The first thing that struck me upon finishing this excellent book is that it was not so much about the US as it was about Israel and its future as a prosperous democratic state (or not). When Mearsheimer and Walt published it in 2007 it felt like a brick hitting a magnificently kept old stained glass., the shattering of a lot of illusions. They were simultaneously praised for having opened Pandora’s box and relentlessly attacked as provocateurs, amateurs, and unpatriotic, but also charged with antisemitism. Amateurs they are certainly not. John J. Mearsheimer is professor of political science at the University of Chicago and is one of the most important theorists of international politics of the last 30 years. Walt is a professor of international affairs at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. And they aren’t cheap provocateurs nor antisemites, as their detailed analysis clearly shows. Their critique is fairly straightforward: The Israel lobby now has a disproportionate influence on US foreign policy decisions and this influence is bad for the US and Israel in many different ways, and ultimately for the whole Middle East as well.
From the start, they are very careful to define what the Israel lobby is. It is not the “Jewish lobby”, that old antisemitic trope painting jews as money grabbers who want to control the world. The Israel lobby is not a single entity, it is a constellation of Jewish and non-Jewish interest groups advancing the cause of the State of Israel in the US. Its most famous member is AIPAC that pops up on American screens and newspaper headlines as soon as an election approaches. As the authors say, lobbies are “as American as apple pie” and we all know about the pharmaceutical lobby, the oil lobby, and the infamous NRA. All are working to influence congressional legislation and presidents from both parties, and there is absolutely nothing illegal or wrong with that. The Israel lobby is the best organised and the most efficient lobby in the whole world, and as the authors point out, it is a reflection of how Jews are a prosperous and highly educated population worldwide, something to be proud of, especially after all they have suffered as a community.
The US has long been a champion of Jews and of the State of Israel, especially during its creation and during the Cold War when the country was a real ally against Soviet intrusion in the Middle East. It gave money and arms so that the young country could stabilise and flourish, and it worked out pretty well. But the US have kept up these generous handouts even as Israel became a prosperous, democratic country and a power house in the Middle East thanks to its vibrant and innovative economy, and its nuclear deterrent. Even as Israel started to have expansionist ambitions and started to shift dramatically to the right or extreme right of the political spectrum. Even now that Israel is committing something that could be called a national suicide.
Mearsheimer and Walt argue that Israel has become a strategic liability to the US and that the stubbornness of the American Israel lobby to support Israel no matter what has become a danger for the US and for Israel itself. The throwing around of antisemitism charges as soon as Israel is criticised is washing down the true meaning of that word and is a danger for the Jewish community. The lobby’s close ties with the neoconservative hawks and their imperial and militaristic view of foreign policy is a real threat to both countries. Most of all, the Israel lobby is more and more out of step with the Jewish Diaspora at large (especially younger generations), and with the moral values America supposedly wants to uphold whenever and wherever it can.
Both men knew that what they were claiming was bound to be controversial and they knew that the case had to be rock solid. And they deliver. The book is extremely well constructed and clear. It follows a neat schematic with pros and cons, a lot of references, excellent presentations of the different actors, of various moments in the historical timeline of US/Israel relations. Most importantly they give sound foreign policy advice to both countries. Readers also get a better understanding of the whole Middle East situation. There are some repetitions but that is not surprising considering the thematic and the impact the book was going to have. They wanted to be well understood.
2007 is long gone, and the sad irony of the extraordinary effectiveness of the Israel lobby having negative consequences on Israel itself is more apparent than ever today. And the Jewish diaspora is suffering the most, caught between a rock and a hard place, their understandable love for Israel and a lobby gone rogue. The authors believe that without the lobby the US could have used all its might as a super power to gently pressure Israel and the Palestinians into a two-state solution and achieve lasting peace with other actors in the Middle East. But US foreign policy is too much a slave of US elections cycles, and the lobby has too much sway in Congress and on electoral outcomes. Political careers trump common sense and good policy. And courage is lacking. A very important read for Jews and non-Jews alike.
The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy
by John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt
Penguin Books, 2007
484 pages
Bookish Felix 