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The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy
The Israel Lobby," by John J. Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago and Stephen M. Walt of Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, was one of the most controversial articles in recent memory. Originally published in the London Review of Books in March 2006, it provoked both howls of outrage and cheers of gratitude for challenging what had been a taboo issue in the impact of the Israel lobby on U.S. foreign policy. Now in a work of major importance, Mearsheimer and Walt deepen and expand their argument and confront recent developments in Lebanon and Iran. They describe the remarkable level of material and diplomatic support that the United States provides to Israel and argues that this support cannot be fully explained on either strategic or moral grounds. This exceptional relationship is due largely to the political influence of a loose coalition of individuals and organizations that actively work to shape U.S. foreign policy in a pro-Israel direction. Mearsheimer and Walt provocatively contend that the lobby has a far-reaching impact on America's posture throughout the Middle East--in Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, and toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict--and the policies it has encouraged are in neither America's national interest nor Israel's long-term interest. The lobby's influence also affects America's relationship with important allies and increases dangers that all states face from global jihadist terror. Writing in The New York Review of Books , Michael Massing declared, "Not since Foreign Affairs magazine published Samuel Huntington's 'The Clash of Civilizations?' in 1993 has an academic essay detonated with such force." The publication of The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy is certain to widen the debate and to be one of the most talked-about books of the year.
484 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
About the author
John J. Mearsheimer
26 books835 followersJohn Joseph Mearsheimer (1947) is an American political scientist and international relations scholar, who belongs to the realist school of thought. He is the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago. He has been described as the most influential realist of his generation.
Mearsheimer is best known for developing the theory of offensive realism, which describes the interaction between great powers as being primarily driven by the rational desire to achieve regional hegemony in an anarchic international system. In accordance with his theory, Mearsheimer believes that China's growing power will likely bring it into conflict with the United States.
Mearsheimer's works are widely read and debated by 21st-century students of international relations. A 2017 survey of US international relations faculty ranks him third among "scholars whose work has had the greatest influence on the field of IR in the past 20 years.
Mearsheimer is best known for developing the theory of offensive realism, which describes the interaction between great powers as being primarily driven by the rational desire to achieve regional hegemony in an anarchic international system. In accordance with his theory, Mearsheimer believes that China's growing power will likely bring it into conflict with the United States.
Mearsheimer's works are widely read and debated by 21st-century students of international relations. A 2017 survey of US international relations faculty ranks him third among "scholars whose work has had the greatest influence on the field of IR in the past 20 years.
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January 15, 2009
Sometimes I feel like I’m living in the Matrix. There is the reality that everyone seems to accept as being real and then there is the really real. What is going on in the Middle East at the moment messes with my mind in exactly that way.
I wrote to a GoodReads friend a week or so ago – can’t quite remember how we got onto the topic, but I was telling her how distressing I was finding what was going on in Gaza. I started off by making sure I stressed I had grown up with Jewish friends and blah, blah, blah. It was only after I had sent the email that I realised I was doing the ‘some of my best friends are Jewish’ routine. Look, up until yesterday there had been 1000 people killed in Gaza, 16 of them Israeli soldiers. Most of the soldiers have been killed by ‘friendly fire’. If mentioning such facts makes me anti-Semitic, then, I’m going to have to learn to live with that. What is happening in Gaza is a crime against humanity. What has been going on there for years shames us all. It must be stopped. We can no longer sit back and watch and say nothing – not if we want to live with our humanity intact.
This book shouldn’t really contain any information that you don’t already know. It will, probably, but if you have read any Noam Chomsky or Naomi Kline or John Pilger you would have heard all this before and more. What is interesting about this book is the effort the authors go to so as to show they are not anti-Jewish. The Jews I grew up with were infinitely less touchy about Israel than they must be in the US. Although that is another of the interesting things that is pointed out in this book. It is not the Jews in the US who are so precious about Israel but all of the frightening Christian groups who want the Jews to go back to Israel so that Jesus will return on a cloud to either convert them Jews to Christianity or kill them. That these people have so much sway over the current President of the US is truly frightening.
There are lots of things in this book that are truly frightening – but the most is probably being reminded that Israel has possibly upwards of 200 nuclear weapons. This is a state that is based on apartheid. This is a state that prides itself on massive over-reaction. This is a state that wants to be known as a mad dog. And yet the US allows it to have nuclear weapons! Hard to imagine.
The book seeks to answer a fairly fundamental question – and, to be honest, I’m not sure it is very successful. The question is: why is it that Israel, a first world country, a country with a massive military (a military that dwarfs those of all potential enemies), a country that so frequently acts against US interests (as the authors of this book are at pains to stress continually). Why is it that they still receive more US aid than any other country on earth and can act with virtual impunity – even when acting against the stated will of the US? They come up with a reason in this book, and that is that the Israel lobby in the US is what allows this to happen.
The US government would like a two state solution, the US government would like to be closer to Iran, the US government would like to sort out the problems in Syria and Lebanon and Iraq and God knows where else – but it is the Israel lobby, they make us support Israel right or wrong (even if it seems, according to this book, mostly wrong) and we can’t be held responsible...
Well, do you know what? – Ethics 101. If you give them weapons, if you pump their economy full of US dollars, if you turn a blind eye when they drop the cluster bombs you sell them in civilian areas (according to Amnesty International) or use white prosperous weapons that ‘burn to the bone’ (according to the United Nations - I have been tormented by that phrase, burn to the bone, for three days now - disgusting) then the US IS RESPONSIBLE. When the US government barely raises a finger as Israel constructs its despicable wall in an attempt to steal more Palestinian land as a fait accompli, when the least word from the US would stop this atrocity, then the US must bare responsibility for the consequences. We are as responsible for the consequences of our inaction as we are for our actions.
So, I really don’t know that blaming the Israel Lobby really gets the US off the hook on this one. I have been waiting and waiting for Obama to say something, anything at all. But perhaps it is best he remains silent. I would hate to hear him say something supporting Israel’s right to defend itself (which in this circumstance seems to mean their right to kill women and children). Better he says nothing than that he say that.
The excuse for these atrocities, the excuse that Hamas does not recognise Israel’s right to exist, is almost laughable. It would be like me saying I don’t recognise Mike Tyson’s right to exist. I’m sure he would be very worried. Using this as an excuse to punish the Palestinians to the extent that we are witnessing is literally appalling, it literally makes the blood drain away from my face.
And then to see Joe the Plumber at a rocket crash site in Israel saying that journalists should be ‘abolished’ from war zones because they don’t know enough about the situation there – and that he can say this without even the slightest hint of irony into the gaping cameras of the world media. Jesus H Christ. Can America be so lacking in shame? He is representing your media and being watched across the world. Aren't you in the least bit embarrassed? Have you written to your media and said NOT IN MY NAME?
I have little hope that anything will change anytime soon – but in the words of Chomsky, if you want to end terrorism you have to stop engaging in it. When will enough be enough? Can anyone really believe this is making Israel safer?
I wrote to a GoodReads friend a week or so ago – can’t quite remember how we got onto the topic, but I was telling her how distressing I was finding what was going on in Gaza. I started off by making sure I stressed I had grown up with Jewish friends and blah, blah, blah. It was only after I had sent the email that I realised I was doing the ‘some of my best friends are Jewish’ routine. Look, up until yesterday there had been 1000 people killed in Gaza, 16 of them Israeli soldiers. Most of the soldiers have been killed by ‘friendly fire’. If mentioning such facts makes me anti-Semitic, then, I’m going to have to learn to live with that. What is happening in Gaza is a crime against humanity. What has been going on there for years shames us all. It must be stopped. We can no longer sit back and watch and say nothing – not if we want to live with our humanity intact.
This book shouldn’t really contain any information that you don’t already know. It will, probably, but if you have read any Noam Chomsky or Naomi Kline or John Pilger you would have heard all this before and more. What is interesting about this book is the effort the authors go to so as to show they are not anti-Jewish. The Jews I grew up with were infinitely less touchy about Israel than they must be in the US. Although that is another of the interesting things that is pointed out in this book. It is not the Jews in the US who are so precious about Israel but all of the frightening Christian groups who want the Jews to go back to Israel so that Jesus will return on a cloud to either convert them Jews to Christianity or kill them. That these people have so much sway over the current President of the US is truly frightening.
There are lots of things in this book that are truly frightening – but the most is probably being reminded that Israel has possibly upwards of 200 nuclear weapons. This is a state that is based on apartheid. This is a state that prides itself on massive over-reaction. This is a state that wants to be known as a mad dog. And yet the US allows it to have nuclear weapons! Hard to imagine.
The book seeks to answer a fairly fundamental question – and, to be honest, I’m not sure it is very successful. The question is: why is it that Israel, a first world country, a country with a massive military (a military that dwarfs those of all potential enemies), a country that so frequently acts against US interests (as the authors of this book are at pains to stress continually). Why is it that they still receive more US aid than any other country on earth and can act with virtual impunity – even when acting against the stated will of the US? They come up with a reason in this book, and that is that the Israel lobby in the US is what allows this to happen.
The US government would like a two state solution, the US government would like to be closer to Iran, the US government would like to sort out the problems in Syria and Lebanon and Iraq and God knows where else – but it is the Israel lobby, they make us support Israel right or wrong (even if it seems, according to this book, mostly wrong) and we can’t be held responsible...
Well, do you know what? – Ethics 101. If you give them weapons, if you pump their economy full of US dollars, if you turn a blind eye when they drop the cluster bombs you sell them in civilian areas (according to Amnesty International) or use white prosperous weapons that ‘burn to the bone’ (according to the United Nations - I have been tormented by that phrase, burn to the bone, for three days now - disgusting) then the US IS RESPONSIBLE. When the US government barely raises a finger as Israel constructs its despicable wall in an attempt to steal more Palestinian land as a fait accompli, when the least word from the US would stop this atrocity, then the US must bare responsibility for the consequences. We are as responsible for the consequences of our inaction as we are for our actions.
So, I really don’t know that blaming the Israel Lobby really gets the US off the hook on this one. I have been waiting and waiting for Obama to say something, anything at all. But perhaps it is best he remains silent. I would hate to hear him say something supporting Israel’s right to defend itself (which in this circumstance seems to mean their right to kill women and children). Better he says nothing than that he say that.
The excuse for these atrocities, the excuse that Hamas does not recognise Israel’s right to exist, is almost laughable. It would be like me saying I don’t recognise Mike Tyson’s right to exist. I’m sure he would be very worried. Using this as an excuse to punish the Palestinians to the extent that we are witnessing is literally appalling, it literally makes the blood drain away from my face.
And then to see Joe the Plumber at a rocket crash site in Israel saying that journalists should be ‘abolished’ from war zones because they don’t know enough about the situation there – and that he can say this without even the slightest hint of irony into the gaping cameras of the world media. Jesus H Christ. Can America be so lacking in shame? He is representing your media and being watched across the world. Aren't you in the least bit embarrassed? Have you written to your media and said NOT IN MY NAME?
I have little hope that anything will change anytime soon – but in the words of Chomsky, if you want to end terrorism you have to stop engaging in it. When will enough be enough? Can anyone really believe this is making Israel safer?
March 1, 2022
When I encounter something I don't understand, I educate myself.
I didn't understand the automatic support for Israel by the United States. What the United States stands for - liberty and justice for all - could not be further from the agenda of Israel. In that country an exclusive group of people are out to evict, dispossess, imprison, and in general oppress the people who lived there, or are the sons and daughters of those who lived there, before the arrival of Europeans known as Zionists. For newcomers to promote the good of all and to desire to add to the happiness of those they find in residence is laudable. For newcomers to have a plan from the start to evict whoever they find is odious, reprehensible and the very last thing the United States should support. Yes, we did this with Native-Americans in our own history. Let's not support the shameful act a second time.
I feel the above so strongly that I started a blog I call "Daylight between America and Israel" named for the phrase I hear so commonly used to claim identify of the two countries.
The Israel Lobby is a primer for anyone (certainly all Americans!) like me interested in discovering how the United States became so enslaved to government policies of a tiny foreign country on the other side of the world. How can our Congress act so contrary to our national interest and speak proudly and with a smile of their abdication of their responsibility to the citizens of our country?
As the outstanding scholars that they are, Mearsheimer and Walt walk the reader through the subject matter comprehensively. What are the interests of the United States and Israel? How do they differ? What is the Israel lobby? Why is it so powerful? Who are the leaders and what is their motivation for such single-minded activity for a country in which they do not live?
Taking the claims of the lobby - the moral and political issues that are said to justify unqualified United States support of Israel - the authors carefully analyze their basis and show with simple logic how they do not stand up to reality. Is Israel really a bulwark for the U.S. or a liability that stands between us and so many countries around the world?
Once the reader learns how the lobby operates, the authors review the history of the Israel lobby in action, from the start when Chaim Weizmann used the Jewish vote, guilt and sympathy to win over Harry Truman to the real expansion of lobby power after the 1967 war.
The powerful conclusion is that it is not just the interests and national security of the U.S. that is endangered by the actions of the lobby, it is also the interests of Israel that are undermined.
No stone is left unturned. The case is so well made that I plan to dissect the book, extracting the basic points to discuss them on my blog.
I wish all Americans would read this book for the sake of the protection of the United States. Too many Americans refuse to admit that most of the opposition and even hatred we face in the world are a direct result of our own hypocritical political actions with regard to Israel that have made the world a more dangerous place. When G.W. Bush said "bring it on!" he was oblivious to the fact that he and earlier presidents had been acting in a way to invite the horror of 9/11.
