Thread: US storm over book on Israel lobby

US storm over book on Israel lobby

The power of America's "Jewish lobby" is said to be legendary.

Commentators the world over refer to it, as though it were a well-established fact that US Jews wield far more influence than their numbers (2% of the population) would suggest.

But this presumed influence is also a delicate issue in the US, and is rarely analysed.

How does the lobby work? Is its power truly legendary, or just a legend?

Two US academics, John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago and Stephen Walt of Harvard, have set out to answer those questions, and triggered a firestorm of controversy as a result.

Their book The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy, which builds on a 2006 article in the London Review of Books, says the reasons for US support for Israel need to be explained.

America spends $3bn a year in largely military assistance - one-sixth of its direct aid budget - to help a prosperous, nuclear-armed country, and strongly backs Israel in negotiations on Middle East peace.

But according to Mearsheimer and Walt, the US gets remarkably little in return.

They reject the argument that Israel is a key ally in America's "war on terror".

On the contrary, they contend, US patronage of Israel fuels militant anger - as well as fostering resentment in Arab countries that control vital oil supplies.

...

Like other interest groups, the Israel lobby also influences debate by rounding on politicians and commentators who take positions it does not like - but it does it particularly effectively, according to Mearsheimer and Walt.

Those who might think of questioning US support for Israel know they are in for a fight, making it more trouble than it is worth.

The resulting lack of discussion, the book says, has skewed US policies across the Middle East.

...

Mearsheimer and Walt cite cases of members of Congress losing their seats after running afoul of pro-Israeli groups which then bankrolled their opponents.

Defensor. Do you have a problem with out support of israel?

Originally Posted by Bert Spivey

Defensor. Do you have a problem with out support of israel?

No, I would love nothing more than to be without one-sided "support" from the Zionist regime.

Originally Posted by Defensor

No, I would love nothing more than to be without one-sided "support" from the Zionist regime.

So you think we should defend Israel?

Originally Posted by Bert Spivey

So you think we should defend Israel?

No, I think we should defend America. :whistling:

Originally Posted by Defensor

No, I think we should defend America. :whistling:

And yet you started another thread bashing Bush because he supported Israel fighting her own battles with Iranhsnap:

Originally Posted by Bert Spivey

And yet you started another thread bashing Bush because he supported Israel fighting her own battles with Iranhsnap:

No, I didn't. Perhaps you should consider sticking to the actual thread topic instead of trying to provoke personal attacks across multiple threads.okebrain:

Originally Posted by Defensor

No, I didn't. Perhaps you should consider sticking to the actual thread topic instead of trying to provoke personal attacks across multiple threads.okebrain:

Personal attack? where? i'm simply trying to figure out where you stand. in this thread Israel is the evil zionist regime an Bush is evil for propping her up and in another thread Bush is evil for supporting the evil zionist regime for fighing it's own battles...

You can't have both dear boy. pick one.

Originally Posted by Bert Spivey

Personal attack? where? i'm simply trying to figure out where you stand. in this thread Israel is the evil zionist regime an Bush is evil for propping her up and in another thread Bush is evil for supporting the evil zionist regime for fighing it's own battles...

You can't have both dear boy. pick one.

In both threads Bush is 'evil' for sacrificing America's interests for the 'evil' Zionist regime. Apparently you misinterpreted something. Drop this stupidity now, please.

I guess all recent Presidents would be 'evil' since all have supported Israel.