That effort, which has received too little attention, lends new urgency to efforts to invigorate the tie between Israel and American Jewry and boost American Jewish political activism for Israel. Arab and Muslim American leaders recognize the critical role Jews play in the special relationship between the U.S. and Israel, and have concluded that reducing the relative power of the American Jewish community is central to accomplishing their goals. They haven t yet mustered sufficient strength to take on the Jewish community but the Arab and Muslim populations are growing, mainly through immigration, along with their political savvy and self-confidence. The Arab challenge began in the late 80s, during the first intifada. They ve since vigorously pursued the goal of building the Arab American community into a political force approaching the influence and standing of the Jewish community.
Professional demographers dispute that figure.
And the researcher who performed a survey for the American Muslim Council later admitted that he was pressured by the group to arrive at the 6 million figure, implying that the actual count is much lower. Over the past several years a new generation of activists have formed a coalition, American Muslims for Jerusalem, which often parrots the views of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Its first major campaign was an anti-Israel boycott of the Disney Company s international millennium exhibit, in protest against an Israeli portrayal of Jerusalem as Israel s capital. The ad was dropped. In July 1999, Sprint Communications was attacked for using the Dome of the Rock in an ad for cheap phone rates to Israel the argument being that its status as part of Israel was still under international discussion.