For decades the so-called `Jewish lobby ,' a largely pejorative term used to describe pro-Israeli groups in the US, was a much-feared and much-admired force in US po litics -to the extent that even India began courting it in the past few years to learn the art of lobbying. On Thursday , Pre sident Obama overcame the powerful lobby to eke out a ma jor political victory , retaining the support of several key De mocratic lawmakers who blocked a Republican resolu tion to scuttle the nuclear deal with Iran.
Capping weeks of debate and discord in the party , 42 of the 46 Democrats in the Senate stood by Obama and the Iran nuclear deal his administra tion engineered, defeating by two votes Republican efforts to reject the accord. Republi cans needed 60 votes to break the Democratic filibuster, but despite tremendous pressure exerted by the `Jewish lobby on lawmakers, many of who will be up for re-election next year (unlike Obama), they ma naged only 58 votes, as Demo crats gave Obama a parting famous foreign policy victory .
As with the health care law not a single Republican sena tor voted in favour of Obama's deal, a reflection of how parti san the US Congress has beco me. Fortunately for the President, congressional review law only requires the executive to prevent a veto-proof, twothirds majority from forming in each chamber. With 46 Senate Democrats and 188 House Democrats, Obama only had to limit defections to fewer than 13 in the Senate and 42 in the House, targets that were comfortably achieved.
But not before much heartburn and debilitating inner party convulsions that illustrated the fact that it's not just in India that religion and faith play a role in domestic politics. Among those who parted ways with Obama was NY Senator Chuck Schumer, whose state has a 9.6% Jewish population, making him bend to his constituency pressure from Jewish voters. Also voting against was New Jersey Sena or Robert Menendez (5.8% Jewish population). They are both Democrats.
The fierce debate around he nuclear deal, which marks he return of US engagement with Iran with important consequences for the entire region (including for India and Af-Pak), convulsed US politics or weeks. Obama himself spent hundreds of hours in personal lobbying and phone calls to his shaky partymen, many of whom feared the in luence of the American-Israeli Political Action Committee AIPAC), the pro-Israeli group hat spent an estimate $ 30 mil ion to scuttle the deal.
In the end, Obama prevai ed over the coalition of Republicans, AIPAC, and the unprecedented lobbying by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.“This vote is a victory for diplomacy , for American national security , and for the safety and security of the world,'' he said, having demonstrated hat he is far from a lame-duck President with more than year to go in the White House.
`'Going forward, we will urn to the critical work of mplementing and verifying his deal so that Iran cannot pursue a nuclear weapon, whi e pursuing a foreign policy hat leaves our country and the world -a safer place,'' Obama added.
