AIPAC is the envy of other lobbies for its easy access to the highest levels of government. Its endorsement of a political candidate usually results in contributions from the nearly one hundred pro-Israel political action committees around the country. So basically, if you are a politician who wants to eventually make it to a seat in Washington, you will in some way, have to go through AIPAC. The New York Times reported in 1987 that AIPAC "has become a major force in shaping United States policy in the Middle East... The organization has gained power to influence a presidential candidate's choice of staff, to block practically any arms sale to an Arab country and to serve as a catalyst for intimate military relations between the Pentagon and the Israeli army. Its leading officials are consulted by State Department and White House policy makers, by senators and generals." They are an influence not merely on Capitol Hill, but in the White House, the Pentagon, the state department, the treasury and in a host of buildings in between. (Source: Smith, The Power Game, 216; New York Times, 7/6/87).