Mearsheimer and Walt are two Americans who see clearly that what happens with regard to U.S. actions toward Israel have nothing to do with the welfare of Jews either in America, Israel or the rest of the world, but are instead the specific agenda of a relatively tiny group of ideologues, mostly but not exclusively Jewish, the neo-conservatives first among them, that have no hesitation about leveraging United States military power for their own cause. The disasters of Iraq and Afghanistan by way of the neo-con steering of the George W. Bush administration should alarm all Americans into taking back control of Congress from the Israel lobby.
This book is a wake-up call. It cracked open the unspoken prohibition on criticizing Israel in the United States. Is it imperative to read this book? Yes. Get a copy today, then act on what you learn from it to counter the nonsense spoken by most of our Congresspeople regarding Israel.
I didn't understand the automatic support for Israel by the United States. What the United States stands for - liberty and justice for all - could not be further from the agenda of Israel. In that country an exclusive group of people are out to evict, dispossess, imprison, and in general oppress the people who lived there, or are the sons and daughters of those who lived there, before the arrival of Europeans known as Zionists. For newcomers to promote the good of all and to desire to add to the happiness of those they find in residence is laudable. For newcomers to have a plan from the start to evict whoever they find is odious, reprehensible and the very last thing the United States should support. Yes, we did this with Native-Americans in our own history. Let's not support the shameful act a second time.
I feel the above so strongly that I started a blog I call "Daylight between America and Israel" named for the phrase I hear so commonly used to claim identify of the two countries.
The Israel Lobby is a primer for anyone (certainly all Americans!) like me interested in discovering how the United States became so enslaved to government policies of a tiny foreign country on the other side of the world. How can our Congress act so contrary to our national interest and speak proudly and with a smile of their abdication of their responsibility to the citizens of our country?
As the outstanding scholars that they are, Mearsheimer and Walt walk the reader through the subject matter comprehensively. What are the interests of the United States and Israel? How do they differ? What is the Israel lobby? Why is it so powerful? Who are the leaders and what is their motivation for such single-minded activity for a country in which they do not live?
Taking the claims of the lobby - the moral and political issues that are said to justify unqualified United States support of Israel - the authors carefully analyze their basis and show with simple logic how they do not stand up to reality. Is Israel really a bulwark for the U.S. or a liability that stands between us and so many countries around the world?
Once the reader learns how the lobby operates, the authors review the history of the Israel lobby in action, from the start when Chaim Weizmann used the Jewish vote, guilt and sympathy to win over Harry Truman to the real expansion of lobby power after the 1967 war.
The powerful conclusion is that it is not just the interests and national security of the U.S. that is endangered by the actions of the lobby, it is also the interests of Israel that are undermined.
No stone is left unturned. The case is so well made that I plan to dissect the book, extracting the basic points to discuss them on my blog.
I wish all Americans would read this book for the sake of the protection of the United States. Too many Americans refuse to admit that most of the opposition and even hatred we face in the world are a direct result of our own hypocritical political actions with regard to Israel that have made the world a more dangerous place. When G.W. Bush said "bring it on!" he was oblivious to the fact that he and earlier presidents had been acting in a way to invite the horror of 9/11.
Mearsheimer and Walt are two Americans who see clearly that what happens with regard to U.S. actions toward Israel have nothing to do with the welfare of Jews either in America, Israel or the rest of the world, but are instead the specific agenda of a relatively tiny group of ideologues, mostly but not exclusively Jewish, the neo-conservatives first among them, that have no hesitation about leveraging United States military power for their own cause. The disasters of Iraq and Afghanistan by way of the neo-con steering of the George W. Bush administration should alarm all Americans into taking back control of Congress from the Israel lobby.
This book is a wake-up call. It cracked open the unspoken prohibition on criticizing Israel in the United States. Is it imperative to read this book? Yes. Get a copy today, then act on what you learn from it to counter the nonsense spoken by most of our Congresspeople regarding Israel.
October 16, 2014
We all remember the events of 9/11, but can you remember your thoughts from 9/12? Were you confused, questioning the reason(s) for these attacks? Aren't we the good-guys, fostering human rights, democratic values, and the removal of authoritarian rulers? Clearly, there must be, or must have been, something about our foreign policy in the Middle East to cause such hate and anger toward us. Do you find President Bush's attempted explanation that "... they hate us for our freedom and our democracy" as weak and totally inadequate?
Well, this book isn't intended to answer the question as to why we were attacked on 9/11, but it does attempt to address some of the claims of unequal treatment toward peoples in the Middle East, and how or why some of the U.S. policies anger Muslim nations. It also might give some insight into why Arab leaders often claim that this Country is "controlled by the Jews" or by Jewish interests. We tend to trust our media and policy makers as fair and even handed, because they tell us they are. But if you're looking for a critical review of those statements, this book is a good place to start. I found this to be an eye-opening and enlightening book, and should be interesting to anyone groping for a deeper understanding of how some of our policies in the mid-east are developed and applied and how that affects us all.
Well, this book isn't intended to answer the question as to why we were attacked on 9/11, but it does attempt to address some of the claims of unequal treatment toward peoples in the Middle East, and how or why some of the U.S. policies anger Muslim nations. It also might give some insight into why Arab leaders often claim that this Country is "controlled by the Jews" or by Jewish interests. We tend to trust our media and policy makers as fair and even handed, because they tell us they are. But if you're looking for a critical review of those statements, this book is a good place to start. I found this to be an eye-opening and enlightening book, and should be interesting to anyone groping for a deeper understanding of how some of our policies in the mid-east are developed and applied and how that affects us all.
March 3, 2010
Great book! A lot of Americans still have residual respect for Israel, and this book ought to smash that out of their skulls once and for all.
August 22, 2024
The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy by John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt is an incredible book and thought-provoking book. For decades now, the Israel Lobby in the United States, which consists of people and Israeli organizations in the US, has been influencing US policy toward Israel even if policies the lobby advocates can hurt US interests. The lobby consists of Jewish Americans and Jewish Zionists. Even though the book was written years ago, the lobby is still influencing US policy today.
I found this an to be an incredible, thought-provoking book.
I found this an to be an incredible, thought-provoking book.
October 13, 2011
"The Israel Lobby" asserts what almost 40% (per the authors) of Americans recognize - that Israel is one of the main causes of anti-Americanism, that the U.S. provides Israel with extraordinary material and diplomatic support, and that many policies pursued on Israel's behalf jeopardize U.S. national security.
Documentation is not wanting for these claims. Israel is the largest recipient of U.S. aid since WWII, amounting to some $154 billion (2005 dollars), and about $500/citizen today. Since 1982, the US has vetoed 42 Security Council resolutions critical of Israel, more than the total number of vetoes cast by all the other Security Council members - and this does not even count those that did not come to a vote because of a U.S. veto threat. At the same time, the Israel lobby is also credited with pushing the U.S. away from Syria (had been providing al Qaeda intelligence post 9/11 and Iran (had supported U.S. airmen rescue efforts in Afghanistan, and offered an opportunity for a major agreement at the time Iraq fell).
This extraordinary support might be justified if there were some great moral reason or security need involved. Our military has not been able to use Israel as a base in either Gulf War, nor could we ask it to help for risk of triggering a calamity in the region. Further, the U.S. has a terrorism threat in common with Israel because of our support for that nation. Thus, Israel is far from an asset to the U.S. As for moral argument, Israel's past and present conduct involving continual abuse of the Palestinians after stealing their land offers no moral basis for preferring it over the Palestinians.
So how do we explain our extraordinary support for Israel? The answer, claim the authors, is the Israel lobby. AIPAC is the most powerful and best known; however, prominent Christians have also been involved - eg. Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, Gary Bauer and numerous politicians believe Israel's rebirth is the fulfilment of biblical prophecy and support its expansionist agenda. One leading Israel lobbyist even bragged that he could easily get 70 U.S. Senators' signatures upon a napkin.
Senator Charles Percy's ouster in 1984 (for insensitivity to Israeli issues) has become the most visible example of the Israel lobby's influence. Although they make up only 3% of the population, it is estimated that their donations comprise 60% of Democrat donations, and their voters turn out in high percentages.
Influence is not limited to just elections. The Israel lobby also influences key appointments (eg. George Ball was not appointed Sec. of State because Carter knew he would be opposed), monitors professors' comments, newspaper editorials, etc. Neoconservatives, on the other hand, are pushed by the Israel lobby because of their support for strong U.S. action in the mid-East - most recently for taking action against Iran.
"The Israel Lobby" also provided recommendations. 1)Israel should be treated like a normal state. 2)The U.S. should strongly pursue an end to the Palestine-Israel conflict. 3)Campaign finance reform is essential to a more balanced debate on Israel - eg. public campaign financing. 4)Open debate should be encouraged. (The authors have been precluded from several speaking engagements due to Israel lobby pressure. Also note the adverse reaction to President Carter's book on the Israel-Palestine conflict.)
Kudos to the authors for shining light on this major problem.
Documentation is not wanting for these claims. Israel is the largest recipient of U.S. aid since WWII, amounting to some $154 billion (2005 dollars), and about $500/citizen today. Since 1982, the US has vetoed 42 Security Council resolutions critical of Israel, more than the total number of vetoes cast by all the other Security Council members - and this does not even count those that did not come to a vote because of a U.S. veto threat. At the same time, the Israel lobby is also credited with pushing the U.S. away from Syria (had been providing al Qaeda intelligence post 9/11 and Iran (had supported U.S. airmen rescue efforts in Afghanistan, and offered an opportunity for a major agreement at the time Iraq fell).
This extraordinary support might be justified if there were some great moral reason or security need involved. Our military has not been able to use Israel as a base in either Gulf War, nor could we ask it to help for risk of triggering a calamity in the region. Further, the U.S. has a terrorism threat in common with Israel because of our support for that nation. Thus, Israel is far from an asset to the U.S. As for moral argument, Israel's past and present conduct involving continual abuse of the Palestinians after stealing their land offers no moral basis for preferring it over the Palestinians.
So how do we explain our extraordinary support for Israel? The answer, claim the authors, is the Israel lobby. AIPAC is the most powerful and best known; however, prominent Christians have also been involved - eg. Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, Gary Bauer and numerous politicians believe Israel's rebirth is the fulfilment of biblical prophecy and support its expansionist agenda. One leading Israel lobbyist even bragged that he could easily get 70 U.S. Senators' signatures upon a napkin.
Senator Charles Percy's ouster in 1984 (for insensitivity to Israeli issues) has become the most visible example of the Israel lobby's influence. Although they make up only 3% of the population, it is estimated that their donations comprise 60% of Democrat donations, and their voters turn out in high percentages.
Influence is not limited to just elections. The Israel lobby also influences key appointments (eg. George Ball was not appointed Sec. of State because Carter knew he would be opposed), monitors professors' comments, newspaper editorials, etc. Neoconservatives, on the other hand, are pushed by the Israel lobby because of their support for strong U.S. action in the mid-East - most recently for taking action against Iran.
"The Israel Lobby" also provided recommendations. 1)Israel should be treated like a normal state. 2)The U.S. should strongly pursue an end to the Palestine-Israel conflict. 3)Campaign finance reform is essential to a more balanced debate on Israel - eg. public campaign financing. 4)Open debate should be encouraged. (The authors have been precluded from several speaking engagements due to Israel lobby pressure. Also note the adverse reaction to President Carter's book on the Israel-Palestine conflict.)
Kudos to the authors for shining light on this major problem.
December 2, 2015
This is overall a very good book, but the authors spend way too much time reiterating the fact that they believe Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state. This right after criticizing just about everything about the country since its founding, yet they still can't drop this point. There's also too much use of the term "terrorism" where it doesn't quite belong. Despite these shortcomings, however, the book is invaluable for anyone seeking to understand this country's pathetic "special relationship" with Israel.
November 25, 2023
The authors say, “Israel does have a serious terrorism problem, but that is mainly the consequence of colonizing the Occupied Territories.” The US vetoes forty-two UN Security Council Resolutions between 1972 and 2006 that were critical of Israel. For fans of negativity, that is more than all vetoes by all other countries combined in that same time period. “Outside the Security Council, the United States routinely backs Israel whenever the UN General Assembly passes one of the many resolutions condemning Israeli behavior or calling for action on behalf of the Palestinians.” The US wakes from its slumber at the UN when anyone disses Israel in any way, or when Arab countries bring up obvious questions about Israel’s hidden nuclear arsenal. The authors argue that “it is time to treat Israel like a normal country and to make U.S. aid conditional on an end to the occupation and on Israel’s willingness to conform its policies to American interests.”
Both authors clearly state they are pro-Israel and in NO way question Israel’s right to exist or the legitimacy of the Jewish state. They also don’t want to see Israel turned into a binational democracy. Yet they still have deep concerns. “No lobby (other than the Israel lobby) has diverted that policy (foreign) as far from what the American national interest would suggest. The Israel lobby has successfully convinced many Americans that American and Israeli interests are essentially identical.” Deviating from waving the blue and white flag, can get Americans called an anti-Semite or self-hating Jew. Jimmy Carter got blasted for calling Israel apartheid EVEN though he “unambiguously defends Israel’s right to live in peace and security.” “Some critics even charged him with being sympathetic to Nazis.” Even so, “A considerable number of Americans -almost 40%- recognize that US support for Israel is one of the main causes of anti-Americanism around the world.” In one poll, 39% “said they believe that the ‘work of the Israeli lobby on Congress and the Bush administration has been a key factor for going to war in Iraq and now confronting Iran.” But when you ask non-Americans, “a 2006 survey of international scholars in the United States, 66 percent of the respondents agreed with the statement ‘the Israeli lobby has too much influence over US foreign policy’.”
