A chara, - Monty Ross (September 18th) refers to a previous correspondent's reference to "Israeli lobby groups", adding: "He means, of course, the Jewish lobby, and should not be afraid to say so".
In fact, a large and strongly influential proportion of those who constitute the pro-Israel lobby are not Jewish at all but evangelical Christians, whose implacable Zionism derives from their interpretation of the Book of Revelations: they believe that a Jewish state must be in place in order for the Second Coming to occur.
The late Rev Jerry Falwell summed up this viewpoint when he wrote, in an opinion piece for the right-wing World Net Daily:
"The founding of Israel as a nation in 1948 was ordained of God to provide a homeland for the Jewish people and to prepare for the future return of Jesus Christ.
"The Abrahamic Covenant demands it."
While there is no question that Jewish Americans play a large role in the pro-Israeli lobby, it is hard to imagine that they could exert the degree of control this lobby has over Congress without the support of the Christian right. - Is mise,
WENDY LYON,
Queen Street,
Dublin 7.