The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy

Mearsheimer and Walt contend that the remarkable level of U.S. material and diplomatic support for Israel cannot be justified on strategic or moral grounds . They argue this relationship is due largely to the political influence of a loose coalition of individuals and organizations that work to shape U.S. policy in a pro-Israel direction . This lobby, they claim, has pushed policies across the Middle East—in Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, and toward the Palestinians—that are in neither America's national interest nor Israel's long-term interest .

The book is rooted in Mearsheimer's offensive realism, which holds that great powers should pursue restrained, 'off-shore balancing' strategies rather than ambitious crusades to remake regions . The authors argue that the Israel lobby has pushed the United States away from this realist grand strategy, ensnaring it in costly Middle East interventions. Critics note that Mearsheimer and Walt's realist assumptions explain their motive: they cannot believe anyone could disagree with them on the merits, so they seek domestic political explanations for America's failure to adopt restraint .

Critics, including Anti-Defamation League director Abraham Foxman, labeled the argument a 'classic anti-Semitic canard' . The charge rests on the claim that the book echoes old conspiracy theories about Jewish control of foreign policy and getting America into war . Mearsheimer and Walt denied recycling such fantasies. The book repeatedly states that pro-Israel lobbying is not secretive but conforms to the open rules of America's democratic system . They argued that the charge of antisemitism was used to prevent discussion of their actual arguments .

The book analyzes the lobby's sources of influence, notably its financial muscle and the reluctance of critics to speak out . Pro-Israel contributions to U.S. campaigns dwarf those of Arab-American or Muslim groups . The lobby influences debate by rounding on politicians and commentators who take positions it dislikes, making criticism of Israel 'more trouble than it is worth' . The authors credit the lobby with shutting down talks with Syria, preventing condemnation of Israel's 2006 Lebanon war, and pushing the Iraq war .

The reception was sharply divided. Virtually all mainstream U.S. reviews were negative, with many raising charges of antisemitism . The BBC reported that several institutions canceled or refused to host events with the authors, with one council president citing the need 'to protect the institution' from a topic 'so hot' . By contrast, Walt noted that reviews in the United Kingdom were 'virtually all very positive,' which he said 'confirms our basic argument that it's much easier to talk about this subject outside the United States' .

Five years after publication, Walt assessed that the book succeeded in moving discussion of the lobby from the fringes to the mainstream, though U.S. policy itself had not fundamentally changed . Mainstream figures from Jon Stewart to Nicholas Kristof now acknowledge the lobby's role, and editorials call for a tougher approach to Israel . The book also inspired the emergence of J Street, a 'pro-Israel' group favoring smarter policies more representative of American Jewish opinion . However, the authors' greatest disappointment was the lack of movement in U.S. Middle East policy .