Journalist Michael Massig wrote that a congressional staffer sympathetic to Israel told him, “We can count on well over half the House – 250-300 members – to do reflexively whatever AIPAC wants.” A former AIPAC official told a New Yorker journalist, “In twenty-four hours, we could have the signatures of seventy senators on this napkin.” The authors say although there is a “strong moral case” for the existence of Israel, they do not have a “moral case for giving it such generous and largely unconditional support.”
Israel Aid: As of 2005, direct US assistance to Israel totaled almost $154 billion. With numbers like that, its funny that we can’t “afford” free healthcare. Israel became our biggest aid recipient in 1976. Israel gets this money as loans because of a loophole: loans don’t require US supervision, and these ‘loans’ are like no other loans you’ve heard of – they have no interest, and Israel doesn’t even have to pay them back - redefining the word “loan”. Israel doesn’t have to tell us anything about how they spent our money, and more insulting is this: “Israel receives a direct lump-sum transfer” Why should we care? Because a lump-sum transfer carries an exemption that “makes it virtually impossible for the United States to prevent its subsidies from being used for purposes that it opposes, such as building settlements on the West Bank.” We US taxpayers get the joy of subsidizing this and this translates to $500 per year for each Israeli, while our second largest aid recipient Egypt gets annually $20 per Egyptian. As we continue down the color line, the US aid to Haiti annually is $5 per person. In addition, private individuals in the US give Israel a cool $2 billion annually. Why so much? Because of a loophole, private donations to Israel, and only Israel, from the US are tax-deductible. Shimon Peres said that “private contributions from Israel’s wealthy diaspora Jews had helped finance Israel’s clandestine (blatantly illegal) nuclear program in the 1950’s and 1960’s.” Funny how most foreign aid recipients get paid in installments while Israel gets all her money upfront at the beginning of the year. In return, Israel delights the world with being the world’s 8th largest arms supplier. Not bad for a country smaller than New Hampshire. Right winger Daniel Pipes wrote that Israel had become so wealthy that “American willingness to provide aid to Israel is no longer purely based on need.” And Egypt and Jordan get US money because they were willing “to sign peace treaties with Israel.”
The US halted shipping cluster bombs to Israel when they used them on civilians in Lebanon in 1982, but then in a Texas two-Step started resupplying them in 1988 – after all, unexploded bomblets look just like toys to children (google Reuters for bomblet images), what could go wrong? The US halted financing Israel for a few months in 90’s but started up again when Rabin replaced Shamir.
Israel Pretending it Has No Nuclear: In 1968, the CIA’s director told LBJ Israel now has nuclear weaponry. LBJ told him fast that no one but him could know this, and Sy Hersh said it was because if LBJ said he knew, he’d have to legally act on it. In addition to Israel with the secret nuclear thing, Israel has other illegal weaponry – active chemical and biological weaponry – and note our second favorite rogue state (Israel) never ratified both the Chemical and Biological Weapons Convention. Comic relief: The US pressures other countries to join the NPT, while Israel remains invisible. And Israel relentlessly bombs Gaza with US made bombs while Gaza remains invisible. Perhaps the US ought to see an oculist if can’t see something that is directly in its field of vision. Those of us with vision see how the US still gives aid to Israel even though it refuses to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Why is Israel like the Doris Day song, “Teacher’s Pet.”? Why does the US give Israel complete immunity? and zero accountability no matter who or how many it kills? When Israel annexed Golan Heights, it STILL got unrestricted aid. When Israel used illegal US cluster munitions in Lebanon or White Phosphorus (violating US law), it still got unrestricted aid.
By the 70’s US Middle Eastern policy was open support for Israel. Then comes the Israel’s complicity in the slaughter at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps – depending on who you talk to the death toll was 700 to 2,000 Palestinian and Lebanese civilians. “Instead of sanctioning Israel for invading a neighboring country (Lebanon), Congress voted to give Israel an additional $250 million in military assistance in December 1982”. That vote was so over the top even Schultz and Reagan tried to stop that aid package. Between 1976 and 2006, six Israeli leaders addressed Congress, that’s easily more than any other country. Instead of paying for free healthcare for the American people, Yitzhak Rabin said American generosity to Israel is “beyond compare in modern history.”
George Marshall and George Kennan did not want Truman to support Israel in ’48 because it was unnecessarily divisive for the Arabs in the region. The authors say Israel is now a strategic liability for the US, especially since the end of the Cold War. Famed historian Bernard Lewis wrote, “Whatever value Israel might have had as a strategic asset during the Cold War, that value obviously ended when the Cold War came to a close.” The $2.2 billion of US support for Israel during the October War caused the Arab oil embargo in response which cost the US $48.5 billion and a 2% reduction in GDP.
“Terrorism”: In 2002, Congress passes the Comedy Resolutions which both declared (the world’s two biggest terrorists) “the United States and Israel are now engaged in a common struggle against terrorism”. Apparently, no one told Congress that terrorism is not an enemy but a tactic, for example, Israel’s intentional bombing of civilians in Gaza today, or the Philippine Bud Dajo Massacre by US soldiers. The US and Israel are routinely increasing the risk of blowback by their own acts of terrorism, and Chalmers Johnson wrote a great book about it (Blowback). Noam says, if you want to stop terrorism, stop participating in it. No Congress member will tell you how the “Zionists used terrorism” – bombing the King David Hotel in ’46 or assassinating UN mediator Folke Bernadotte in ’48, or the US used it in backing the Contras or the UNITA guerrillas. In fact, the US has entertained former terrorists like Shamir, Arafat, and Begin. Note unlike al Qaeda, that Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah do not threaten or attack the US. If you want to deflate those three fast, stop the occupation. “The PLO was secular and nationalist – not Islamist.”
Historically, occupied people have used terrorism as a tactic, so it should surprise no one that in Kashmir or Western Sahara, or Gaza one might see armed resistance or terrorism. Yet Zionist PR would have you believe Palestinian resistance has no connection to the Occupation. Bin Laden told us in speeches that he was motivated by the injustices caused the Palestinians – why did we not learn from his demo? He wanted to hit the Capitol on 9/11 because he saw it as the “perceived source of US policy in support of Israel.” Khalid Sheikh Mohammed also “was primarily motivated by the Palestinian issue.” “No other issue resonates with the public in the Arab world, and many parts of the Muslim world, more deeply than Palestine.” The authors say without the Israel lobby, they doubt the US would have attacked Iraq. Chapter 8 is about how Israel was the big reason why the US rushed to attack Iraq after 9/11 (until now I thought the top reasons were US oil lust and Saddam abandoning the dollar).
“A 2004 report by the Pentagon’s Defense Science Board concluded that ‘Muslims do not hate our freedoms, but rather, our policies.” Polled Muslims in a Zogby Poll said the #1 thing the US could do to change its image was “stop supporting Israel”. King Abdullah II of Jordan said in 2007, “the denial of justice and peace in Palestine …is the core issue.” 52 former British diplomats sent Tony Blair a letter saying the Israel/Palestine conflict needed to be resolved now and then 88 former US diplomats sent a letter to Bush saying the same thing. The message was that continuing unbridled support for Israel would “most certainly lead to new waves of terror.” The authors say, “on balance” US support for Israel has become “more of a liability than an asset”.
Lebanon: 1982 is Israel’s First Lebanon War (the IDF only leaves Lebanon 18 years later) and 2006 is the Second when Israel “dumped several million deadly cluster bomblets in the towns and villages of southern Lebanon.” In case, anyone cares, cluster bombs on civilians is a war crime. Unexploded cluster bombs act as land mines, and look like a toy to children– the gift that keeps on giving. In 72 hours alone, “the IDF fired over one million bomblets (from cluster bombs) into Southern Lebanon.” The US was the ONLY country “that enthusiastically supported Israel’s actions in Lebanon.” One rogue state defending another; birds of a feather, do flock together - and note both are birds of prey. In one month, the Israeli Air force launched more than 7,000 air attacks on Lebanon while its Navy did 2,500 more. All this turned a whopping one quarter of all Lebanese into refugees. Hezbollah’s popularity surged in response to these Israel attacks on Lebanon in 2006 as the Lebanese and the world were blaming Israel - the very opposite of what Israel intended. Oops… Israel’s war pushed Hezbollah, Iran and Syria closer together. Counter-productive much? Amnesty International reported that Israel targeted Lebanese supermarkets, food stores, auto service and gas stations with “precision-guided munitions and artillery that started fires and destroyed their contents.” That’s how you get people to leave – Intentionally give others their OWN Exodus. Of course, targeting civilian areas is a war crime, but rogue states don’t face consequences. “Israel deliberately attacked a wide array of civilian targets in Lebanon, just as (Israeli) General Halutz said that they would.”
“With the possible exception of Iran, it is hard to make the case today that Israel’s neighbors are bent on destroying it.” After the 1967 War, Egypt & Syria were trying to regain territories lost to Israel, and “neither aimed to destroy Israel.” The authors find that US extreme generosity to Israel is not because Israel is “exceptionally virtuous.” “If backing the underdog were a compelling rationale, the United States would be supporting Israel���s opponents.” Even if you buy that Israel is somehow a “democracy”, there are plenty of other democracies on this planet – and none get Israel’s treatment. Don’t forget the US has overthrown its share of democratic governments too. “Paradoxically, it is much easier to criticize Israeli policy (in Israel) than in the United States.” In fact, “There is much more criticism of Israel’s actions in Israel itself than there is in America.”
Jim Crow Redux against Arabs: “Israel’s 1.6 million Arabs are treated as second-class citizens.” A March 2007 poll showed “55 percent of Israeli Jews wanted segregated entertainment facilities and more than 75 percent said they would not live in the same building as an Arab.” “More than half the respondents said for a Jewish woman to marry an Arab is equal to national treason.” Wow! Who thinks backing Israel hurts the image of the US worldwide? 78% of members of the news media, 72% of both military leaders and security experts, and 69% of foreign policy specialists, that’s who. Funny how mainstream media will never tell you this.
Zionism is fueled by this image of Jewish people having been victims suffering the world’s “absolute hatred for an entire ethnic group”, yet ask the average Israeli high-schooler and they will happily tell you all about their “absolute hatred for an entire ethnic group” and it’s the Palestinians. Menachem Begin once said, “Palestinians are beasts walking on two legs.” Former IDF chief Rafael Eitan said, “a good Arab is a dead Arab.” 75% of Jewish high-schoolers said that Arabs were uneducated, uncivilized and unclean.” I picture a Palestinian boy in an ad, holding a bar of Bar Israel soap in the shower, with the tag line: “Get yourself Zionist clean …Well almost!” As we see, defense of the Occupation demands these juvenile racist attitudes from its exulted leaders down to its well-indoctrinated high schoolers.
History: Transjordan (which becomes Jordan) controlled the West Bank until 1967, when the IDF (minus Gal Gadot) conquered it. Fun Fact: Israeli seizure of Palestinian land is actually is illegal as Israeli laws clearly protect private property. Iran and Iraq are Shia, while Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and UAE are Sunni. In 1893, Arabs were 95% of the Palestine population. The people without a land had wanted a land that was occupied by another people. In 1947, Ben-Gurion tells a meeting, “we want the land of Israel in its entirety. That was the original intention.” “One cannot ignore the fact that the creation of Israel involved additional crimes against a largely innocent third party: the Palestinians.”
Nakba: the Zionist myth is that all the Arabs fled because their leaders told him too. Most Arab leaders said stay, but “fear of violent death at the hands of Zionist forces led most of them to flee.” Moshe Dayan said, “There is not a single place built in this country that did not have a former population.” Ben Gurion said, “They only see one thing: we have come here and stolen their country. Why should they accept that?” He also said, “If I was an Arab leader, I would never make terms with Israel. That is natural: we have taken their country. Sure, God promised it to us, but what does that matter to them?” Ben Gurion wrote, “If we accuse a family – we need to harm them without mercy, women and children included. Otherwise, this is not an effective reaction. There is no need to distinguish between guilty and not guilty.” If we were told that quote was by Himmler, we’d be deeply outraged but instead killing Palestinians including children goes without notice.
Zionist Comedy: Pretending Israel adheres to “a purity of arms” (avoiding taking out civilians). Sharon calling the IDF “the most moral army in the world” without laughing; straight comedians like Sharon who saying their lines without laughing, are underestimated. Destroy what belongs to others: Amnesty International reports that “between 1967 and 2003, Israel destroyed more than ten thousand homes in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.” Former Prime Minister Barak once said, if he had been born Palestinian, he “would have joined a terrorist organization.” What do you think Zionists would do if their situations with the Palestinians were reversed? Sit and take it? The Zionist Irgun used to put bombs on buses and in large crowds – now that’s when terrorists were REALLY assholes. Even Zionist historian Benny Morris admits, “the Arabs may well have learned the value of terrorist bombings from the Jews.” Even Prime Minister Levi Eshkol referred to Begin as “the terrorist.”
