2026-09-09 11:36:PM <br/> Tags: #people #AmericanJewry # Tom Dine (1940-) ![[image-303.png|220|311]] - Tom Dine is an American Jewish lobbyist and organizational leader who was executive director of [[AIPAC]] from 1980-1993. - Dine was described in an article in the *Jewish Telegraphic Agency* as "the executive who built the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the pro-Israel lobby, into a powerhouse, largely during the Reagan era."[^6] #### Career - Dine attended Colgate University, UCLA, and Johns Hopkins University.[^3] - Dine was a Peace Corps volunteer in the Philippines in the early 1960s.[^3] - From 1973-74 he was a senior analyst for the U.S. Senate Special Committee on National Emergencies and Delegated Powers.[^2] - From 1975-78 he worked for the Senate Budget Committee and from 1979-80 he advised Senator Edmund Muskie on nuclear weapons policy. - At the time of his appointment as executive director of [[AIPAC]] in 1980, Dine was a Washington D.C. insider and a Jewish organizational outsider. - [[AIPAC]] president from 1978-1982 [[Larry Weinberg]] is credited with bringing Dine into the organization and hiring Dine's top lieutenant and AIPAC's top research director, [[Steven Rosen]].[^4] - After assuming the directorship of [[AIPAC]] in 1980 as described in an article in *The New Yorker*, "Dine set out to develop a nationwide network that would enable AIPAC to influence every member of Congress."[^1] - To accomplish this, Dine dispatched AIPAC staffers across the country in search of "Jews in states where there were few." These clusters of pro-Israel Jews around the country formed 435 "congressional caucuses" who would pressure their local congressional representatives on issues regarding Israel.[^1] - Under Dine, AIPAC successfully defeated Illinois Congressman Paul Findley in 1982, and Illinois Senator Charles Percy in 1984 for their mildly critical positions on Israel and support of policies deemed too pro-Arab.[^1] *Covered more on the AIPAC page.* - Dine described AIPAC's defeat of Senator Percy at the time: "Jews in America, from coast to coast, gathered to oust Percy. And American politicians—those who hold public positions now, and those who aspire—got the message."[^1] - From 1991-1992, Dine and AIPAC worked closely with the Israeli government under [[Yitzhak Shamir]] to oppose President George H.W. Bush's decision to withhold ten billion dollars in loan guarantees to Israel amid increasing Jewish settler activity in the West Bank.[^1] - Bush resisted the pressure of the Jewish lobby in what amounted to a rare and well known, but temporary, AIPAC defeat. *When Yitzhak Shamir was replaced by Yitzhak Rabin Bush allowed the money through.* - Dine was forced to resign from his position leading AIPAC in July 1993 after a recently published book revealed remarks from Dine disparaging Ultra-Orthodox Jews.[^5] - AIPAC president Steven Grossman was quoted in a contemporary article saying "a consensus developed about the serious nature of the book, and the potential for damage to the organization and the US-Israel relationship." - Dine was replaced by [[Howard Kohr]]. - Under Dine, AIPAC grew dramatically. - The organization went from 24 employees, 8,000 members, and a $1.7 million budget, to 158 employees, 55,000 members, and a $55 million budget.[^6] #### After AIPAC - From 1993-1997, Dine worked for the [[Bill Clinton|Clinton]] Administration as assistant administrator for Europe and Eurasia at USAID.[^7] - From 1997-2005, he was the president of the American state-funded strategic media entity Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, where he facilitated democracy promotion in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. - In 2005, Dine was appointed to lead the San Francisco Jewish Community Federation.[^6] - He held the position for 2 years until 2007.[^7] - From 2008-2014, Dine worked at an NGO called Search For Common Ground, as a behind the scenes diplomat in Syria on behalf of the U.S. government in an attempt to reach a breakthrough in Syria-U.S.-Israel relations.[^8] - In the late 2000s, Dine became an advisor at the Israel Policy Forum, a dovish left wing Zionist organization that supports a two-state solution.[^2] - It is unclear if Dine is still involved with the IPF but he spent the better part of the 2010s there. #### References [^1]: Connie Bruck, “Friends of Israel,” _The New Yorker_, August 25, 2014, [https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/01/friends-israel](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/01/friends-israel). [^2]: Wilson Center, “Tom Dine,” [https://www.wilsoncenter.org/person/tom-dine](https://www.wilsoncenter.org/person/tom-dine). [^3]: “Tom Dine,” _Wikipedia_, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Dine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Dine). [^4]: “Larry Weinberg,” _Wikipedia_, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Weinberg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Weinberg). [^5]: Larry Yudelson, “Top Israel Lobbyist Resigns,” _Australian Jewish News_ (Melbourne), July 9, 1993, 16, [https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/261365242](https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/261365242). [^6]: “Former AIPAC Director to Take Helm of San Francisco Federation,” _Jewish Telegraphic Agency_, July 29, 2005, [https://www.jta.org/archive/former-aipac-director-to-take-helm-of-san-francisco-federation](https://www.jta.org/archive/former-aipac-director-to-take-helm-of-san-francisco-federation). [^7]: Eurasia Foundation, “Thomas A. Dine,” [https://www.eurasia.org/our-team/thomas-a-dine/](https://www.eurasia.org/our-team/thomas-a-dine/). [^8]: Marc Perelman, “Former Aipac Head Leads Push for American-Syrian Rapprochement,” _The Forward_, August 28, 2008, [https://forward.com/news/14109/former-aipac-head-leads-push-for-american-syrian-r-02449/](https://forward.com/news/14109/former-aipac-head-leads-push-for-american-syrian-r-02449/).