The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy

[MakedonasGR]

The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy[1] (a condensed version used the title The Israel Lobby[2]) is a controversial working paper written by John Mearsheimer, political science professor at the University of Chicago, and Stephen Walt, academic dean of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, in 2006. It claims that "the United States has been willing to set aside its own security in order to advance the interests of another state" (Israel) and U.S. Middle East policy is driven primarily by the "Israel Lobby" (a "loose coalition of individuals and organizations who actively work to steer US foreign policy in a pro-Israel direction," whose core is "American Jews who make a significant effort in their daily lives to bend U.S. foreign policy so that it advances Israel's interests"). The paper was originally commissioned in 2002 by The Atlantic Monthly, which then rejected it. [3] The paper was finally published in March, 2006 by the London Review of Books.

Mearsheimer and Walt argue that "No lobby has managed to divert U.S. foreign policy as far from what the American national interest would otherwise suggest, while simultaneously convincing Americans that U.S. and Israeli interests are essentially identical".[2] According to Mearsheimer and Walt, the Lobby has a "stranglehold on the U.S. Congress," "significant leverage over the Executive branch," and the ability to make sure that the "Lobby’s perspective on Israel is widely reflected in the mainstream media." They also claim that the Lobby jeopardizes the United States' national security, and forces the United States to do the "fighting, dying, rebuilding, and paying" for Israel.[1] They accuse the Lobby of "controlling debate" and they decry what they call misuse of "the charge of anti-Semitism" as well as a "campaign to eliminate criticism of Israel from college campuses" (see Campus Watch and U.S. Congress Bill H.R. 509).

The paper says the following about "The Lobby":

