"There are pro-Israel groups, not just Jewish - many of them are Christian fundamentalists, that believe in supporting
the Israeli government no matter what it does and no matter what it wants. These people are all upset and excited about Iran
and are pushing hard for a confrontational stance." - Barbara Slavin
"The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy", authors Professor
Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer
In the recent study "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy", the authors of the paper, Professor Stephen Walt of Harvard
University and John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago, charge that the United States has willingly set aside its own
security and that of many of its allies in order to advance the interests of Israel. In addition the study accuses the pro-Israeli
lobby, particularly AIPAC of manipulating the U.S. media, policing academia and silencing critics of Israel by labeling them
as anti-Semitic.
A new article in the New York Review of Books examines the controversial report and the reaction to
it. It's called "The Storm Over the Israel Lobby." It was written by media critic Michael Massing, who joins Amy Goodman for
the interview. Michael is a contributing editor of the Columbia Journalism Review and frequently writes for the New York Review
of Books. More...
Mearsheimer,
Foxman on Israel Lobby and Iran War
John Mearsheimer and Abe Foxman debate on the Israeli lobby pushing US to war with Iran.
Prof. Stephen
Walt on the Israel Lobby
On Aug. 28, 2006, Prof. Stephen Walt, a respected scholar, gave a talk at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
He demonstrated how the powerful Israel Lobby has exercised "unmatched power" over our foreign policy for nearly forty years,
which hasn't been in the interest of the United States.
The
Israel Lobby with Prof. Stephen Walt - Part 1
"American politicians hardly ever say anything even remotely critical of Israel, if it does something we don't like,
they'll say maybe that its "unhelpful" but they'll never actually be openly critical and its because they worry about the
political repercussions here in the United States if they were to do that." - Prof. Stephen Walt of the Kennedy School of
Government at Harvard University.
The
Israel Lobby with Prof. Stephen Walt - Part 2
"...you wouldn't need a powerful set of interest groups pushing for such a one sided policy if that policy was really
good for America.....the fact is that unconditional support for Israel isn't good for the United States any longer, if it
ever was. It is probably not even good for Israel." - Professor Stephen Walt
The
Israel Lobby with Prof. Stephen Walt - Part 3
"I think the Israel Lobby has almost nothing to do with American policy in Central Asia, except if it may reinforce a
certain suspicion of Muslims in general but they are not why we are in Afghanistan; they are not why we are doing what we
have been doing in Pakistan." - Robert & Renee Belfer Professor of international relations Stephen M. Walt
President Carter talks about AIPAC and Israel
U.S.A.
A Very Powerful Lobby in the United States
Such unanimity is a testimony to the existence and power of the lobby.
First, because it is an organ of the State
of Israel. Its status appears in the Law of November 24, 1952 of the "World Zionist Organization." Articles 5 and 6 specify
its attributes.
Article 5: "The State of Israel counts on the participation of all Jews in all Jewish organizations
in building the State" (Israel Government Yearbook. Jerusalem, 1953-54, p. 243).
In the United States, this powerful
lobby is officially credited in the Capitol. It is AIPAC (American Israeli Public Affairs Committee). Zionist leaders in the
United States do not hide their role. In the 23rd Congress of the World Zionist Organization, Ben Gurion stated clearly: "The
collective obligation of all Zionist organizations in all nations to help the Jewish State in all circumstances is unconditional,
even if such an attitude is in conflict with their respective nations" (Jerusalem Post, August 17, 1952).
An example of this power is when Senator Fulbright, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, summarized on CBS
television on October 7, 1973 his investigation of the lobby, saying: "The Israelis control politics in Congress and in the
Senate." He lost his senate seat in the following elections.