Fun Facts: “In 2004, a well-regarded survey found that 36% of Jewish Americans were either ‘not very’ or ‘not at all’ emotionally attached to Israel.” “there are dozens of pro-Israel PACS ready to funnel money to candidates whose opponents are deemed either insufficiently supportive of or hostile to Israel.” “The final Israeli proposal at Camp David in 2000 would not have given the Palestinians a continuous piece of sovereign territory in the West Bank.” An Israeli former minister said, “If I were a Palestinian, I would have rejected Camp David as well.” Between 1993 and the Second Intifada seven years later, Israel confiscated 40,000+ acres and built 250 miles of bypass and security roads. Israel also “fired more than a million bullets in the first days of the Second intifada.
review continues in comment section. cheers...
Both authors clearly state they are pro-Israel and in NO way question Israel’s right to exist or the legitimacy of the Jewish state. They also don’t want to see Israel turned into a binational democracy. Yet they still have deep concerns. “No lobby (other than the Israel lobby) has diverted that policy (foreign) as far from what the American national interest would suggest. The Israel lobby has successfully convinced many Americans that American and Israeli interests are essentially identical.” Deviating from waving the blue and white flag, can get Americans called an anti-Semite or self-hating Jew. Jimmy Carter got blasted for calling Israel apartheid EVEN though he “unambiguously defends Israel’s right to live in peace and security.” “Some critics even charged him with being sympathetic to Nazis.” Even so, “A considerable number of Americans -almost 40%- recognize that US support for Israel is one of the main causes of anti-Americanism around the world.” In one poll, 39% “said they believe that the ‘work of the Israeli lobby on Congress and the Bush administration has been a key factor for going to war in Iraq and now confronting Iran.” But when you ask non-Americans, “a 2006 survey of international scholars in the United States, 66 percent of the respondents agreed with the statement ‘the Israeli lobby has too much influence over US foreign policy’.”
Journalist Michael Massig wrote that a congressional staffer sympathetic to Israel told him, “We can count on well over half the House – 250-300 members – to do reflexively whatever AIPAC wants.” A former AIPAC official told a New Yorker journalist, “In twenty-four hours, we could have the signatures of seventy senators on this napkin.” The authors say although there is a “strong moral case” for the existence of Israel, they do not have a “moral case for giving it such generous and largely unconditional support.”
Israel Aid: As of 2005, direct US assistance to Israel totaled almost $154 billion. With numbers like that, its funny that we can’t “afford” free healthcare. Israel became our biggest aid recipient in 1976. Israel gets this money as loans because of a loophole: loans don’t require US supervision, and these ‘loans’ are like no other loans you’ve heard of – they have no interest, and Israel doesn’t even have to pay them back - redefining the word “loan”. Israel doesn’t have to tell us anything about how they spent our money, and more insulting is this: “Israel receives a direct lump-sum transfer” Why should we care? Because a lump-sum transfer carries an exemption that “makes it virtually impossible for the United States to prevent its subsidies from being used for purposes that it opposes, such as building settlements on the West Bank.” We US taxpayers get the joy of subsidizing this and this translates to $500 per year for each Israeli, while our second largest aid recipient Egypt gets annually $20 per Egyptian. As we continue down the color line, the US aid to Haiti annually is $5 per person. In addition, private individuals in the US give Israel a cool $2 billion annually. Why so much? Because of a loophole, private donations to Israel, and only Israel, from the US are tax-deductible. Shimon Peres said that “private contributions from Israel’s wealthy diaspora Jews had helped finance Israel’s clandestine (blatantly illegal) nuclear program in the 1950’s and 1960’s.” Funny how most foreign aid recipients get paid in installments while Israel gets all her money upfront at the beginning of the year. In return, Israel delights the world with being the world’s 8th largest arms supplier. Not bad for a country smaller than New Hampshire. Right winger Daniel Pipes wrote that Israel had become so wealthy that “American willingness to provide aid to Israel is no longer purely based on need.” And Egypt and Jordan get US money because they were willing “to sign peace treaties with Israel.”
The US halted shipping cluster bombs to Israel when they used them on civilians in Lebanon in 1982, but then in a Texas two-Step started resupplying them in 1988 – after all, unexploded bomblets look just like toys to children (google Reuters for bomblet images), what could go wrong? The US halted financing Israel for a few months in 90’s but started up again when Rabin replaced Shamir.
Israel Pretending it Has No Nuclear: In 1968, the CIA’s director told LBJ Israel now has nuclear weaponry. LBJ told him fast that no one but him could know this, and Sy Hersh said it was because if LBJ said he knew, he’d have to legally act on it. In addition to Israel with the secret nuclear thing, Israel has other illegal weaponry – active chemical and biological weaponry – and note our second favorite rogue state (Israel) never ratified both the Chemical and Biological Weapons Convention. Comic relief: The US pressures other countries to join the NPT, while Israel remains invisible. And Israel relentlessly bombs Gaza with US made bombs while Gaza remains invisible. Perhaps the US ought to see an oculist if can’t see something that is directly in its field of vision. Those of us with vision see how the US still gives aid to Israel even though it refuses to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Why is Israel like the Doris Day song, “Teacher’s Pet.”? Why does the US give Israel complete immunity? and zero accountability no matter who or how many it kills? When Israel annexed Golan Heights, it STILL got unrestricted aid. When Israel used illegal US cluster munitions in Lebanon or White Phosphorus (violating US law), it still got unrestricted aid.
By the 70’s US Middle Eastern policy was open support for Israel. Then comes the Israel’s complicity in the slaughter at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps – depending on who you talk to the death toll was 700 to 2,000 Palestinian and Lebanese civilians. “Instead of sanctioning Israel for invading a neighboring country (Lebanon), Congress voted to give Israel an additional $250 million in military assistance in December 1982”. That vote was so over the top even Schultz and Reagan tried to stop that aid package. Between 1976 and 2006, six Israeli leaders addressed Congress, that’s easily more than any other country. Instead of paying for free healthcare for the American people, Yitzhak Rabin said American generosity to Israel is “beyond compare in modern history.”
George Marshall and George Kennan did not want Truman to support Israel in ’48 because it was unnecessarily divisive for the Arabs in the region. The authors say Israel is now a strategic liability for the US, especially since the end of the Cold War. Famed historian Bernard Lewis wrote, “Whatever value Israel might have had as a strategic asset during the Cold War, that value obviously ended when the Cold War came to a close.” The $2.2 billion of US support for Israel during the October War caused the Arab oil embargo in response which cost the US $48.5 billion and a 2% reduction in GDP.
“Terrorism”: In 2002, Congress passes the Comedy Resolutions which both declared (the world’s two biggest terrorists) “the United States and Israel are now engaged in a common struggle against terrorism”. Apparently, no one told Congress that terrorism is not an enemy but a tactic, for example, Israel’s intentional bombing of civilians in Gaza today, or the Philippine Bud Dajo Massacre by US soldiers. The US and Israel are routinely increasing the risk of blowback by their own acts of terrorism, and Chalmers Johnson wrote a great book about it (Blowback). Noam says, if you want to stop terrorism, stop participating in it. No Congress member will tell you how the “Zionists used terrorism” – bombing the King David Hotel in ’46 or assassinating UN mediator Folke Bernadotte in ’48, or the US used it in backing the Contras or the UNITA guerrillas. In fact, the US has entertained former terrorists like Shamir, Arafat, and Begin. Note unlike al Qaeda, that Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah do not threaten or attack the US. If you want to deflate those three fast, stop the occupation. “The PLO was secular and nationalist – not Islamist.”
Historically, occupied people have used terrorism as a tactic, so it should surprise no one that in Kashmir or Western Sahara, or Gaza one might see armed resistance or terrorism. Yet Zionist PR would have you believe Palestinian resistance has no connection to the Occupation. Bin Laden told us in speeches that he was motivated by the injustices caused the Palestinians – why did we not learn from his demo? He wanted to hit the Capitol on 9/11 because he saw it as the “perceived source of US policy in support of Israel.” Khalid Sheikh Mohammed also “was primarily motivated by the Palestinian issue.” “No other issue resonates with the public in the Arab world, and many parts of the Muslim world, more deeply than Palestine.” The authors say without the Israel lobby, they doubt the US would have attacked Iraq. Chapter 8 is about how Israel was the big reason why the US rushed to attack Iraq after 9/11 (until now I thought the top reasons were US oil lust and Saddam abandoning the dollar).
“A 2004 report by the Pentagon’s Defense Science Board concluded that ‘Muslims do not hate our freedoms, but rather, our policies.” Polled Muslims in a Zogby Poll said the #1 thing the US could do to change its image was “stop supporting Israel”. King Abdullah II of Jordan said in 2007, “the denial of justice and peace in Palestine …is the core issue.” 52 former British diplomats sent Tony Blair a letter saying the Israel/Palestine conflict needed to be resolved now and then 88 former US diplomats sent a letter to Bush saying the same thing. The message was that continuing unbridled support for Israel would “most certainly lead to new waves of terror.” The authors say, “on balance” US support for Israel has become “more of a liability than an asset”.
Lebanon: 1982 is Israel’s First Lebanon War (the IDF only leaves Lebanon 18 years later) and 2006 is the Second when Israel “dumped several million deadly cluster bomblets in the towns and villages of southern Lebanon.” In case, anyone cares, cluster bombs on civilians is a war crime. Unexploded cluster bombs act as land mines, and look like a toy to children– the gift that keeps on giving. In 72 hours alone, “the IDF fired over one million bomblets (from cluster bombs) into Southern Lebanon.” The US was the ONLY country “that enthusiastically supported Israel’s actions in Lebanon.” One rogue state defending another; birds of a feather, do flock together - and note both are birds of prey. In one month, the Israeli Air force launched more than 7,000 air attacks on Lebanon while its Navy did 2,500 more. All this turned a whopping one quarter of all Lebanese into refugees. Hezbollah’s popularity surged in response to these Israel attacks on Lebanon in 2006 as the Lebanese and the world were blaming Israel - the very opposite of what Israel intended. Oops… Israel’s war pushed Hezbollah, Iran and Syria closer together. Counter-productive much? Amnesty International reported that Israel targeted Lebanese supermarkets, food stores, auto service and gas stations with “precision-guided munitions and artillery that started fires and destroyed their contents.” That’s how you get people to leave – Intentionally give others their OWN Exodus. Of course, targeting civilian areas is a war crime, but rogue states don’t face consequences. “Israel deliberately attacked a wide array of civilian targets in Lebanon, just as (Israeli) General Halutz said that they would.”
“With the possible exception of Iran, it is hard to make the case today that Israel’s neighbors are bent on destroying it.” After the 1967 War, Egypt & Syria were trying to regain territories lost to Israel, and “neither aimed to destroy Israel.” The authors find that US extreme generosity to Israel is not because Israel is “exceptionally virtuous.” “If backing the underdog were a compelling rationale, the United States would be supporting Israel���s opponents.” Even if you buy that Israel is somehow a “democracy”, there are plenty of other democracies on this planet – and none get Israel’s treatment. Don’t forget the US has overthrown its share of democratic governments too. “Paradoxically, it is much easier to criticize Israeli policy (in Israel) than in the United States.” In fact, “There is much more criticism of Israel’s actions in Israel itself than there is in America.”
Jim Crow Redux against Arabs: “Israel’s 1.6 million Arabs are treated as second-class citizens.” A March 2007 poll showed “55 percent of Israeli Jews wanted segregated entertainment facilities and more than 75 percent said they would not live in the same building as an Arab.” “More than half the respondents said for a Jewish woman to marry an Arab is equal to national treason.” Wow! Who thinks backing Israel hurts the image of the US worldwide? 78% of members of the news media, 72% of both military leaders and security experts, and 69% of foreign policy specialists, that’s who. Funny how mainstream media will never tell you this.
Zionism is fueled by this image of Jewish people having been victims suffering the world’s “absolute hatred for an entire ethnic group”, yet ask the average Israeli high-schooler and they will happily tell you all about their “absolute hatred for an entire ethnic group” and it’s the Palestinians. Menachem Begin once said, “Palestinians are beasts walking on two legs.” Former IDF chief Rafael Eitan said, “a good Arab is a dead Arab.” 75% of Jewish high-schoolers said that Arabs were uneducated, uncivilized and unclean.” I picture a Palestinian boy in an ad, holding a bar of Bar Israel soap in the shower, with the tag line: “Get yourself Zionist clean …Well almost!” As we see, defense of the Occupation demands these juvenile racist attitudes from its exulted leaders down to its well-indoctrinated high schoolers.
History: Transjordan (which becomes Jordan) controlled the West Bank until 1967, when the IDF (minus Gal Gadot) conquered it. Fun Fact: Israeli seizure of Palestinian land is actually is illegal as Israeli laws clearly protect private property. Iran and Iraq are Shia, while Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and UAE are Sunni. In 1893, Arabs were 95% of the Palestine population. The people without a land had wanted a land that was occupied by another people. In 1947, Ben-Gurion tells a meeting, “we want the land of Israel in its entirety. That was the original intention.” “One cannot ignore the fact that the creation of Israel involved additional crimes against a largely innocent third party: the Palestinians.”
Nakba: the Zionist myth is that all the Arabs fled because their leaders told him too. Most Arab leaders said stay, but “fear of violent death at the hands of Zionist forces led most of them to flee.” Moshe Dayan said, “There is not a single place built in this country that did not have a former population.” Ben Gurion said, “They only see one thing: we have come here and stolen their country. Why should they accept that?” He also said, “If I was an Arab leader, I would never make terms with Israel. That is natural: we have taken their country. Sure, God promised it to us, but what does that matter to them?” Ben Gurion wrote, “If we accuse a family – we need to harm them without mercy, women and children included. Otherwise, this is not an effective reaction. There is no need to distinguish between guilty and not guilty.” If we were told that quote was by Himmler, we’d be deeply outraged but instead killing Palestinians including children goes without notice.
