The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy Paperback – September 2, 2008

This book is highly scholarly treatment of the topic of how the Zionist regime and AIPAC played the key role in starting the war and destruction of Iraq and brining mayhem to the Middle East. This is one of the two most important nonfiction books I have ever read.

Great book, this is the truth. I'm Jewish and there's nothing wrong with speaking the truth. It's our duty. I'm an American and not Israeli. I'm not from there and it's not the Jewish state. It doesn't represent me just like ISIS doesn't represent Muslims or Islam...

Once upon a time, there were 2 American entities that came together to specifically create a new, third entity called IL by the process of discourse. These two creator entities are named MW (MearsheimerWalt), and their offspring was born abroad in the UK – specifically at the London (Times) Review of Books in 2006.

Quickly, this new IL offspring gathered strength through the gentle nurturing from its parent organism MW, who carefully and methodically rebutted invader organisms from killing off their newly-born entity.

In fact, as more invaders attacked the newly-born IL offspring, creator-entity MW sprang into parenting mode, to help IL become even larger, healthier, and more robust through more highly-refined written and oral discourse.

As a result, MW had to endure the crucible of more IL refinement and continued defense against the invaders, to enhance IL’s further growth and robust qualities. One year later in 2007, the IL entity became even bigger, healthier, and more robust; and so to celebrate this new phase, it had a name change and an even newer re-birth place for this tempered form of the entity: it grew from its first physical form of 32 pages (including rebuttals) born in London to its current form of an astonishing 496 pages by means of a new but international midwife, Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, at its New York office. IL has become so famous that it landed on the coveted #1 Best Seller list position in the New York Times. This position affirms IL’s veracity. IL’s full name now is: The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy.

This comparison (using genetics [with a little alchemy sprinkled in], ancient world history, and Darwin’s ‘survival of the fittest’ to create a new entity) is exactly what happened to Professor John Mearsheimer (University of Chicago) and Professor Steven Walt (Harvard University) in their odyssey of creating a book that no one would dare write before because of the affects of foreign-country interest groups in the US from the Israel Lobby, AIPAC. There is a related group that has also had its tentacles on US campus ME Studies departments from the early 2000s, trying to know what professors were teaching their students and trying to politically either back up or remove those professors whose ideas went against theirs. There has been no public, nonacademic discourse and correction to this activity because universities rely on funding, and money speaks volumes (over discourse). This public free-speech activity (all sides of it) needs to be discussed, especially according to how each comment relates all of our country’s established frameworks/ documents of power (including the Constitution). This affords all participants with a very lively and rich discourse experience in which all participants will learn much from each other. Some of the most educated and important people in the US have views on this topic and ALL of them are worth reading and listening to via all formats (books, articles, journals, videos, podcasts, etc.) All of these people’s views combined with those from Mearsheimer and Walt in this book are part of an important knowledge base that needs to be tapped, understood, and added to in later Mearsheimer-Walt book editions. In short, because there has been much change in this country since this book was first published in 2007, the book has stood the test of time, and these changes need to be included in a revised, later edition.

Mearsheimer and Walt’s book: The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy is now recommended classroom reading in most poli sci, government studies, ME studies, diplomacy and diplomatic studies preparation programs in institutions of higher education, both in the US and those abroad. Why? Because it is the first book of its kind to look carefully at one foreign country (Israel) and how it affects the behavior and actions of another (the US/ US taxpayers, the group that subsidizes the foreign country) in terms of policy and aid. It also affects who is elected to US Congress and who stays elected.

As with most topics, this book generates needed discourse about countries (those with money and those without it that need it as aid from another, wealthier country), policies, lobby groups, money/ funding, aid, political parties and issues, diplomacy, and how all of these influence and intermingle, to create a larger world-system of which both the US and Israel are a part.

Mearsheimer and Walt have created this book to shed light on a topic that was ready to be illuminated. Once this book was published, like its UK germination stage phase, it (and the authors) went through the second crucible tempering in which the authors had to defend their ideas on US soil, successfully defending them against opposite forces.

This book has passed muster again through this process. Simultaneously, there were videos made of university and diplomacy ‘Round Tables’ with Q/A sessions at the end that are found online for the general public as well as academia. In these, the authors successfully defended their theses, resulting in a further strengthening of their ideas. Also, the comments of all people whose opinions were directed at the two became known, with some of the public agreeing and some disagreeing. Through this process, participants could learn more things about what they believe in, why, and some will even re-edit/ amend their own initial ideas.

Unfortunately, a culling of professional-academic personnel has occurred since the early 2000s, in which some professors and writers have been professionally ousted from their positions in academia and related areas (writing) for their stances against this foreign lobby group. This, alone, warrants the reading of this book and its future revised, edition.

Because this book is so interesting, I have bought extra copies to give to friends to read and later discuss. Afterwards, we form groups and engage in critical thinking and dialog to further hone our knowledge about this topic. Included in this activity is that we all watch designated on-line videos, listen to podcasts, read articles and journals, etc., to enhance what we learn from reading this book.

I thoroughly recommend this groundbreaking book for anyone who has an interest in our country and how it relates to foreign countries.

From a purely unemotional and empiricist realist point of view in international affairs, Mearsheimer and Walt provide an excellent documentation on how the Israel Lobby has had an enormous influence on US foreign policy over the decades, even pushing the US to pursue policies that violate its own strategic self-interest. A must-read for anyone trying to understand the absurd foreign policy decisions made by the United States over the last two decades.

A brave, masterful effort! Other reviewers have aptly described how informative and topical this book is; I wholeheartedly agree. What needs to be stressed is a rebuttal to those tiresome, closed-minded individuals (think that shrill hypocrite Alan Dershowitz, et al.) who always scream, "Anti-Semite!" at anyone who dares to criticize Israel, even when she spies on us (think Jonathan Pollard), and tries (daily!) to influence our political system, often counter to our national interests. The situation is almost exactly analogous to that of the Cosa Nostra: in the 1960s and '70s, we were informed by the media that this organization did not even exist (it was an invention of anti-Italian bigots), or, later, that it was just a social and philanthropic organization. The same is true of the AIPAC. Interestingly, both organizations are in the extortion business! Every U.S. congressman walks in fear of AIPAC, and this lobby is even more powerful and threatening to Congress than the NRA. At least the latter does not represent a foreign government.

I purchased this book after hearing reading a newspaper article about two controversial authors visiting my town to speak on this subject. I used to be a neo-con, but after reading this book my political views have done an about-face. I now realize the grave damage that the USA's toxic relationship with Israel has produced. This should be required reading for all Americans, especially those drinking the neo-con koolaid as i used to.

The American Jews reading reviews like mine get all riled up but it's pretty obvious that they have zero objectivity. They're militant about this subject- they don't give a damn about right or wrong, fair or unfair, they care only about Israel and its survival. Frankly, i don't give a damn about Israel.

And that's precisely the problem!

There are far too many Jews throughout our great nation who are not true Americans, they're what T.Roosevelt referred to as "hyphenated Americans". Their allegiances are first & foremost to Israel, not the USA. (They support AiPAC, this most powerful lobby referred to in the very title of this book "The Israel Lobby".) Their misguided sense of loyalty contrasts mightily with almost all other Americans' who don't give a hoot about what goes on in their ancestral homelands. This is why i refer to them as "Israelis who live & work in the USA". They're not true Americans, they're Israelis plain & simple.

This is what makes them so dangerous to the security of America.

"Peace, commerce, honest friendship with all,
entangling alliances with NONE."
- President Thomas Jefferson
The Sage Of Monticello

Quite an interesting perspective about an issue that is close to public eye. Worth a read.