Republican opponents�of a framework agreement with Iran received millions in campaign donations in 2014 from pro-Israel billionaires and other influential American donors, according to a report.

Republicans, now in control of both chambers of US Congress, are more ardently pro-Israel than ever before as they collected more money during the 2014 election from individuals and political action committees considered pro-Israel than their Democratic counterparts, the�New York Times�reports, citing data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.

The GOP opponents�of the nuclear talks are echoing concerns by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who warned American lawmakers in a congressional address early last month that the White House was negotiating �a very bad deal� with Iran.



[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="550"] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of the US Congress on March 3, 2015 in Washington, DC.[/caption]

 

Sen.�Tom Cotton, who earlier penned a warning letter to Iran in a bid to undermine the administration�s efforts in the nuclear talks, swiftly denounced the framework agreement reached on Thursday between Iran and the P5+1�the US, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany.

Cotton has vowed to block the outline which he described as �a list of dangerous US concessions that will put Iran on the path to nuclear weapons.�

The freshman Republican from Arkansas�received huge sums from pro-Israel donors in 2014.

The Emergency Committee for Israel, led by William Kristol, editor of the conservative Weekly Standard, contributed� $960,000 to Cotton�s campaign in the 2014 election cycle, while a firm associated with Paul Singer, a leading pro-Israel donor from New York, spent $250,000 to support him.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="550"] William [Bill] Kristol, the founder of the Emergency Committee for Israel[/caption] 

Seth Klarman, a pro-Israel billionaire from Boston, donated $100,000 through his investment firm.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a fierce opponent of diplomacy with Iran, also saw his donations from pro-Israel billionaires rise to $285,000 in 2014 from less than $100,000 in the 2008 cycle.



[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="550"] US Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina[/caption]

 

Political donors acknowledge that campaign spending is at least partly responsible for inspiring strong support for Israel in the Republican Party.

�Absolutely, it is a factor,� Marc Felgoise, who manages the Philadelphia Israel Network, a campaign fund-raising group, told the�Times. �They are trying to cater to people who are ultimately going to support them.�

�The very, very limited set of people who do their politics simply through the lens of Israel � that small group is tilting more heavily Republican now,� Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of J Street, a nonprofit pro-Israel advocacy group, told the�Times.

�But it is dangerous for American politics as too many people do not understand that of the six million American Jews, this is only a handful,� he added.

By Press TV