Zionist Comedy: Pretending Israel adheres to “a purity of arms” (avoiding taking out civilians). Sharon calling the IDF “the most moral army in the world” without laughing; straight comedians like Sharon who saying their lines without laughing, are underestimated. Destroy what belongs to others: Amnesty International reports that “between 1967 and 2003, Israel destroyed more than ten thousand homes in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.” Former Prime Minister Barak once said, if he had been born Palestinian, he “would have joined a terrorist organization.” What do you think Zionists would do if their situations with the Palestinians were reversed? Sit and take it? The Zionist Irgun used to put bombs on buses and in large crowds – now that’s when terrorists were REALLY assholes. Even Zionist historian Benny Morris admits, “the Arabs may well have learned the value of terrorist bombings from the Jews.” Even Prime Minister Levi Eshkol referred to Begin as “the terrorist.”
Fun Facts: “In 2004, a well-regarded survey found that 36% of Jewish Americans were either ‘not very’ or ‘not at all’ emotionally attached to Israel.” “there are dozens of pro-Israel PACS ready to funnel money to candidates whose opponents are deemed either insufficiently supportive of or hostile to Israel.” “The final Israeli proposal at Camp David in 2000 would not have given the Palestinians a continuous piece of sovereign territory in the West Bank.” An Israeli former minister said, “If I were a Palestinian, I would have rejected Camp David as well.” Between 1993 and the Second Intifada seven years later, Israel confiscated 40,000+ acres and built 250 miles of bypass and security roads. Israel also “fired more than a million bullets in the first days of the Second intifada.
review continues in comment section. cheers...
August 11, 2012
I had really high expectations for this book but unfortunately the authors have managed to write a book full of naivite, incorrect claims and too much good faith in the US government. The book does give plenty of insight into the world of the Israel lobby (AIPAC, WINEP etc) on Capitol hill and elsewhere yet manages to make bizarre conclusions. Maersheimer and Walt claim that the primary reason for the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 was the pressure upon politicians by the Israel lobby. I regard it to be highly unlikely that powerhouses such as Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld were only guided by AIPAC and others in creating trillions worth of debt and sacrificing many American soldiers.
The authors make another ludicrous claim in saying that the United States' and Israel's interests include the combatting of terrorism. Israel and the US have benefited from terrorism, be it economically, politically or in the realm of geopolitics. It is an unwritten law that nations and empires gain from the existence of an enemy within and an enemy without. The same goes for these two nations.
To pretend that the American government's wishes contain the spread of democracy and stability is another preposterous claim. What then about the CIA-creation of plenty of dictatorships such as those in Brazil, Chile, Argentine, El Salvador, Guatamala, Haiti, Iran (post-1979) and support of dictatorships in the past such as those under Moammar Ghaddafi, Saddam Hussein and Hosni Mubarak?
The authors make another ludicrous claim in saying that the United States' and Israel's interests include the combatting of terrorism. Israel and the US have benefited from terrorism, be it economically, politically or in the realm of geopolitics. It is an unwritten law that nations and empires gain from the existence of an enemy within and an enemy without. The same goes for these two nations.
To pretend that the American government's wishes contain the spread of democracy and stability is another preposterous claim. What then about the CIA-creation of plenty of dictatorships such as those in Brazil, Chile, Argentine, El Salvador, Guatamala, Haiti, Iran (post-1979) and support of dictatorships in the past such as those under Moammar Ghaddafi, Saddam Hussein and Hosni Mubarak?
January 15, 2021
Mearsheimer and Walt are two respected scholars who took on this project and the invitation of Atlantic Monthly - both were very aware that they were about to kick a hornets nest. The reaction to their outstanding work is perhaps the ultimate vindication of their points. While this particular exposé discusses the role of the Lobby in US foreign policy, a discussion about the role of the Lobby in domestic policy would be just as enlightened to be sure.
The relevance and importance of the authors' approach to this issue cannot be overstated as it relates to the foreign policy crisis of our time - US relations in the Middle East. By illustrating the damaging influence the Israel Lobby has had in this regard, Mearsheimer and Walt present a great service to the leadership of the US, as well as to the public at large. When after the catastrophe of 9/11 the public wondered 'why do they hate us?' they were told that it was because 'they' 'hated our freedom' rather than the truth - that the US/Israel 'special relationship' has damaged nearly all other relationships in the Middle East.
Part I of The Israel Lobby covers the nature of that 'special relationship' - the US role in propping up the dangerous state as its 'Great Benefactor', the role of the Lobby in guiding US foreign policy process, the domination of the Lobby and its lackeys (my word) in policy discourse. The authors question is Israel a 'strategic asset or liability?' It is clear from their research that because of the 'dwindling moral case' the answer is the later. If the US is to stand on its promise of freedom, justice, and international law, in the eyes of the world, and in the Middle East in particular, this 'special relationship' is a horrid strategic liability (to say the least).
Part II covers 'The Lobby In Action' - and it is infuriating. The chapter, Taking Aim At Syria is profoundly prescient in light of today's catastrophe which has resulted from the issues noted by the authors.
The Israel Lobby is an international best seller - it was first published in 2007. The authors' hoped that their research would produce a meaningful dialog that could bring about some changes to the glaring problems discussed. Today, at the end of 2016, the Lobby is as strong and damaging in its influence as it ever was. President Barack Obama's decision to instruct the US ambassador to the UN to abstain in the UN Security Council's vote on the Israeli settlement resolution was profound - unfortunately it came it the end of his terms in office.
This is a must read for every person who seeks the real world answer to the question: 'Why do they hate us?'
The relevance and importance of the authors' approach to this issue cannot be overstated as it relates to the foreign policy crisis of our time - US relations in the Middle East. By illustrating the damaging influence the Israel Lobby has had in this regard, Mearsheimer and Walt present a great service to the leadership of the US, as well as to the public at large. When after the catastrophe of 9/11 the public wondered 'why do they hate us?' they were told that it was because 'they' 'hated our freedom' rather than the truth - that the US/Israel 'special relationship' has damaged nearly all other relationships in the Middle East.
Part I of The Israel Lobby covers the nature of that 'special relationship' - the US role in propping up the dangerous state as its 'Great Benefactor', the role of the Lobby in guiding US foreign policy process, the domination of the Lobby and its lackeys (my word) in policy discourse. The authors question is Israel a 'strategic asset or liability?' It is clear from their research that because of the 'dwindling moral case' the answer is the later. If the US is to stand on its promise of freedom, justice, and international law, in the eyes of the world, and in the Middle East in particular, this 'special relationship' is a horrid strategic liability (to say the least).
Part II covers 'The Lobby In Action' - and it is infuriating. The chapter, Taking Aim At Syria is profoundly prescient in light of today's catastrophe which has resulted from the issues noted by the authors.
The Israel Lobby is an international best seller - it was first published in 2007. The authors' hoped that their research would produce a meaningful dialog that could bring about some changes to the glaring problems discussed. Today, at the end of 2016, the Lobby is as strong and damaging in its influence as it ever was. President Barack Obama's decision to instruct the US ambassador to the UN to abstain in the UN Security Council's vote on the Israeli settlement resolution was profound - unfortunately it came it the end of his terms in office.
This is a must read for every person who seeks the real world answer to the question: 'Why do they hate us?'
May 22, 2024
Anyone living in the West knows America has a particularly cozy relationship with Israel. But why? According to the The Israel Lobby, written by University of Chicago and Harvard Professors John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, respectively, argue that Israel has garnered the irrevocable and enduring support of well-financed lobbying groups such as the American Jewish Committee, Christians United for Israel and AIPAC. These loosely formed coalitions have justified their advocacy for Israel on multiple levels - from its Biblical roots as the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people, to it being an isolated, vulnerable Western democracy surrounded by enemies and of course to safeguard the interests of the US in the middle east. According to them, "The Lobby" has been incredibly effective and consequentially Israel has received the unequivocal support of America and billions in financial aid, more than any other nation hitherto.
In "The Israel Lobby", Mearsheimer and Walt argue that a part of the reason for the Lobby's success is because it effectively silences any criticism of American-Israeli alliance. While Capital Hill is divided on other issues such as taxation, LGBT rights, health care or gun control - they are almost obsequious when it comes to their support for Israel. Critically, this is not because of any organized conspiracy - every lobbying organization in America (such as the NRA), works hard to protect their policy interests, but according to them, Lobby has been particularly effective and wield disproportionate influence.
Remarkably, Israel receives this aid almost unconditionally, even when it ignores agreements and jeopardizes US interests in the region. For example, the Israeli government continues to build illegal settlements on the West Bank, despite America's silent protests. The result? The entire Arab-Muslim world counts America as responsible for the crimes Israel commits, the expansionist policies of the Israel government, they argue, are the principal substrate by which fosters terrorism from the Middle East. Israel's treatment of the Palestinians has severely damaged American relations with the Muslim world and actually cultivated - as opposed to suppressed - terrorism. Notably, because Israel has deflected talks about a two-state solution, the authors argue this endangers Israel as well.
While I found this book highly informative, dispassionately written and rigorous - I note two flaws. First, the book comes across as a little too soft on the Palestinians at times, and I question the validity of the "studies" cited. For example, there is ample evidence that Palestinian society (as well as the Arab world writ large) have chosen to cultivate a particularly virulent strain of anti-semitism; which culminated with the intifada. Yet somehow this does not get mentioned in the book. While the Israeli government has drifted rightward in recent years, there is also no mention of how the intifada essentially transformed Israeli society to embrace the right-wing rhetoric of Bibi. As such, it is my opinion that the militarism of the Palestinians during the Intifada only worsened their plight.
Second, while Israel did support the invasion of Iraq - the authors appear to believe that this was a central reason the war ever happened. This is untrue, as we now know.
Nonetheless, this is an excellent and brave book to write during the oughts, particularly when anti-terrorism fervor and pro-liberal democratic edification was in vogue.
In "The Israel Lobby", Mearsheimer and Walt argue that a part of the reason for the Lobby's success is because it effectively silences any criticism of American-Israeli alliance. While Capital Hill is divided on other issues such as taxation, LGBT rights, health care or gun control - they are almost obsequious when it comes to their support for Israel. Critically, this is not because of any organized conspiracy - every lobbying organization in America (such as the NRA), works hard to protect their policy interests, but according to them, Lobby has been particularly effective and wield disproportionate influence.
Remarkably, Israel receives this aid almost unconditionally, even when it ignores agreements and jeopardizes US interests in the region. For example, the Israeli government continues to build illegal settlements on the West Bank, despite America's silent protests. The result? The entire Arab-Muslim world counts America as responsible for the crimes Israel commits, the expansionist policies of the Israel government, they argue, are the principal substrate by which fosters terrorism from the Middle East. Israel's treatment of the Palestinians has severely damaged American relations with the Muslim world and actually cultivated - as opposed to suppressed - terrorism. Notably, because Israel has deflected talks about a two-state solution, the authors argue this endangers Israel as well.
While I found this book highly informative, dispassionately written and rigorous - I note two flaws. First, the book comes across as a little too soft on the Palestinians at times, and I question the validity of the "studies" cited. For example, there is ample evidence that Palestinian society (as well as the Arab world writ large) have chosen to cultivate a particularly virulent strain of anti-semitism; which culminated with the intifada. Yet somehow this does not get mentioned in the book. While the Israeli government has drifted rightward in recent years, there is also no mention of how the intifada essentially transformed Israeli society to embrace the right-wing rhetoric of Bibi. As such, it is my opinion that the militarism of the Palestinians during the Intifada only worsened their plight.
Second, while Israel did support the invasion of Iraq - the authors appear to believe that this was a central reason the war ever happened. This is untrue, as we now know.
Nonetheless, this is an excellent and brave book to write during the oughts, particularly when anti-terrorism fervor and pro-liberal democratic edification was in vogue.
October 18, 2018
Bir çoğumuz ABD’nin koşulsuz şartsız her zaman İsrail’in yanında olduğunu bilir ama nasıl bu kadar güçlü olabildiklerinin kaynağını bu kitap ile öğrenmiş oldum.Abd’nin Ortadoğu’ya demokrasi (❗️❗️❗️) götürme çabalarının bir çoğunun da İsrail çıkarlarını korumaya yönelik çabalar ya da İsrail kışkırtmalı girişimler olduğunu da...Lobi faaliyetlerinin bu kadar güçlü olmasının sebebi ise siyasette etkili olabilecek her kim varsa;mutlaka seçim çalışmalarındaki para kaynağı Yahudi’lerden geliyormuş.Böylece onları desteklemeyen birisi Amerikan siyasetinde kendine yer bulamıyormuş.Medya desen en güçlü şekliyle onların elinde.En zayıf oldukları alan ise üniversitelermiş.Bu kitabın Amerikalı akademisyen yazarları da oldukça büyük tehditlere maruz kalmışlar.Amerika’nın en ikiyüzlü yanı da demokrasi konusunda eşsiz bir ülke görüntüsü sürerken tamamen İsrail merkezli bir siyaset izleyerek kendi ülkesinde demokratik yaklaşımları engellemesi ve İsrail karşıtı en ufak bir sese müsade etmemeleri.Bildiğimiz şeylere farklı bir açıdan yaklaşması ve tamamen olmasa da objektif tarzı nedeniyle kitabı çok beğendim.Kitabın inceliğine aldanmayın.Benim gibi konuya ilgisi olanlar için geriye dönüşlerle ve altını çizerek okuyunca ancak bitti.Tavsiye ediyorum.
