measure had 27 cosponsors, including California Democrat Howard L.
Berman, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs committee, and Florida’s Ileana Ros-Lehtinen,
the ranking Republican on the panel.
A Turkish official dismissed the resolution as “a political stunt” that would “complicate U.S.
relations with Turkey.”
But the ramifications of the new Greek-Israeli relationship could go far beyond the resolution. At
an Oct. 7 forum where the alliance between pro-Greece and pro-Israel supporters was formally
unveiled, Dan Arbell, an Israeli Foreign Ministry official, indicated the relationship would allow
Israeli warplanes to practice over Greek airspace. Following the flotilla incident, Turkey closed
its skies to Israeli military aircraft.
Jason Isaacson, director of government and international affairs at the American Jewish
Committee, hailed the rapidly warming relations between Athens and Jerusalem and pledged that
his organization would work closely with Greek-American groups to advance their agendas on
Capitol Hill.
Nicholas A. Karacostas, president of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive
Association, a group that advocates for closer U.S.-Greece relations, said he wants the
administration and Congress to side with Greece over the Cyprus issue, as well as Athens’
conflict with the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia over its name. Greece claims the name
Macedonia for its northern region.