History of “Israel Lobby” Controversy Has “Proven
Us Right,” Says Stephen Walt
Allan C. Brownfeld, Editor
Special Interest Report
December 2017
Ten years ago Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer published a controversial
article and subsequent book concerning the impact of the “Israel lobby.”
Writing in The Forward (Oct. 2, 2017), Walt, Professor of International
Affairs at Harvard’s Kennedy School, notes that, “We argued that decades of
unconditional support for Israel — the so-called ‘special relationship’ — is
not explained by U.S. strategic interests or by shared values, as is often
claimed, but is due primarily to the political efforts and activities of the
lobby. The result, we argued, does more harm than good, to both the U.S. and
Israel.”
In Walt’s view, “For the U.S., the ‘special relationship’ undermines
America’s standing in the Arab and Islamic worlds … and contributes
significantly both to America’s terrorism problem and to needless and costly
debacles like the 2003 invasion of Iraq. For Israel, unquestioning U.S.
support for almost all its actions has allowed the decades-long subjugation
of the Palestinians to continue unchecked, undermining the Israeli-
Palestinian peace process and threatening Israel’s future as a democratic
and/or Jewish state.”
The article and the book predicted that it would face much criticism, which,
Walt reports, included “more than a few accusations that we are anti-Israel
or anti-Semitic. Nothing could be further from the truth.”
The past decade, Walt argues, “provide ample evidence that our core argument
is still correct. Nevertheless, shifts inside the pro-Israel community and
in Israel itself may yet lead to positive shifts in U.S. Middle East policy
and to a healthier relationship between the two countries … The clearest
illustration of the lobby’s enduring power … is the Obama administration’s
failure to make any progress in settling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry were strong supporters of
Israel and both believe a two-state solution is, as Obama put it, ‘in
Israel’s interest, Palestinians’ interest, America’s interest and the
world’s interest.’ But even with backing from pro-Israel, pro-peace
organizations such as J Street, their efforts to achieve ‘two states for two
peoples’ were rebuffed by Israel, working hand in hand with AIPAC and other
hard-line groups. So, instead of seriously pursuing peace, Israel expanded
its settlements … making it more difficult than ever to create a viable
Palestinian state.”
The two-state solution, which the U.S. has long sought and Prime Minister
Netanyahu has long opposed, is, Walt believes, “now farther away than ever.”
Still, he points out, “Despite the lobby’s continuing influence … there is a
more open discussion of Israel-related issues today than there was before we
wrote the book … The ability to speak more openly about Israel is likely to
diminish the lobby’s impact on U.S. foreign policy in the future … Despite
joining forces with Netanyahu to oppose the Iran deal, AIPAC was unable to
convince Congress to reject the agreement … Furthermore, the taboo of
publicly criticizing Israel … has been broken. In recent years, writers such
as Peter Beinart, John Judis, Dan Fleshier and others have written important
works examining the role of pro-Israel groups in American politics and
criticizing their impact on U.S. foreign policy. Prominent journalists such
as Thomas Friedman, Andrew Sullivan and Roger Cohen have penned their own
criticisms of Israel’s policies and the lobby’s activities.”
Walt also points to “a growing divide within the American Jewish community.
The creation of the pro-peace lobby J Street and the rapid growth of
progressive groups like Jewish Voice for Peace and the success of
controversial online journals critical of Zionism, such as Mondoweiss, show
that attitudes about Israel are more complicated than in the past. Reflexive
support for whatever Israel does is no longer the default condition for many
American Jews. The vast majority of American Jews remain deeply committed to
liberal values, while Israel has been moving away from them for many years
now.”
The future, Walt concludes, may be conducive to positive change: “… the
fissures within the lobby and in the American Jewish community more broadly,
are likely to widen. If the balance of power in that community shifts in
favor of more moderate and pro-peace groups, then there may be a glimmer of
hope … Political pressure from a powerful pro-Israel and pro-peace lobby …
is probably the only development that would convince U.S. leaders to act as
fair-minded mediators and persuade the Israeli government to grant the
Palestinians a viable state of their own.”
Discussing AIPAC’s many varied activities, The Forward (Oct. 24, 2017)
carried an article with the headline, “Did AIPAC Secretly Write Your Rabbi’s
Sermon?”
It notes that, “Each week AIPAC sends out two prewritten sermons to rabbis
across the U.S. pushing AIPAC’s legislative agenda. Each week AIPAC reminds
rabbis that they shouldn’t tell congregants where they get the pre-written
texts.”
Rabbi Jill Jacobs, executive director of the rabbinical human rights group
T’ruah , said: “You would think that if there’s an idea they would want to
get in the world they would be proud of it."
One recent sermon, distributed Oct. 9, used the biblical story of Cain’s
murder of Abel, related in that week’s Torah portion, to discuss an AIPAC-
backed bill calling for increased sanctions on Hezbollah. An Aug. 14 sermon
connected to Moses an argument for increased foreign aid to Israel. •
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