April 9, 2020
This book should be required reading for every American. Every high school senior should have to read this book. People shouldn’t be able to vote unless they’ve read this book. Most Americans are so uninformed about what shapes American foreign policy in the Middle East. If they knew, they would be angry; and things would change.
January 1, 2016
A modern day version of the anti-Semitic screed "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion".
Walt and Mearsheimer set out not to just bash Israel, but American Jews. While they lambast Israel a threat to America and supposedly "normal" Americans, it is their self-proclaimed cabal of American Jews who they hunt and label as a fifth column who would eagerly bring down the Republic.
That the two have followed up this disgusting work by attending Palestinian advocacy meetings while holding up their secret lists of good Jews and bad (reminiscent of the Nazis who would decide which Jews were worthy of life and which were to be immediately put to death, or closer to home, Senator Joseph McCarthy's Communist witch hunts) and praising and supporting blatant anti-Semites such as Gilad Atzmon) the two shred any credibility offered by their professional credentials.
In short, this is a work of two very blatant hate-mongers who join a long and infamous list of people seeking to demonize, dehumanize, and delegitimize Jews.
Walt and Mearsheimer set out not to just bash Israel, but American Jews. While they lambast Israel a threat to America and supposedly "normal" Americans, it is their self-proclaimed cabal of American Jews who they hunt and label as a fifth column who would eagerly bring down the Republic.
That the two have followed up this disgusting work by attending Palestinian advocacy meetings while holding up their secret lists of good Jews and bad (reminiscent of the Nazis who would decide which Jews were worthy of life and which were to be immediately put to death, or closer to home, Senator Joseph McCarthy's Communist witch hunts) and praising and supporting blatant anti-Semites such as Gilad Atzmon) the two shred any credibility offered by their professional credentials.
In short, this is a work of two very blatant hate-mongers who join a long and infamous list of people seeking to demonize, dehumanize, and delegitimize Jews.
May 23, 2020
Growing Up In The Middle East I Was Always Kinda Confused About The American-Israeli Unconditional Affiliation And The Conflicts Between America And The Islamic World (Turning A Blind Eye On Some While Heavily Criticizing Some. Tho Reality Cannot Be Ignored Forever).
On Top Of That, The Mainstream Media Never Seemed To Explore This Subject, Naturally Leading To Increased Underground Conspiracy Theories Around The Subject.
Finally, I Got The Opportunity To Pick This Book (One Book Leads To Another).
Long Story Short This Book Melted The Whole Ball-Of-Wax For Me.
The Book Will Give You A Total Different Perspective And Help You Dissect Between The Facts And The Theories.
It Has More Than 150 Pages Of References From Credible And Official Data, Which Makes It A Lot More Authentic And Worth Your Time. I Would Recommend You Pick Up The Book Just Because Of The Compilation Of Data And Polls It Provides, Fascinating. Facts In This Book Will Shock You(I Wonder How Much Energy Goes Into Writing On These Subjects).
After Reading, I Have A Better Understanding Of How Current Lobby Groups Such As AIPAC, Zionist Organisation, Christians United for Israel, Etc. Operate.
If You Ever Had The Question, Are The Jews Exerting A Disproportionate Influence On The Us Foreign Policy? You Must Pick This Book.
It Surprises Me What You Can Find In Books. It's All Out There You Just Need To Dedicate Some Time To Become Educated Beings.
On Top Of That, The Mainstream Media Never Seemed To Explore This Subject, Naturally Leading To Increased Underground Conspiracy Theories Around The Subject.
Finally, I Got The Opportunity To Pick This Book (One Book Leads To Another).
Long Story Short This Book Melted The Whole Ball-Of-Wax For Me.
The Book Will Give You A Total Different Perspective And Help You Dissect Between The Facts And The Theories.
It Has More Than 150 Pages Of References From Credible And Official Data, Which Makes It A Lot More Authentic And Worth Your Time. I Would Recommend You Pick Up The Book Just Because Of The Compilation Of Data And Polls It Provides, Fascinating. Facts In This Book Will Shock You(I Wonder How Much Energy Goes Into Writing On These Subjects).
After Reading, I Have A Better Understanding Of How Current Lobby Groups Such As AIPAC, Zionist Organisation, Christians United for Israel, Etc. Operate.
If You Ever Had The Question, Are The Jews Exerting A Disproportionate Influence On The Us Foreign Policy? You Must Pick This Book.
It Surprises Me What You Can Find In Books. It's All Out There You Just Need To Dedicate Some Time To Become Educated Beings.
August 1, 2023
علي رَغم أن كَلمة لوبي لها وَقع سيء علي الآذان العربية إلي أنها شيء مُعتَرف به و مُسلم به في السياسة الأميريكية وهي جماعات الضغط والمصالح و تعلن تلك الجماعات غاياتها بكل وضوع و بدون اخفاء أي نوايا من جهتها لتوجيه دفة التشريعات و السياسات التنفيذية لمصالحها،يوجد في أمريكا لوبيهات كثيرة وأكبرهم اللوبي الإسرائيلي بالطبع و يرجع هذا لأن الولايات المتحدةاستقبلت اليهود و غيرهم من المنبوذين لاعتبارات دينية علي أرضها، يذكر الكاتب هنا بالتفصيل كيف أثر اللوبي الإسرائيلي في كثير من الأحيان علي القرارات الأمريكية خصوصًا في السياسة الخارجية تجاه منطقة الشرق الأوسط لمصلحة إسرائيل و حتي إن كان هذا يشكل عبء استراتيجي بعيد المدي علي الولايات المتحدة. يسهب الكاتب في ذكر ما آلت إليه حرب العراق و أفغانستان و كيف تم تعطيل عملية السلام الفلسطينية - الإسرائيلية واغتيال عرفات سياسيًا بعد معاهدة أوسلو. يستفيض الكاتب في ذِكر طبيعة العلاقة الغريبة التي تجمع مؤسسة أيباك و أعضاء الكونجرس و مجلس الشيوخ حيث لا يستطيع أن يطأ أحد كرسي الكونجرس دون تقديم فروض الولاء لإسرائيل و الاقرار بالتصويت علي كل القوانين الداعمة لها و كيف تم افشال العديد من المرشحين الذين عُرفوا بعدم ولائهم الكافي للقضية الإسرائيلية. يحاول أن يوضح الكاتب أن من مصلحة أمريكا عدم الانجرار وراء إسرائيل لهذا الحد مع تأكيد التزام أمريكا بأمن إسرائيل مثل أمن كوريا الجنوبية و اليابان مثلًا.
دائما ما تكون الإمبراطوريات لها نموذج الأمن العالمي الخاص بها و تتم صياغته بحذرشديد لعدم الاخلال بقواعد الأمن و موازين القوة العالمية، و قد نجحت اسرائيل في استغلال نموذج الأمن الخاص بأمريكا في كل مرة تقريبًا.
دائما ما تكون الإمبراطوريات لها نموذج الأمن العالمي الخاص بها و تتم صياغته بحذرشديد لعدم الاخلال بقواعد الأمن و موازين القوة العالمية، و قد نجحت اسرائيل في استغلال نموذج الأمن الخاص بأمريكا في كل مرة تقريبًا.
July 17, 2022
A very comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the impact of the Israel Lobby in the United States. Mearsheimer and Walt not only shine light on strategies and tactics used by pro-Israel lobbyists in influencing American politics, but also manage to conduct a detailed evaluation of US foreign policy in the Middle East as a direct consequence of the lobby's efforts. As such, the authors manage to make a convincing argument that the US carte-blanche stance towards Israel has failed miserably in ensuring key US interests in the region, such as guaranteeing oil flow, containing terrorism and promoting democracy. The book is a must-read for any person interested in Middle-Eastern politics, but its value as an academic contribution goes further: Mearsheimer and Walt manage to explain the tremendous impact of the Israel lobby and the seemingly "irrational" US foreign policy, without relying on conspiracy theories, but rather actual political science.
February 21, 2018
گفته میشود جان کری در مذاکرات هستهای به تیم ایرانی میگوید آمریکا کشور لابیها است. اگر به دنبال منافع خود هستید باید راه و رسم لابی کردن در آمریکا را بیاموزید.
این کتاب، کتابی حسابشده و دقیق در باب نقش و تاثیر گروههای فشار و لابیهای اسرائیل در سیاست خارجه آمریکا از دو تن از اساتید به نام روابط بینالملل، جنابان جان مرشایمر و استفن والت میباشد.
این دو شخصیتِ علمی دست بر روی موضوعی گذاشتند که حرف و حدیث پیرامون آن بسیار است! عدهای از طرفداران تئوریهای توطئه (که در کشورمان نیز تعدادشان کم نیست!) دائم از دستهای پشت پردهی اسرائیل و لابیها و لژهای مخوف آن صحبت میکنند، ابتدا باید گفت که از نام کتاب ذهنتان به سمت این دسته و تفکراتشان نرود. خیر! این کتاب، کتابی ایدئولوژیک و کیهانوار نیست.
مرشایمر و والت در این کتاب به عنوان دو استاد دانشگاه در آمریکا با نگاهی نقادانه، و نه ایدئولوژیک، به نقش و تاثیر گروهها و لابیهای اسرائیل در نظام سیاسی آمریکا میپردازند.
آنان به دنبال اثبات این موضوع هستند که نشان دهند تصمیمات و سیاستهایی که این گروهها برای حفظ منافع اسرائیل پیگیری میکنند تا چه حد میتواند برخلاف منافع ملی آمریکا باشد.
این گروهها، گروههایی غیرقانونی نیستند، بلکه در فضای سیاسی آمریکا چنین گروهها و لابیهایی وجود داشته و دارند، همچون لابی نفت، لابی اعراب، لابی هندیهای مقیم آمریکا و ... . این کتاب اما نشان میدهد که لابیهای اسرائیل، به ویژه آیپک، از نظر قدرت و نفوذ از دیگر لابیهای مشغول در آمریکا یک سر و گردن بالاتر هستند.
اگر به دنبال پاسخ به پرسشهایی همچون؛
چرا آمریکا انقدر هوای اسرائیل را دارد؟
چرا برای آمریکا اسرائیل کشوری خاص در دنیا به حساب میآید؟
چرا 70 سال پس از شکلگیری مناقشه فلسطین-اسرائیل و بعد از آمد و رفت این همه روسای جمهور آمریکا هنوز که هنوزه راه حل کامل و صلح پایداری برای این مناقشه پیدا نشده است؟
نقش این گروهها در حمله به عراق چه بود؟
نقش این گروهها در دشمنی بین ایران و آمریکا تا چه میزان است؟
و دیگر پرسشها... این کتاب پاسخهای مناسب و مستدلی برای این پرسشها دارد.
این کتاب، کتابی حسابشده و دقیق در باب نقش و تاثیر گروههای فشار و لابیهای اسرائیل در سیاست خارجه آمریکا از دو تن از اساتید به نام روابط بینالملل، جنابان جان مرشایمر و استفن والت میباشد.
این دو شخصیتِ علمی دست بر روی موضوعی گذاشتند که حرف و حدیث پیرامون آن بسیار است! عدهای از طرفداران تئوریهای توطئه (که در کشورمان نیز تعدادشان کم نیست!) دائم از دستهای پشت پردهی اسرائیل و لابیها و لژهای مخوف آن صحبت میکنند، ابتدا باید گفت که از نام کتاب ذهنتان به سمت این دسته و تفکراتشان نرود. خیر! این کتاب، کتابی ایدئولوژیک و کیهانوار نیست.
مرشایمر و والت در این کتاب به عنوان دو استاد دانشگاه در آمریکا با نگاهی نقادانه، و نه ایدئولوژیک، به نقش و تاثیر گروهها و لابیهای اسرائیل در نظام سیاسی آمریکا میپردازند.
آنان به دنبال اثبات این موضوع هستند که نشان دهند تصمیمات و سیاستهایی که این گروهها برای حفظ منافع اسرائیل پیگیری میکنند تا چه حد میتواند برخلاف منافع ملی آمریکا باشد.
این گروهها، گروههایی غیرقانونی نیستند، بلکه در فضای سیاسی آمریکا چنین گروهها و لابیهایی وجود داشته و دارند، همچون لابی نفت، لابی اعراب، لابی هندیهای مقیم آمریکا و ... . این کتاب اما نشان میدهد که لابیهای اسرائیل، به ویژه آیپک، از نظر قدرت و نفوذ از دیگر لابیهای مشغول در آمریکا یک سر و گردن بالاتر هستند.
اگر به دنبال پاسخ به پرسشهایی همچون؛
چرا آمریکا انقدر هوای اسرائیل را دارد؟
چرا برای آمریکا اسرائیل کشوری خاص در دنیا به حساب میآید؟
چرا 70 سال پس از شکلگیری مناقشه فلسطین-اسرائیل و بعد از آمد و رفت این همه روسای جمهور آمریکا هنوز که هنوزه راه حل کامل و صلح پایداری برای این مناقشه پیدا نشده است؟
نقش این گروهها در حمله به عراق چه بود؟
نقش این گروهها در دشمنی بین ایران و آمریکا تا چه میزان است؟
و دیگر پرسشها... این کتاب پاسخهای مناسب و مستدلی برای این پرسشها دارد.
February 8, 2020
A very informative, well researched, and courageous book. The authors recognize how the smear of anti-semitism is used to shut down criticism of Israel or their lobby yet they put out this book anyways. As expected, they were labelled anti-semites.