* "We use ‘the Lobby’ as a convenient short-hand term for the loose coalition of individuals and organizations who actively work to shape U.S. foreign policy in a pro-Israel direction."
* "The core of the Lobby is comprised of American Jews who make a significant effort in their daily lives to bend U.S. foreign policy so that it advances Israel's interests."
* "The Lobby also includes prominent Christian evangelicals like Gary Bauer, Jerry Falwell, Ralph Reed and Pat Robertson, as well as Dick Armey and Tom DeLay...all of whom believe Israel's rebirth is the fulfillment of biblical prophecy and support its expansionist agenda; to do otherwise, they believe, would be contrary to God's will."
* " In addition, the Lobby’s membership includes neoconservative gentiles such as John Bolton, the late Wall Street Journal editor Robert Bartley, former Secretary of Education William Bennett, former U.N. Ambassador Jeanne Kirkpatrick, and columnist George Will."
* " Over the past 25 years, pro-Israel forces have established a commanding presence at the American Enterprise Institute, the Brookings Institution, the Center for Security Policy, the Foreign Policy Research Institute, the Heritage Foundation, the Hudson Institute, the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis, and the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA).”
* "Jewish-Americans have formed an impressive array of organizations to influence American foreign policy, of which AIPAC is the most powerful and well-known.”
* "Many of the key organizations in the Lobby, such as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, are run by hardliners who generally support the Likud Party's expansionist policies, including its hostility to the Oslo Peace Process."
* "AIPAC itself, however, forms the core of the Lobby’s influence in Congress."
* "The bottom line is that AIPAC, which is a de facto agent for a foreign government, has a stranglehold on the U.S. Congress."
* "The Lobby also has significant leverage over the Executive branch. That power derives in part from the influence Jewish voters have on presidential elections."
* "Key organizations in the Lobby also directly target the administration in power ... [and] make sure that critics of the Jewish state do not get important foreign-policy appointments"
* "Pro-Israel congressional staffers are another source of the Lobby’s power. As Morris Amitay, a former head of AIPAC, once admitted, ‘There are a lot of guys at the working level up here [on Capitol Hill] … who happen to be Jewish, who are willing … to look at certain issues in terms of their Jewishness …. These are all guys who are in a position to make the decision in these areas for those senators.'"
* "The Lobby’s perspective on Israel is widely reflected in the mainstream media in good part because most American commentators are pro-Israel."
* "The Lobby doesn’t want an open debate, of course, because that might lead Americans to question the level of support they provide."
* "Were it not for the Lobby’s ability to manipulate the American political system, the relationship between Israel and the United States would be far less intimate than it is today."
* "American Jewish leaders often consult with Israeli officials, so that the former can maximize their influence in the United States."
* "The Lobby also monitors what professors write and teach."
* "Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of this campaign to eliminate criticism of Israel from college campuses is the effort by Jewish groups to push Congress to establish mechanisms that monitor what professors say about Israel."
* "Jewish philanthropists have established Israel studies programs (in addition to the roughly 130 Jewish Studies programs that already exist) so as to increase the number of Israel-friendly scholars on campus."
* "No discussion of how the Lobby operates would be complete without examining one of its most powerful weapons: the charge of anti-Semitism. Anyone who criticizes Israeli actions or says that pro-Israel groups have significant influence over U.S. Middle East policy - an influence that AIPAC celebrates - stands a good chance of getting labeled an anti-Semite."
* "the [Iraq] war was due in large part to the Lobby’s influence, especially the neoconservatives within it."
* "Congress insisted on putting the screws to Damascus, largely in response to pressure from Israel officials and pro-Israel groups like AIPAC."
* "the Lobby must keep constant pressure on U.S. politicians to confront Tehran."
* "If their efforts to shape U.S. policy succeed, then Israel’s enemies get weakened or overthrown, Israel gets a free hand with the Palestinians, and the United States does most of the fighting, dying, rebuilding, and paying."
* "It is not meant to suggest that 'the lobby' is a unified movement with a central leadership, or that individuals within it do not disagree on certain issues."
* "Not all Jewish Americans are part of the Lobby, because Israel is not a salient issue for many of them."
* "There is nothing improper about American Jews and their Christian allies attempting to sway US policy; the Lobby's activities are not a conspiracy... For the most part the individuals and groups in it are only doing what other special interest groups do, but doing it very much better." However, "the mere existence of the Lobby suggests that unconditional support for Israel is not in the American national interest. If it was, one would not need an organized special interest group to bring it about."
* "Can the Lobby’s power be curtailed? One would like to think so ... But that is not going to happen anytime soon."

On US support for Israel

* Economic: According to the authors, Israel is "the largest total recipient since World War II" of US aid. "Total direct U.S. aid to Israel for this period amounts to well over $140 billion in 2003 dollars. Israel receives about $3 billion in direct foreign assistance each year, which is about one-fifth of America’s foreign aid budget." The authors claim that "This largesse is especially striking when one realizes that Israel is now a wealthy industrial state with a per capita income roughly equal to South Korea or Spain."
The authors claim that "Israel is the only recipient of US aid that does not have to account for how the aid is spent." According to the authors, this makes it "virtually impossible to prevent the money from being used for purposes the United States opposes."
* Diplomatic/political: The authors write, "Since 1982, the United States has vetoed 32 United Nations Security Council resolutions that were critical of Israel, a number greater than the combined total of vetoes cast by all the other Security Council members together." They further posit that the US also "blocks Arab states’ efforts to put Israel’s nuclear arsenal on the International Atomic Energy Agency’s agenda."

[Reaper]

All true, amazing how on greek soccer forum you mention this, all the texas, chicago greeks argue that it is in America's interest to help Israel and the assistance is not due to the senate being controled by you know who.

[pankration]

It's always popular to denigrate the state of Israel and to scream conspiracy. I don't doubt that many influential Jews flex their political and economic muscle to get what they want for Israel. Hell, if American Greeks did the same, FYROM, Albania, Bulgaria and Turkey would be festering in their own political messes rather than trying to interfere with Greece's sovereignity and heritage.

