This former Republican-Democratic Official settles the matter: "There is no Israel 'Lobby'." And to confirm his credibilty, he says this: " Over the course of four tours in the White House, I never once saw a decision in the Oval Office to tilt U.S. foreign policy in favor of Israel at the expense of America's interest.... I was there when Ronald Reagan, a great friend of Israel, was so repelled by pictures of victims in Lebanon that he insisted the Israelis call off their assault on Beirut (they did)." (I was there too--not in the Oval Office, but in Beirut. Israelis called off their assault for several hours.)