This book has changed the way that I think of Israel. It has wiped away all my preconceptions of Israel including that it is a valuable ally. It is clear now that a policy based on unconditional support of Israel is against America's best interest.
The authors laid out their case meticulously and shut down possible counter arguments. The book is comprehensive. I don't believe any other books on American-Israeli relationship needs to be read after this one.
The Iran nuclear agreement seems like a work of wonder considering all the obstacles the administration had to face. It is no wonder that they conducted the deal through back channels. It is also no wonder they didn't put the treaty before congress; no doubt that the lobby would have shut it down hard.
It is very discouraging to see Trump falling in line with the lobby. I have supported his foreign policy overall; he has withdrawn troops from the Middle East, he hasn't jumped into Syria, and holding NATO accountable is smart. If only he would hold Israel responsible too instead of acknowledging Jerusalem as the capitol and giving them Golan. No doubt his actions which have moved the USA closer to war with Iran have been supported by the lobby.
The style of this book is methodical and scientific. It is not a narrative, it is a political science book. It is not a challenging read though it does require a basic understanding of Israel's history. I would recommend this book to anyone frustrated with America's Middle East policy so that they can see the reasons behind it.
This book has changed the way that I think of Israel. It has wiped away all my preconceptions of Israel including that it is a valuable ally. It is clear now that a policy based on unconditional support of Israel is against America's best interest.
The authors laid out their case meticulously and shut down possible counter arguments. The book is comprehensive. I don't believe any other books on American-Israeli relationship needs to be read after this one.
The Iran nuclear agreement seems like a work of wonder considering all the obstacles the administration had to face. It is no wonder that they conducted the deal through back channels. It is also no wonder they didn't put the treaty before congress; no doubt that the lobby would have shut it down hard.
It is very discouraging to see Trump falling in line with the lobby. I have supported his foreign policy overall; he has withdrawn troops from the Middle East, he hasn't jumped into Syria, and holding NATO accountable is smart. If only he would hold Israel responsible too instead of acknowledging Jerusalem as the capitol and giving them Golan. No doubt his actions which have moved the USA closer to war with Iran have been supported by the lobby.
The style of this book is methodical and scientific. It is not a narrative, it is a political science book. It is not a challenging read though it does require a basic understanding of Israel's history. I would recommend this book to anyone frustrated with America's Middle East policy so that they can see the reasons behind it.
Read
April 30, 2024I’ve been meaning to read Mearsheimer for years, but now that my country has decided that it’s happy to continue providing back-office services to the Israeli state in its genocidal attack on the people of Gaza (and I say that as someone who hates bombastic rhetoric of any kind), I felt the need to finally visit the source material.
The less serious elements of the pro-Palestinian movement in the US like to use cagey, highly personal, faux-academic language like “question whether you have your settler-colonial assumptions.” Mearsheimer has zero patience for any of that. He is a hard-nosed realist (perhaps even a little too hard-nosed). He frames it in simple terms. Is it good for us as a nation to support Israeli militarism to the extent that we do? Or is it not? So why does our nation continue to do so? The answer, he points out is AIPAC and the rest, with significant input from various Christian nationalist creeps.
Did I learn much here? No, not really. But is it a necessary corpus of evidence and a classic argument? Yes.
The less serious elements of the pro-Palestinian movement in the US like to use cagey, highly personal, faux-academic language like “question whether you have your settler-colonial assumptions.” Mearsheimer has zero patience for any of that. He is a hard-nosed realist (perhaps even a little too hard-nosed). He frames it in simple terms. Is it good for us as a nation to support Israeli militarism to the extent that we do? Or is it not? So why does our nation continue to do so? The answer, he points out is AIPAC and the rest, with significant input from various Christian nationalist creeps.
Did I learn much here? No, not really. But is it a necessary corpus of evidence and a classic argument? Yes.
Want to read
July 2, 2018On the left, the woke anti-imperialist position seems to be that the Israel lobby isn't all that significant. Israel is a proxy of the US, not the other way around. I understand the good intentions of saying this, but is it actually true?
Walt and Mearsheimer do present some compelling evidence here to the contrary. The chapter on Iraq is especially interesting. Because, honestly, what the hell was that about? I don't think oil quite suffices as an explanation. What if Israel wants to be surrounded by failed states, to be the only power left standing in the region?
The chapter on the second Lebanon war is also excellent. What Israel did would make any fair observer into a Hezbollah supporter. How could virtually every politician in America support something so monstrous? No doubt the lobby's money had a lot to do with it. At the same time, we shouldn't forget the US political establishment has given near-unanimous support to other equally destructive and pointless crimes. Hard to blame, say, the bombing of Laos or the US-backed invasion of East Timor on Israel. The authors do at times picture America as this naïve, easily misled hegemon.
My mind still is not made up. It's a tricky empirical question.
Walt and Mearsheimer do present some compelling evidence here to the contrary. The chapter on Iraq is especially interesting. Because, honestly, what the hell was that about? I don't think oil quite suffices as an explanation. What if Israel wants to be surrounded by failed states, to be the only power left standing in the region?
The chapter on the second Lebanon war is also excellent. What Israel did would make any fair observer into a Hezbollah supporter. How could virtually every politician in America support something so monstrous? No doubt the lobby's money had a lot to do with it. At the same time, we shouldn't forget the US political establishment has given near-unanimous support to other equally destructive and pointless crimes. Hard to blame, say, the bombing of Laos or the US-backed invasion of East Timor on Israel. The authors do at times picture America as this naïve, easily misled hegemon.
My mind still is not made up. It's a tricky empirical question.
August 31, 2021
I saw this book on someone else's shelf and realized I'd never added it to mine. It's a pretty persuasive argument with a lot of evidence marshaled in support of it. US support for Israel has long been inconsistent with realism (why support the little country with no oil and tick off the many countries with lots of oil?), though the close strategic US-Israel relationship did begin as an effort to offset Soviet support for Arab states in the 1960s. But somehow the ties evolved into something well beyond that, remarkably bipartisan on the US side, with political rhetoric uniformly rooted in the weird mythology of Judeo-Christian commonality. Israel became un-criticizable and the US began to bend its own rules on the distribution of aid and military support as it made Israel a priority. How this happened seemed somewhat mysterious until Walt and Mearsheimer's article and then book, shedding light on how lobbies absorbed and channeled the interests and funds of the Christian right in the US and, of course, of American Jews.
January 20, 2011
Fantastic book, I could not recommend it any higher to a person who wants to learn about the relationship between the U.S. and Israel. The fact that it even exists and that it is known as 'The Israel Lobby' will upset many people, but Mearsheimer goes well out of his way to explain that there is, in fact, no such thing as an Israel Lobby. Instead, the book chronicles all of the reasons why the U.S. supports Israel so strongly and why it is a poisioned topic in the public forum. This book is entirely informational, and while it does offer some opinions, none of them are partisan or condeming. Seriously, read it and learn more about the dynamic of Isral and the US.
Read
November 21, 2016Hitler would really liked this book
i cant believe this antisemitic book has been so famous
even in backward areas like my country you hear Clerics reciting this book while preaching hate lectures about Jews
sorry but this book is really amplify what anti semite believes about Jews
and i wouldnot surprise if it were found in Osama bin laden own library
please dont buy this CRAP
i cant believe this antisemitic book has been so famous
even in backward areas like my country you hear Clerics reciting this book while preaching hate lectures about Jews
sorry but this book is really amplify what anti semite believes about Jews
and i wouldnot surprise if it were found in Osama bin laden own library
please dont buy this CRAP
January 13, 2009
For those who want to know why US is always backing Israel for whatever it does.
October 24, 2010
Great read, brings into light Israel's influence in US Foreign affairs.
December 31, 2017
Who controls US foreign policy?
November 10, 2023
The first thing that struck me after finishing this excellent book is that it is not so much about the US as it is about Israel and its future as a prosperous democratic state (or not). When Mearsheimer and Walt published it in 2007 it felt like a brick hitting a magnificently kept old stained glass., the shattering of a lot of illusions. They were simultaneously praised for having opened Pandora’s box and relentlessly attacked as provocateurs, amateurs, and unpatriotic, but also charged with antisemitism. Amateurs they are certainly not. John J. Mearsheimer is professor of political science at the University of Chicago and is one of the most important theorists of international politics of the last 30 years. Walt is a professor of international affairs at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. And they aren’t cheap provocateurs nor antisemites, as their detailed analysis clearly shows. Their critique is fairly straightforward: The Israel lobby now has a disproportionate influence on US foreign policy decisions and this influence is bad for the US and Israel in many different ways, and ultimately for the whole Middle East as well.
From the start, they are very careful to define what the Israel lobby is. It is not the “Jewish lobby”, that old antisemitic trope painting jews as money grabbers who want to control the world. The Israel lobby is not a single entity, it is a constellation of Jewish and non-Jewish interest groups advancing the cause of the State of Israel in the US. As the authors say, lobbies are “as American as apple pie” and we all know about the pharmaceutical lobby, the oil lobby, and the infamous NRA. All are working to influence congressional legislation and presidents from both parties, and there is absolutely nothing illegal or wrong with that. The Israel lobby is the best organised and the most efficient lobby in the whole world, and as the authors point out, it is a reflection of how Jews are a prosperous and highly educated population worldwide, something to be proud of, especially after all they have suffered as a community.
The US has long been a champion of Jews and of the State of Israel, especially during its creation and during the Cold War when the country was a real ally against Soviet intrusion in the Middle East. It gave money and arms so that the young country could stabilise and flourish, and it worked out pretty well. But the US have kept up these generous handouts even as Israel became a prosperous, democratic country and a power house in the Middle East thanks to its vibrant and innovative economy, and its nuclear deterrent. Even as Israel started to have expansionist ambitions and started to shift dramatically to the right or extreme right of the political spectrum. Even now that Israel is committing something that could be called a national suicide.
Mearsheimer and Walt argue that Israel has become a strategic liability to the US and that the stubbornness of the American Israel lobby to support Israel no matter what has become a danger for the US and for Israel itself. The throwing around of antisemitism charges as soon as Israel is criticised is washing down the true meaning of that word and is a danger for the Jewish community. The lobby’s close ties with the neoconservative hawks and their imperial and militaristic view of foreign policy is a real threat to both countries. Most of all, the Israel lobby is more and more out of step with the Jewish Diaspora at large (especially younger generations), and with the moral values America supposedly wants to uphold whenever and wherever it can.
Both men knew that what they were claiming was bound to be controversial and they knew that the case had to be rock solid. And they deliver. The book is extremely well constructed and clear. It follows a neat schematic with pros and cons, a lot of references, excellent presentations of the different actors, of various moments in the historical timeline of US/Israel relations. Most importantly they give sound foreign policy advice to both countries. Readers also get a better understanding of the whole Middle East situation. There are some repetitions but that is not surprising considering the thematic and the impact the book was going to have. They wanted to be well understood.
2007 is long gone, and the sad irony of the extraordinary effectiveness of the Israel lobby having negative consequences on Israel itself is more apparent than ever today. And the Jewish diaspora is suffering the most, caught between a rock and a hard place, their understandable love for Israel and a lobby gone rogue. The authors believe that, without the lobby, the US could have used all its might as a super power to gently pressure Israel and the Palestinians into a two-state solution and achieve lasting peace with other actors in the Middle East. But US foreign policy is too much a slave to US elections cycles, and the lobby has too much sway in Congress and on electoral outcomes. Political careers trump common sense and good policy. And courage is lacking. A very important read for Jews and non-Jews alike.
From the start, they are very careful to define what the Israel lobby is. It is not the “Jewish lobby”, that old antisemitic trope painting jews as money grabbers who want to control the world. The Israel lobby is not a single entity, it is a constellation of Jewish and non-Jewish interest groups advancing the cause of the State of Israel in the US. As the authors say, lobbies are “as American as apple pie” and we all know about the pharmaceutical lobby, the oil lobby, and the infamous NRA. All are working to influence congressional legislation and presidents from both parties, and there is absolutely nothing illegal or wrong with that. The Israel lobby is the best organised and the most efficient lobby in the whole world, and as the authors point out, it is a reflection of how Jews are a prosperous and highly educated population worldwide, something to be proud of, especially after all they have suffered as a community.
The US has long been a champion of Jews and of the State of Israel, especially during its creation and during the Cold War when the country was a real ally against Soviet intrusion in the Middle East. It gave money and arms so that the young country could stabilise and flourish, and it worked out pretty well. But the US have kept up these generous handouts even as Israel became a prosperous, democratic country and a power house in the Middle East thanks to its vibrant and innovative economy, and its nuclear deterrent. Even as Israel started to have expansionist ambitions and started to shift dramatically to the right or extreme right of the political spectrum. Even now that Israel is committing something that could be called a national suicide.
Mearsheimer and Walt argue that Israel has become a strategic liability to the US and that the stubbornness of the American Israel lobby to support Israel no matter what has become a danger for the US and for Israel itself. The throwing around of antisemitism charges as soon as Israel is criticised is washing down the true meaning of that word and is a danger for the Jewish community. The lobby’s close ties with the neoconservative hawks and their imperial and militaristic view of foreign policy is a real threat to both countries. Most of all, the Israel lobby is more and more out of step with the Jewish Diaspora at large (especially younger generations), and with the moral values America supposedly wants to uphold whenever and wherever it can.
