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Stephen M. Walt
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John J. Mearsheimer
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The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy Kindle Edition

by John J. Mearsheimer (Author), Stephen M Walt (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 785 ratings
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Does America’s pro-Israel lobby wield inappropriate control over US foreign policy?

This book has created a storm of controversy by bringing out into the open America’s relationship with the Israel lobby: a loose coalition of individuals and organizations that actively work to shape foreign policy in a way that is profoundly damaging both to the United States and Israel itself.

Israel is an important, valued American ally, yet Mearsheimer and Walt show that, by encouraging unconditional US financial and diplomatic support for Israel and promoting the use of its power to remake the Middle East, the lobby has jeopardized America’s and Israel’s long-term security and put other countries – including Britain – at risk.

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  1. Print length
    488 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Penguin
  5. Publication date
    26 Jun. 2008
  6. File size
    3967 KB
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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
785 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book well-written, with good background and filling-in-the-gaps. They also say the authors argued well that the Israel lobby is powerful. Readers describe the content as relevant, well-informed, and innovative.

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ContentWriting qualityInfluence in israel
16 customers mention ‘Content’16 positive0 negative

Customers find the book well-informed, thought-provoking, and relevant. They also say it presents accurate and revealing facts and figures. Readers also say the authors have done an admirable job exposing the machinations of the Israel lobby. They find the content useful, novel, and innovative.

"Essential knowledge for Geo politics." Read more

"...This method of argument is largely sound, but it is also necessary to realize both that the final conclusion must be qualified as a matter of degree..." Read more

"...The wealth and depth of evidence can leave the reader in no doubt as to the veracity of the case made by the authors of overweening influence on the..." Read more

"...The book is well-written and informative; my only criticism would be that in places it tends to become a bit listy..." Read more

11 customers mention ‘Writing quality’11 positive0 negative

Customers find the writing quality of the book excellent, well written, and interesting. They also say the book is concise, detailed, and exquisite. Readers also say it provides good background and fills in the gaps.

"...while I have not checked many of their sources, the book appears well-researched, and the arguments of the authors are for the most part clearly..." Read more

"This excellent book should be required reading for all those interested in the politics of the Middle East and the often baffling foreign policy of..." Read more

"...I knew various bits on the topic but it is a really good background and filling-in-the-gaps type book for those interested in both the Middle East..." Read more

"...A relevant and well informed book. A good read." Read more

3 customers mention ‘Influence in israel’3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book to be informative about the influence of the Israel lobby. They also mention that the authors argued well that the lobby is powerful.

"...I found that the authors argued well that the Israel lobby is powerful, and more powerful than most other lobbies...." Read more

"...feelings to interfere with what is frankly, the definitive work on the Israel lobby...." Read more

"Unfortunately the Israeli lobby is too powerful, inform yourselves so you know what happens behind the scenes.." Read more

Top reviews from United Kingdom

armin
5.0 out of 5 stars Good read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 July 2024
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Essential knowledge for Geo politics.
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Alexander Sokol
5.0 out of 5 stars Well researched, relevant, not always completely convincing
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 July 2012
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The central argument of the book "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy" by J. J. Mearsheimer and S. M. Walt is that there exists a powerful pro-Israel political lobby in the United States, and that this lobby influences foreign policy in a manner detrimental to the United States, and occasionally also in a manner detrimental to Israel. Arguing this, the book also touches upon many aspects of the United States and Israeli politics and history in general, and so becomes in fact a rather complex and far-reaching work. The value of the book, therefore, rests not only on its ability to argue its central thesis, but also on the more general information it provides on United States and Israel.

The book is split into two parts. The first part outlines the strong political and financial support which Israel receives from the United States, argues that the rationale for the support can be based neither on national security interests nor on moral grounds, and proposes instead that the "Israel lobby" - a catch-all term for pro-Israel political groups in the United States - is the main reason for the United States support for Israel. In the second part, examples are given of political affairs - the Iraq war, the second Lebanon war and affairs with Syria and Iran - where the authors argue that United States policy has been irrationally favoring Israeli interests in contrast to national interests, and concludes that the Israel lobby has an important part to play in this.

