2006年VOA标准英语-US Lobbying Efforts Influence Policy in Middle

By Sondang Sirait and Yuni Wilcox
Washington, DC
14 September 2006
 
watch Lobbying in US report
 
  
  
Lobbying -- the influencing of public officials -- is a big part of the political process in the United States, with thousands of groups representing a wide spectrum¹ of causes. Over the years, the Jewish-American lobby has emerged as very influential² on issues relating to Middle East. But over the last few years, the Arab-American lobby's influence has grown significantly. On behalf of VOA producers Sondang Sirait and Yuni Wilcox, Jim Bertel narrates³.

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America's unwavering support for Israel has often been a source of contention⁴ in the Middle East. Many Arab-Americans say this was evident during the recent conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel's influence with decision makers⁵ is partly the result of the strong pro-Israeli lobby in the U.S. 

 
Eugene Bird 
  
Eugene Bird is from the Council for the National Interest, a pro-Palestinian lobby group in Washington D.C. "We [the U.S.] are the greatest Jewish power. We have 5.5 million Jews, more Jews here than other [country] in the world. They are an important part of our community.”

Several pro-Israeli lobbying groups declined VOA's requests for interviews. However, lobbying experts say the pro-Israeli lobby is among the most active in influencing U.S. foreign policy. 

Massie Ritsch   
  
Massie Ritsch is from the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan organization that tracks campaign contributions. "Money influences politics, and campaign contributions and lobbying do have an influence on American government. The pro-Israeli lobby is probably the most influential among foreign interests. They account for about one quarter of the money spent on federal lobbying."

 
Nihad Awad 
  
On the other hand, Nihad Awad of the Council on American-Islamic Relations says the pro-Arab-lobby is in its infancy⁶. "The pro-Arab or Islamic lobby in the United States is a new phenomenon. When we work in this young organization, which is 12 years, compared to 60- or 90-year-old Jewish organizations [that] have been working on influencing the administration and the Congress to [support] Israel. We do not look at it that way. We look at it as, we are a civic⁷ organization that cares about domestic issues."

Analyst⁸ Massie Ritsch says money equals influence. "Pro-Israel interests spend more than one million dollars per year lobbying Congress and other arms of the government. Pro-Arab interests in 2005 spent about one-third of that. It is definitely not an even fight, if it is a fight at all between the two sides."

The Center for Responsive Politics notes that the top recipient⁹ of campaign donations from the pro-Israeli lobby is opposition¹⁰ Democratic Party Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. This election cycle alone the junior senator from the northeastern state of New York received $83,000 in donations from pro-Israeli groups.

For pro-Arab lobbyists the numbers are much more modest. The largest donation went to Republican Party Senator Lincoln Chafee from the northeastern state of Rhode Island, who received $3,000 from pro-Arab interests. 

1 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

2 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

3 narrates   

v.故事( narrate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• It narrates the unconstitutional acts of James II. 它历数了詹姆斯二世的违法行为。 来自辞典例句
• Chapter three narrates the economy activity which Jew return the Occident. 第三章讲述了犹太人重返西欧后的经济活动。 来自互联网

4 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。

5 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 infancy   

n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期

参考例句：

• He came to England in his infancy.他幼年时期来到英国。
• Their research is only in its infancy.他们的研究处于初级阶段。

7 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

8 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

9 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。

10 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。