I do agree however that Israel must be held accountable for its actions and its use of foreign monies. For those who criticize Israel and express sympathy for the Palestinians, keep in mind this question. Who would you rather be a power in the region, a secularized society friendly to the west (in actuality a HELLENIC style society) or radical Muslims who will kill each other with the same aplomb they kill their enemies? The hatred the Middle East has for the west (and by the way for modern states in Asia) is a hundred times more intense than it was during the bloody Crusades! At this time, what is best for Israel is not far from what is best for the west. Like it or not, these are today's realities.

[Slayer]

What if the state of Israel was not created the way it was in the 1940's, would we still have this problem of radical Islam to the same extent that we have it now?

If anything the Greek Orthodox Church would have been playing a major role in the state of Palestine which I'm assuming would have given the Greek state more leverage on international matters due to its religious ties to the Holy land.

[pankration]

Originally Posted by Slayer

What if the state of Israel was not created the way it was in the 1940's, would we still have this problem of radical Islam to the same extent that we have it now?

If anything the Greek Orthodox Church would have been playing a major role in the state of Palestine which I'm assuming would have given the Greek state more leverage on international matters due to its religious ties to the Holy land.

Hmmm....interesting question. There is a Christian minority in Palestine (Yasser Arafat's wife was Christian) that may see its interests compromised by Israel. Unfortunately, all we ever see or hear are Muslims versus Jews without consideration for others in the region, particularly Christians. I would be very curious to hear the Christian viewpoint from BOTH sides of the border.

Giving European Jews Palestine after WW II was bound to present problems. They brought a different sensibility to the area and were so bent on survival that they probably did not even think what it would take for them to live harmoniously with their neighbors. Palestinians, who by the way had been ignored or abused by other Arabs for centuries, had what little was left, controlled by this new Jewish presence. Add to this that the Jews did more with the area in a few decades than the surrounding Arabs did in centuries and it is easy to understand the resentment. Also recognize that most of the Palestinian economy is dependent upon Israel (the cheap labor from Palestine doesn't hurt the Isreali economy either) which breeds resentment and hatred. Throw terrorism, other Arabs and extremists into the mix and you have the most volatile region on earth.

The leader of Iran made an interesting statement recently. He said that if the western world felt guilty about the holocaust, they should have created a state for the Jews in Europe. Even though at times this guy sounds nutty, this is an interesting theory. Would the Middle East be calmer? Would the Arabs have a rallying point for their extremists? Would they even need terrorism? Historians could be arguing this for decades.

[Morphesau]

Originally Posted by Reaper

All true, amazing how on greek soccer forum you mention this, all the texas, chicago greeks argue that it is in America's interest to help Israel and the assistance is not due to the senate being controled by you know who.

Spot on, the vast Texan good folks do that, they’ll back up their own candidate bad or no good. Reasons unknown! I was compelled to answer on this due to it being so true after being on an American political forum that was the case with all Texanswho also support the Israeli independence.

Did you know Bush's both grand fathers were involved in the holocaust at ww2, one was a banker helped finance hitler in some ways and the other can't remember but was responcible for pulling alot of gold teeth of many jews at Aushwitch. Thought you might want to know this interesting facts

[Reaper]

Originally Posted by pankration

It's always popular to denigrate the state of Israel and to scream conspiracy. I don't doubt that many influential Jews flex their political and economic muscle to get what they want for Israel. Hell, if American Greeks did the same, FYROM, Albania, Bulgaria and Turkey would be festering in their own political messes rather than trying to interfere with Greece's sovereignity and heritage.

I do agree however that Israel must be held accountable for its actions and its use of foreign monies. For those who criticize Israel and express sympathy for the Palestinians, keep in mind this question. Who would you rather be a power in the region, a secularized society friendly to the west (in actuality a HELLENIC style society) or radical Muslims who will kill each other with the same aplomb they kill their enemies? The hatred the Middle East has for the west (and by the way for modern states in Asia) is a hundred times more intense than it was during the bloody Crusades! At this time, what is best for Israel is not far from what is best for the west. Like it or not, these are today's realities.

