Republican Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA), noted for his frequent trips to Syria and Lebanon (including one during the Hezbollah conflict of 2006) recently sent out a fundraising letter to Arab Americans based on a disturbing tactic: attacking the Pro-Israel lobby.

Issa explained in his fundraising appeal that Congress wanted to draft a resolution in 2006 after the short-lived war between Hezbollah and Israel broke out. He wrote that Arab-American members of Congress wanted to call on both sides to limit the number of civilian casualties.

In his letter, Issa criticized members of the "pro-Israel lobby" for blocking the civilian casualty language in the 2006 measure.

Dan Mariaschin, executive vice president for B'nai B'rith International, said the phrase "pro-Israel lobby" is a "discredited term" and claimed Issa's comments about the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel were delivered without context.

"Whether it is a speech on the floor or a mailing I really would hope that [members have] a commitment to accuracy, a commitment to context and a commitment to avoiding the use of phrases that are insensitive," he said.

Issa has visited Syria more than any member of the House of Representatives and has been criticized for praising Hezbollah on Rita Cosby's show on Fox.

He is also a major funding source for the Republican effort to steal California's electoral votes by having California be the only state to apportion its electoral votes by congressional districts.