Israel and its relationships with its neighbors is a touchy subject, but the authors take great care to clarify their opinions, to nuance their criticisms, and in particular often and explicitly distance themselves from any anti-semitic lines of thought. In general, while I have not checked many of their sources, the book appears well-researched, and the arguments of the authors are for the most part clearly stated and well thought-out.

Personally, however, I did not find the main arguments for the power of the Israel lobby entirely convincing. The general modus operandi employed throughout the book is the following:

1. Consider an example of United States Middle East policy in support of Israel.
2. Argue that the policy has been detrimental to United States national interests.
3. Argue that the policy is not justifiable on moral grounds.
4. Give examples that the Israel lobby influenced the policy.
5. Conclude that the Israel lobby yields considerable influence.

This method of argument is largely sound, but it is also necessary to realize both that the final conclusion must be qualified as a matter of degree and that there may be other explanations for the United States policy not considered (other lobbies, for example). I found that the authors argued well that the Israel lobby is powerful, and more powerful than most other lobbies. The authors clearly state that they do not believe that the lobby "controls foreign policy" or anything conspiratorical to that effect, nonetheless I did not find myself entirely convinced that the Israel lobby is quite as powerful as they seem to make it out to be.

What I by far found most interesting about the book, however, is that during the development of its arguments, many details of United States and Israeli policies are investigated from both an economical, political and moral perspective. In these discussions, the subject is not how much influence the Israel lobby has, rather the subject is simply analysis of a historical political event, where questions are raised as to how various policies affected terrorism, regime changes, peace prospects et cetera. I found these analyses very informative and thought-provoking. Furthermore, while the authors most of the time find Israel culpable of some major or minor moral stumble, they in general appear to attempt to judge the cases on a fair basis. Also, in several cases throughout the book, when the conclusion is not clear-cut, they point this out. Nonetheless, it is ultimately the case the authors spend most of their arguments criticising Israel rather than defending it.