Both men knew that what they were claiming was bound to be controversial and they knew that the case had to be rock solid. And they deliver. The book is extremely well constructed and clear. It follows a neat schematic with pros and cons, a lot of references, excellent presentations of the different actors, of various moments in the historical timeline of US/Israel relations. Most importantly they give sound foreign policy advice to both countries. Readers also get a better understanding of the whole Middle East situation. There are some repetitions but that is not surprising considering the thematic and the impact the book was going to have. They wanted to be well understood.
2007 is long gone, and the sad irony of the extraordinary effectiveness of the Israel lobby having negative consequences on Israel itself is more apparent than ever today. And the Jewish diaspora is suffering the most, caught between a rock and a hard place, their understandable love for Israel and a lobby gone rogue. The authors believe that, without the lobby, the US could have used all its might as a super power to gently pressure Israel and the Palestinians into a two-state solution and achieve lasting peace with other actors in the Middle East. But US foreign policy is too much a slave to US elections cycles, and the lobby has too much sway in Congress and on electoral outcomes. Political careers trump common sense and good policy. And courage is lacking. A very important read for Jews and non-Jews alike.
October 12, 2024
Pretty convincing
Read
August 17, 2024disclaimer: this isn't a review of the book but rather a collection of notes and insights i learned from reading it. this is mostly for my own consolidation but i hope people here find it useful nonetheless. i've include a summary of the main arguments below for anyone interested but i definitely think this is worth a serious read as it contextualises a lot of what is happening right now, what happened before and what will likely continue to happen for the foreseeable future. it’s devastating how history keeps repeating itself but i guess this is what the elites have deemed normal. i'll definitely do more research about this on my own but i promise i will get back to fun literature and being silly at some point lol. also idk why they don’t like teach this or any politics/IR in high school but that’s a rant for another day.
this book begins by deconstructing the conventional justification behind US's strong support of israel, before bringing in the influence of the lobby on the media and other geopolitical conflicts like iraq, iran, syria, lebanon and palestine. its thesis essentially boils down to this: US interests are often misaligned with israel's interests, yet the US continually supports them with obscene amounts of unconditional aid and military backing (even at the cost of their own foreign policy goals) largely due to the presence of zionist lobby groups in government. furthermore, israel has also historically used disproportionate and excessive violence against civilians when it comes to military conflict with surrounding states like lebanon, whilst touting the same tired excuses of ‘self-defence’ and ‘the opposition used civilians as human shields’ (in short: war crimes). the following bullet points are the main summaries of all sub-theses:
US support for israel is hard to justify morally
- not even a liberal equal democracy for anyone who isnt jewish —> treats arabs like second class citizens (fewer rights)
- colonisers (building on and expropriating palestinian land)
- US supports terrorists and dictators when it aligns w their interests anyway (e.g. reagan’s support of saddam hussain)
- hamas was democratically elected, so why is the US against this?
- definitely not the underdog —> conscription, nukes (?), large army, western funding, zionist funding etc
- establishing a jewish ethnostate cannot be morally justified so long as you are the occupying force, since peaceful coexistence was never the goal —> the goal was a jewish homeland meaning all arab interests are ignored; the plan was always to drive out arabs
- rape, violence, murder frequently used against Egyptians, syrians, palestinians (troops and civilians) and other opposing groups
- IDF deliberate civilian targeting (e.g. in lebanon, palestine) makes it hard to support morally
- camp david 2000 oslo peace process was less generous toward Palestinians than what zionist proclaim
it is also difficult to justify strategically
- counterweight to terrorist threats —> actually israel’s treatment of palestine and support from US only inflames anti-americanism in the arab world
- israel does things against US interests —> lavon affair 1954 , sell weapons to american enemies, purchase iranian oil in 1989
zionist lobbying and its role
- special interest minority groups lobby politicians, control media
- American zionists tend to have a high rate of political participation, wealthy and influential etc
- no effective opposition (arab community is less wealthy, politically involved and influential, oil leverage isnt strong enough as arab is more dependent on western money than west is dependent on arab oil)
- AIPAC criticises any politician that criticises israel whilst providing strong backing to those that support israel (e.g. hilary clinton)
- lobbies exert influence in academia (public pressure to remove critics of israel like edward said from teaching, stifling free speech)
- denouncing any criticism of israel as ‘antisemitism’, basically conflating zionist ideology with jewish identity, even if the people criticising israel are also jewish
- smear campaigns against human rights organisations that call them out
- dems and republicans basically compete to win the zionist lobby over
israel unilateralism in foreign policy
- in 2003 bush objected israel’s security fence which included other parts of occupied territories as obstacle of negotiated settlement
- israel dictates settlement, what land they occupy with no palestinian voices
- instead of pushing back w road map, bush embraces
- israelis continue building settlements in west bank despite american protests
- israel assassinates wheelchair bound hamas leader sheik ahmed in mar 2004, blow to US bc US weapons used and now arabs believe bush greenlit the assassination
- in 2006 hamas was elected
- palestinians fire rocket at israel, hezbollah captures israeli soldiers,
iraq invasion
- arguably caused by US desire to protect israel as saddam hussein potential nuke development would threaten israel more than US (on false intelligence)
- neoconservatives public relations campaign to try and get public support for iraq war even tho it was very unpopular (articles, open letters)
- not for oil —> otherwise easier to invade saudi arabia
syria
- israel refuses to return golan heights even if that means peace w syria, loss of syrian backing of hezbolla, hamas and the islamic jihad, more stability
- portray syria as rogue state
- israel tries to convince bush administration that syria is js as dangerous as iraq in attempt for us to pressure syria to end backing of hezbolla, hamas and islamic jihad
iran
- nuclear threat against israel
- bush administration did this using threats rather than negotiations
- AIPAC played central role in publicizing threat from iran and pushing forward military option (e.g. WSJ publishing article called the case for bombing iran)
- military interference
lebanon
- second lebanon war in 2006 to defeat hezbollah
- IDF launched air campaign killing 1.1k lebanese (whilst displacing 25% of the population), most of whom were civilians and children, in order to try and punish hezbollah
- some of its tactics: cluster bombs (inaccurate, cover wide area, essentially targeting civilians), firing one million bombs in the last three days of the conflict at an area with only 650k residents —> condemned by amnesty international that this was in violation of humanitarian law
- suspected that israel even deliberately left behind rockets so the IDF would have an excuse to attack lebanon so long as israel was continuously being rocketed
- failed to achieve objectives, hezbollah emerged stronger
- US never condemned israel, instead gave backing despite rest of the world condemning them
- all politicians basically bootlicked israel, including presidential candidates (e.g. hilary clinton, john mccain and joe biden)
- basically israel has always used excessive violence to target civilians (failed strategy bc it only inflames opposition), the entire world condemns them except the US as the lobby works overtime to convince the US government to continue its support of israel
- even though both sides declared victory, hezbollah actually got more support
- despite claims suggesting otherwise, most likely israel was the one who wanted to attack hezbollah rather than US as suggested by israel's attack patterns which went beyond southern lebanon and endangered the government in beirut
US interests
- maintaining access to oil in persian gulf
- discouraging middle eastern states from nuclearising
to conclude, the US can accomplish its interests using the strategy of offshore balancing (basically only deploy military power when regional actors cannot handle vital threats to US security alone) --> more diplomatic resolution to iraq, iran as it counters preemptive invasions that trigger nuclearisation, more neutrality towards israel instead of giving it special treatment, also work towards brokering peace deal between israel and palestine (e.g. having israel acknowledge a right of return for displaced palestinians, give them the ultimatum and threaten to cut aid etc) (personally i think as of 2024 we've reached the point of no return where a two-state solution is no longer feasible but that's besides the point)
moreover, to mitigate the influence of lobbying --> more public discourse, less silencing
this book begins by deconstructing the conventional justification behind US's strong support of israel, before bringing in the influence of the lobby on the media and other geopolitical conflicts like iraq, iran, syria, lebanon and palestine. its thesis essentially boils down to this: US interests are often misaligned with israel's interests, yet the US continually supports them with obscene amounts of unconditional aid and military backing (even at the cost of their own foreign policy goals) largely due to the presence of zionist lobby groups in government. furthermore, israel has also historically used disproportionate and excessive violence against civilians when it comes to military conflict with surrounding states like lebanon, whilst touting the same tired excuses of ‘self-defence’ and ‘the opposition used civilians as human shields’ (in short: war crimes). the following bullet points are the main summaries of all sub-theses:
US support for israel is hard to justify morally
- not even a liberal equal democracy for anyone who isnt jewish —> treats arabs like second class citizens (fewer rights)
- colonisers (building on and expropriating palestinian land)
- US supports terrorists and dictators when it aligns w their interests anyway (e.g. reagan’s support of saddam hussain)
- hamas was democratically elected, so why is the US against this?
- definitely not the underdog —> conscription, nukes (?), large army, western funding, zionist funding etc
- establishing a jewish ethnostate cannot be morally justified so long as you are the occupying force, since peaceful coexistence was never the goal —> the goal was a jewish homeland meaning all arab interests are ignored; the plan was always to drive out arabs
- rape, violence, murder frequently used against Egyptians, syrians, palestinians (troops and civilians) and other opposing groups
- IDF deliberate civilian targeting (e.g. in lebanon, palestine) makes it hard to support morally
- camp david 2000 oslo peace process was less generous toward Palestinians than what zionist proclaim
it is also difficult to justify strategically
- counterweight to terrorist threats —> actually israel’s treatment of palestine and support from US only inflames anti-americanism in the arab world
- israel does things against US interests —> lavon affair 1954 , sell weapons to american enemies, purchase iranian oil in 1989
zionist lobbying and its role
- special interest minority groups lobby politicians, control media
- American zionists tend to have a high rate of political participation, wealthy and influential etc
- no effective opposition (arab community is less wealthy, politically involved and influential, oil leverage isnt strong enough as arab is more dependent on western money than west is dependent on arab oil)
- AIPAC criticises any politician that criticises israel whilst providing strong backing to those that support israel (e.g. hilary clinton)
- lobbies exert influence in academia (public pressure to remove critics of israel like edward said from teaching, stifling free speech)
- denouncing any criticism of israel as ‘antisemitism’, basically conflating zionist ideology with jewish identity, even if the people criticising israel are also jewish
- smear campaigns against human rights organisations that call them out
- dems and republicans basically compete to win the zionist lobby over
israel unilateralism in foreign policy
- in 2003 bush objected israel’s security fence which included other parts of occupied territories as obstacle of negotiated settlement
- israel dictates settlement, what land they occupy with no palestinian voices
- instead of pushing back w road map, bush embraces
- israelis continue building settlements in west bank despite american protests
- israel assassinates wheelchair bound hamas leader sheik ahmed in mar 2004, blow to US bc US weapons used and now arabs believe bush greenlit the assassination
- in 2006 hamas was elected
- palestinians fire rocket at israel, hezbollah captures israeli soldiers,
iraq invasion
- arguably caused by US desire to protect israel as saddam hussein potential nuke development would threaten israel more than US (on false intelligence)
- neoconservatives public relations campaign to try and get public support for iraq war even tho it was very unpopular (articles, open letters)
- not for oil —> otherwise easier to invade saudi arabia
syria
- israel refuses to return golan heights even if that means peace w syria, loss of syrian backing of hezbolla, hamas and the islamic jihad, more stability
- portray syria as rogue state
- israel tries to convince bush administration that syria is js as dangerous as iraq in attempt for us to pressure syria to end backing of hezbolla, hamas and islamic jihad
iran
- nuclear threat against israel
- bush administration did this using threats rather than negotiations
- AIPAC played central role in publicizing threat from iran and pushing forward military option (e.g. WSJ publishing article called the case for bombing iran)
- military interference
lebanon
- second lebanon war in 2006 to defeat hezbollah
- IDF launched air campaign killing 1.1k lebanese (whilst displacing 25% of the population), most of whom were civilians and children, in order to try and punish hezbollah
- some of its tactics: cluster bombs (inaccurate, cover wide area, essentially targeting civilians), firing one million bombs in the last three days of the conflict at an area with only 650k residents —> condemned by amnesty international that this was in violation of humanitarian law
- suspected that israel even deliberately left behind rockets so the IDF would have an excuse to attack lebanon so long as israel was continuously being rocketed
- failed to achieve objectives, hezbollah emerged stronger
- US never condemned israel, instead gave backing despite rest of the world condemning them
- all politicians basically bootlicked israel, including presidential candidates (e.g. hilary clinton, john mccain and joe biden)
- basically israel has always used excessive violence to target civilians (failed strategy bc it only inflames opposition), the entire world condemns them except the US as the lobby works overtime to convince the US government to continue its support of israel
- even though both sides declared victory, hezbollah actually got more support
- despite claims suggesting otherwise, most likely israel was the one who wanted to attack hezbollah rather than US as suggested by israel's attack patterns which went beyond southern lebanon and endangered the government in beirut
US interests
- maintaining access to oil in persian gulf
- discouraging middle eastern states from nuclearising
to conclude, the US can accomplish its interests using the strategy of offshore balancing (basically only deploy military power when regional actors cannot handle vital threats to US security alone) --> more diplomatic resolution to iraq, iran as it counters preemptive invasions that trigger nuclearisation, more neutrality towards israel instead of giving it special treatment, also work towards brokering peace deal between israel and palestine (e.g. having israel acknowledge a right of return for displaced palestinians, give them the ultimatum and threaten to cut aid etc) (personally i think as of 2024 we've reached the point of no return where a two-state solution is no longer feasible but that's besides the point)
moreover, to mitigate the influence of lobbying --> more public discourse, less silencing
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