Transforming America's Israel Lobby
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Review
"An extraordinarily frank, courageous, and truly illuminating book. It dispels many myths while frankly exploring some perennial dilemmas faced by peace-seeking American Jews, and outlines a pro-peace, pro-Israel, and pro-American road forward for them to take. A genuine tour de force!" --Sam Lewis, "U.S. Ambassador to Israel under Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan"
Product Description
The war on terror, the war in Iraq and the Palestine problem are among the most daunting foreign policy dilemmas of our time, and they are interrelated in a complex web of ideology, myth and fact. When it comes to who influences American foreign policy on these issues, the Israel lobby seems to have an inordinate amount of power in Washington. This book presents the first detailed explanation of why the 'hawks' inside the American Jewish community usually win and the 'doves' usually lose battles to influence US policy. The author is a media affairs consultant based in New York City. He is in a unique position to answer these questions, being an American Jewish activist who advocates a dovish pro-Israel alternative to the right-wing lobby - a policy that will help both Palestinians and Israelis waken from their shared nightmare.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
"No channuka card from AIPAC this year, Honey."
15 April 2009
Format:Hardcover
Unlike most of the current authors writing about the mainstream Jewish community, the Israel Lobby and American foreign policy, Fleshler actually seems to know what he is talking about.
He has done some original research on funding sources for AIPAC and shows that it is not the invincible Leviathan that it is often made out to be. And he has talked to government officials in order to gauge the real impact of the lobby's considerable efforts over the last 30 years.
While he does not have much use for Mearsheimer and Walt, unlike a lot of their critics, he takes no prisoners, dismissing many of the tenets espoused by the "conventional Israel lobby."
This nuanced approach sets this book apart from a forest of predictable rhetoric that one can find in the plethora of tomes on this topic and on the internet.
However, I was disappointed in that in his attempt to build an alternative to the status quo, he seems to identify many more problems than solutions. While intellectually honest, it does leave the reader frustrated by how difficult it is and will be to supplant the Israel Lobby in its current form with a palatable alternative.
He has done some original research on funding sources for AIPAC and shows that it is not the invincible Leviathan that it is often made out to be. And he has talked to government officials in order to gauge the real impact of the lobby's considerable efforts over the last 30 years.
While he does not have much use for Mearsheimer and Walt, unlike a lot of their critics, he takes no prisoners, dismissing many of the tenets espoused by the "conventional Israel lobby."
This nuanced approach sets this book apart from a forest of predictable rhetoric that one can find in the plethora of tomes on this topic and on the internet.
However, I was disappointed in that in his attempt to build an alternative to the status quo, he seems to identify many more problems than solutions. While intellectually honest, it does leave the reader frustrated by how difficult it is and will be to supplant the Israel Lobby in its current form with a palatable alternative.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Fleshler's book is excellent
26 April 2009
Format:Hardcover
Dan Fleshler wants to weaken hawkish groups like AIPAC and strengthen dovish groups like J Street. He wants more American Jews to understand that a passionate commitment to Israel's survival does not entail indifference to the suffering of the Palestinians. On the contrary, he argues, a viable Palestinian state is not only a worthy goal on moral grounds, it is also in the long-term interest of both Israel and the United States. All of this is of course common knowledge among supporters of groups like J Street and Brit Tzedek v'Shalom. But Fleshler understands that if such groups are to succeed, they must wean more American Jews away from the hawkish positions espoused by AIPAC and the neoconservatives. This entails addressing the very real fears that induce otherwise rational people to embrace irrational views. Fleshler understands this in a way that some critics of the mainstream "Israel Lobby" do not. He is a wise man and a good man. And his book is a gem.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Smart, savvy-- but the problem seems intractable
19 April 2009
Format:Hardcover
This is a very well-written, trenchant and witty blueprint for a change that seems very unlikely to happen. From his own experience and interviews with American Jewish activists, U.S. officials and others, Fleshler makes a yeoman's effort to show how the "conventional Israel lobby" can be transformed or replaced. He certainly helped me understand the mysteries of American Jewish community life and the way pro-Israel organizations interact with the political establishment. He makes a convincing case that AIPAC, in particular, is not the 800 pound political gorilla everyone thinks it is. Then, after cutting AIPAC and other groups down to size a bit, he takes an honest look at the obstacles to building a "lobby for the rest of us," for Americans who are sick and tired of their government accepting Israeli policies that are clearly against U.S. interests.
The obstacles seem very formidable, including a self-censoring, timid pro-Israel left; and a potential coalition of likeminded Jewish and Christian and Arab American groups that are deeply divided over tactics and can't seem to communicate across various divides. This reader closed the book feeling admiration for the author's fighting spirit and ambition and thankful for what he taught me, but unconvinced that much could be done to supplant the pro-Likud, pro-settler American Jewish establishment.
The obstacles seem very formidable, including a self-censoring, timid pro-Israel left; and a potential coalition of likeminded Jewish and Christian and Arab American groups that are deeply divided over tactics and can't seem to communicate across various divides. This reader closed the book feeling admiration for the author's fighting spirit and ambition and thankful for what he taught me, but unconvinced that much could be done to supplant the pro-Likud, pro-settler American Jewish establishment.
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