John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt’s views on the United States’ Policy towards Israel.
For a mesmerizing period of time, the Israel lobby has been among the leading interest groups in the United States’ political spheres. This sort of political influence and connection between these two powerful countries became a hot topic. Thus, two intellectuals, John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, openly put this issue into a discussion and came up with a research entitled “The Israel Lobby.” Unfortunately, due to the attacking insights in their study, publishers refused to work out this paper as it was seen to be anti-Semitic, thus making it so strenuous to spit a word about the Israel lobby. The authors’ views on the U.S. policy towards Israel can be summarized into a few points. First, that America’s relationship with Israel is difficult to discuss openly in the United States. Secondly, the United States has been Israel’s great benefactor. Lastly, the exceptional amount of support that Israel receives from the U.S.
To begin with, the writers’ study discusses and provides a complete definition of the lobby and its development over time. It also talks about topics on the exceptional level of U.S. support to Israel and addresses the controversial issue of dual loyalty of the U.S. Despite America’s current status quo, it is still seen to be serving the interests of the Jewish state. And it is difficult to criticize the lobby’s influence on American foreign policy or simply question the overwhelming support of the United States to Israel without being labeled as anti-Semitic.
The statement that America’s relationship with Israel is difficult to discuss openly in the United States is clearly visible. As mentioned earlier, anyone who addressed this issue might be accused of hating the Jews. This hellish expression of opinions towards the Israel lobby can be explained by the fact that the United States is a pluralist democracy which means among its core values is the freedom of speech and association; therefore, interest groups have the legitimacy to influence the political process. Additionally, accusing the Israel lobby of its practices and ramifications is analogous to questioning its legitimacy by the mere fact that there are several states which still don’t recognize Israel as a legitimate country due to its actions towards the Palestinians which is the reason why when its supporters sense that Israel is under attack they tend to be hostile and have a defensive counter-reaction.
Secondly, the view that the United States has been Israel’s great benefactor. From political, military, and economic assistance, Israel enjoys the benefits it takes from the U.S. In fact, during the economic crisis of Israel, taxpayers’ money, of the U.S., has supported and rescued the state from suffering. And Israel receives US$ 3 billion from U.S. aid regardless of its economic status being a significant industrial power which is tantamount to Spain and South Korea. In terms of military, United States military assistance has aided and strengthened Israel’s military dominance and supremacy in the region (Middle East), especially with the threat from its neighbors and also during war. And to justify this argument, it also happened that the U.S. has given Israel exclusive diplomatic support whether in war or not. In fact, it has also become connected to U.S. defense and intelligence.[1] Furthermore, U.S. aid became the key factor in the protracted Arab- Israeli peace process, which resulted in the agreements like the Camp David Accords and even the peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan as well as the most recently U.A.E and Bahrain normalization of relations. This is more than any state in the world that the U.S. has been Israel’s great benefactor, and we can say that Yitzhak Rabin, former Prime Minister of Israel, was correct when he stated that America’s generous character towards Israel is “beyond compare in modern history.”[2]
Third, the exceptional amount of support that Israel receives from the U.S. This part may seem synonymous with the second point; however, this part extensively discusses the willingness of the United States to provide Israel with extensive economic, military, and diplomatic support. Rationally, this sort of support of a country towards a foreign state is justifiable if both countries would benefit, with greater emphasis to the providing state since it is said that a country won’t serve another state for free (or free from particular interests). For instance, if both countries have a common enemy to be cautious from, which in this sense is correct, having Iran as a threat for both countries. Secondly, if a state possesses a massive amount of natural resources and reserves, attracting other states to deal with it is pretty arguable in the case of U.S- Israel since Israel doesn’t have those. Therefore, the extensive support of the U.S. to Israel is said to be due to the reflection of America’s overarching strategic interests and that by doing so, would make all Americans safer.
To conclude, though the United States and Israel had a clear, strong connection that paved the way to the continuous attainment of Israel of its interests, it is not absolute since the lobby’s influence has been bad for both countries as believed by Mearsheimer and Walt. And it is an opportunity for the United States to reflect on its actions since even though the lobby remains an influential political force, its contrary effect is incrementally challenging to overlook.
[1] Sharp, “U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel,” 1
[2] Bard and Pipes, “How Special Is the U.S.-Israel Relationship?” 41