What is best for the west is simply best for me in my eyes. IE safty. Israel's existance and Bush and Blair's love of Israel has put London and America in direct danger from radical muslims who blow themselves up - ie made my life a little bit more unvaluable and endangered. If that area was muslim controlled like it has been for millenia, I would be safer. Bin Laden (teacher palestinian throughout youth), all these radicals - even Saddam's last words is that Palestine should be free. That is their number 1 grievence. Surely if America did not preserve Israel with the UK illegally we would be off the menu - that is true. Maybe they would think of something else to hate the west - I doubt it nothing is unpopular as the Jews in the East - nothing even comes near - but even if they did, it would not cause as much hatred as the west's supporting of Israel. Americans imo are brainwashed into thinking any superpower would support Israel for world safety and safety in the region, unfortunately in my eyes it is the exact opposite. Supporting Israel will lead to the end of America and significant problems for the west until this ceases.

Also to me tthe other American arguements are equally as flawed.

Example one:

Palestine was nothing, ie undeveloped until the jews came.

No. No one would trade or speak to Israel. What helped was the 140 billion dollars from America. Lets put it like this. When Israel decided it was time to invade Lebanon recently, they lost huge money in tourism. Was it the pioneering Israeli spirit that got them through this difficult period of no tourist money in the summer? Was it their intelligence? No - it was American tax payers. However even if they were these great pioneers, lol, it is not their land. Just because you got a better business plan, doesn't mean you can steal someone's land to test it.

What is interesting, is when America falls, and the palestinians see this, they will go for Israel and no one on earth will be stupid enough to help Israel unless by that time the jews have started to control china, lol. The palestinians will bring all those US dollarsof infrastructure back to the stone age. But let it be remembered. The Jews did not build an Oasis in the desert. American Tax payers money did and the water was stolen from Syria.

[Reaper]

Also I just read this very interesting article about Greece's relationship with Israel. In reality, with so many American educated politicians in Greece surely some pro Israeli favour must begin to seep through despite imo the correct average Greek's view that getting close in any respect to israel is a disaster move.

In Greece, old and new collide - Haaretz - Israel News

Here on the other hand, we have an example of just how far Israel will go to support Turks in Cyrpus - also from today:

http://web.israelinsider.com/Views/10258.htm

[Euklid]

Generally the Greeks are Pro-Israeli, and we get the mutual Israel love back from time to time.

What we should be concerned is that Israel faces the same issue that we face with Fyrom. And in our case Israel is supporting Greece fully. I think that we have a major player to succumb certain other players regarding these issues.

And we should learn to take advantage of ever single thing. The point of the 1st post is true, the problem is how will we be able to make use of such political resources?

Here is an article that another Greek found on the net:

The Gene Wars.

A must read.


As many have repeated, our politcians are either too fat to move, or traitors. I would say its both. And its time that we as Greeks change the political system.

We should adopt the American one.

The President to be elected by the people not the parliament, and separate the Parliament and try to obtain more seats for independent parties, so that we obtain leverage.

Our system is the least democartic voting system of the West. Its primitive and its Karamanlis senior invention.

Its time we get to the route of our problems. Its basically one party rules every single position of the public sector from the President to the Ministers and the Deko. Parties assume full control once elected, like we live in a fucking Monarchy. And the antipoliteysi functions as a bad advertiser not as leverage in serious issues, and does not even express support when it comes to correct handlings. Pitiful Greeks they are.

[pankration]

Everyone should read the article, THE GENE WARS. It states clearly with much supporting evidence, what is wrong with the DNA claims of the Slavs, Sami and Palestinians. I found 2 points particularly interesting, if not ludicrous: The closest genetic relation to the Skops are GREEKS; Palestinians claim that they originate from the first HEBREW tribes in Palestine. In effect, they are converted JEWS!!