In spite of that I found the arguments for the main thesis - the power of the Israeli lobby as claimed in the book - imperfect, I would clearly and warmly recommend it to anyone interested in the relationship between Israel, its neighbors and the United States. Although somewhat academic, it is very readable and very informative on many accounts. The authors give their opinions and arguments on a varied series of historical and current events, and the arguments in general appear well thought-out, impartial and thought-provoking.
15 people found this helpful
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Dr. R. Brandon
5.0 out of 5 stars Required Reading for All Thinking People in the West
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 May 2013
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This excellent book should be required reading for all those interested in the politics of the Middle East and the often baffling foreign policy of the United States towards the nations in that area.
Mearsheimer and Walt bring a balanced and extremely well researched approach to explaining the influence of the Israel Lobby and the role of the neoconservatives in the formulation of US foreign policy especially since the 1970s. Notice that the book deals with the Israel, not the Jewish, lobby as the authors are careful to point out that the hard line Israel Lobby, especially the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), does not represent much of the somewhat more liberal Jewish opinion in the US.
In the first part of the book the authors deal with the evidence for the existence of an Israel lobby (which amazingly some continue to deny) and proceed to describe its components and modus operandi. The Lobby works to persuade Congress and the American Executive to provide unremitting support for the state of Israel and Israeli policy. Despite lobbying being an entirely legal and essential part of the American democratic process many readers will no doubt be surprised and shocked to learn of some of the tactics and smear campaigns employed by the Lobby.
The second part of the book portrays the Lobby in action. It provides a forensic analysis of the role of the Israel Lobby with regards to formulating attitudes towards the Palestinian people, the decisions that led to the Iraq wars, Syria, Iran and the US Government approach to the Second Lebanon War of 2006. The wealth and depth of evidence can leave the reader in no doubt as to the veracity of the case made by the authors of overweening influence on the US Government, often orchestrated directly from Israel.
Finally the authors consider how the present situation, which is often not in the interests of either the US or Israel, might be improved. However, they are pessimistic in their outlook given the present entrenched position of Israel and the Lobby activists.
It should be noted that Mearsheimer and Walt are supporters of the state of Israel, this is not a polemic against Israel or American policy, but despite this measured approach they have been subject to a smear campaign and labelled as anti-Semitic in an effort to close down any meaningful debate on Israeli policy. This excellent and well written book should be required reading for the thinking American and British public who continue to be subject to perverse and counter productive policies by the political class of all parties, and more distressingly, misled by their newspaper and television media.
13 people found this helpful
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Ellie Hughes
4.0 out of 5 stars Makes for very interesting reading.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 June 2013
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I read this as extra background reading for my A-level Politics course, and found it to be hugely useful and interesting. I knew various bits on the topic but it is a really good background and filling-in-the-gaps type book for those interested in both the Middle East and American foreign policy.
The amount of unconditional US support for Israel is staggering and i had no idea of the extent until i read this, but what fascinated me most whilst reading are the reasons for this, and consequently just how much pressure is put on politicians to ensure a foreign policy stance which supports both Israel and the lobby. I believe the authors are pro-Israel, but they make a very good attempt to assess both sides of arguments but forward and therefore offere insightful analysis of the key issues.
The book is well-written and informative; my only criticism would be that in places it tends to become a bit listy (for example, various paragraphs just of names of people who support an argument etc) but generally i would definitely recommend this as a read for all budding politicians/historians, and you really don't need much prior knowledge of the Middle East to get something out of this book!
5 people found this helpful
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Raidenv
5.0 out of 5 stars 2 brilliant minds on a topic that will never grow old.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 June 2024
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These are some of the greatest minds of our generation sitting down and writing an article about how America funds Israel unconditionally and jeopardizes its national security.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Well documented. Well argued
Reviewed in Canada on 29 January 2024
Verified Purchase
A classic account of a worrying problem : the influence of another nation on US foreign policy
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Linxie Lin
5.0 out of 5 stars This book is an eye-opener.
Reviewed in France on 7 August 2024
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This book is an eye-opener. It provides a comprehensive and insightful explanation of the historical and political context behind the genocide and colonization of Palestinians. The author presents the facts and narratives in a way that makes complex issues easier to understand, shedding light on the root causes and ongoing struggles faced by Palestinians.

The book is well-researched and compelling, offering a perspective that is often overlooked or underrepresented. It's an essential read for anyone seeking to understand the intricate dynamics of this conflict and the reasons behind the persistent violence and oppression.

Highly recommended for those who want to gain a deeper understanding of the Palestinian plight and the broader implications of colonization and genocide.
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Cristina
5.0 out of 5 stars tesi laurea
Reviewed in Italy on 11 June 2024
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la scelta di un libro è sempre personale, utilizzato per studio
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Ravindranath Soory
5.0 out of 5 stars Every thing
Reviewed in India on 11 December 2023
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Good
One person found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Lobbies assert too much power
Reviewed in Australia on 20 April 2024
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Though the book is about the Israeli Lobby, one thing that I now understand are that lobby groups play an integral part in US.

It is an interesting read and shows how the American government is influenced by the Israel Lobby. So long as the Israeli Lobby exerts its influence in American policy especially in the Middle East, the US will find it difficult to establish true and meaningful relationships with the Arab world and in broad strokes within the Islamic world if the US keeps blindly supporting Israel. The authors in brief are of the view that the US should be more even handed in its relationships with all countries in the Middle East. This book in my view is not for everyone as if you're not interested in US politics and prefer a light written book, you might be put off by this book but I found it well written and informative.
One person found this helpful
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