No. No one would trade or speak to Israel. What helped was the 140 billion dollars from America. Lets put it like this. When Israel decided it was time to invade Lebanon recently, they lost huge money in tourism. Was it the pioneering Israeli spirit that got them through this difficult period of no tourist money in the summer? Was it their intelligence? No - it was American tax payers. However even if they were these great pioneers, lol, it is not their land. Just because you got a better business plan, doesn't mean you can steal someone's land to test it.

We need to clarify a few points, my friend. First, Israel didn't take the land in 1948, it was given to them by the major powers of that time. I agree wholeheartedly that American dollars benefited them greatly, as it did West Germany and Japan (but you're not complaining about them) who built economies so strong it almost destroyed the American one in the late seventies and eighties--just ask your friends in Detroit). It was all part of the Marshall Plan, one that history considers a success and probably the reason there has not been a world war since.
Israel benefited from the Cold War as the Jews were armed and willing to fight (Suez and later on the Yom Kippur War etc.) so they were a good vanguard for the Americans against the Communist USSR.
I'm not an American taxpayer so I don't know how much of my tax goes to support Israel. I do know that tens if not hundreds of millions go to Israel from Jews living overseas, most in the USA. These people can do with their money what they want, just like my father sent money to Greece every year of his life to help his sisters and mother there.
As far as Palestine is concerned, it is a country I feel has been screwed over time and time again. Yes, land was taken from them. Yes, Israel took even more land in a war the Palestinians weren't even involved in and they have every right to get it back, and most intelligent Isrealis think it should go back. But also keep in mind that the Palestinians have no interest in a peaceful co-existence and the other Arab nations are fuelling that fury with money, training and weapons. The USA may be bankrolling Israel but Syria, Jordan, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia do the same. The only difference is that Israel has built a country (yes an army too) while Palestine has created a cult of serial and suicide bombers. If I were Palestinian I would have only ONE question: Where in hell are the funds and support of the emirs of the Arab Middle East? These bastards can fly in gold-lined 747's, crap in toilets that could support a third world village for a year and they have the nerve to blame Jews and Americans for the troubles in Palestine? I find it insulting that anti-American, anti-Semitic critics think the rest of the world is fucking stupid. Do Jews have something to answer to? You bet and I'll be first in line to say what they did in Lebanon last summer was criminal. But I will not accept Arab Muslims saying that Palestine is a victim when the richest despots in history turned their backs (and still are, where's the real aid now?) on their brothers in Palestine. This is typical Arab tribalism; the very tribalism that Mohammed tried to end with the creation of Islam. There might be a common religion but ultimately Islam failed the Middle East.

How short some memories are? In the last fifty years, most of the wars in the Middle East have been fought among Arabs. In Iraq, it's not Jews killing Muslims, it's Sunni Muslims killing Shiite Muslims and vice versa. Ask a Sunni living in Iran if he has the same rights as the Shiite majority. These people hate each other; they are only united because of their common hatred of Israel and it is not because they feel sorry for Palestine. When Egypt made peace with Israel, president Sadat (a former soldier against Israel) was assassinated. There will never be a peaceful resolution in this region.

Finally, (I'm getting tired) the idea that Palestine could bomb Israel back to the Stone Age is hilarious especially now that they too are killing each other. Like it or not, Israel's military is far beyond anything in the region that no one with half a brain (ooops...) would risk fighting them. Israel invaded Lebanon; where was Syria, Iran, Jordan et.al. None have the balls for a one on one fight but they'll keep sacrificing Palestinians, the only real victims here. And Palestine has no armed forces to fight the Jews.

I apologize for the rant but misinformation, assumption and revisionism is what this forum is dedicated to combatting and regardless of who we're talking about, we must look at ALL sides of every argument.