The Israel Lobby by John J. Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago and Stephen M. Walt of
Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government was one of the most controversial articles in
recent memory. Originally published in the London Review of Books in March 2006 it provoked
both howls of outrage and cheers of gratitude for challenging what had been a taboo issue in
America: the impact of the Israel lobby on U.S. foreign policy. Now in a work of major
importance Mearsheimer and Walt deepen and expand their argument and confront recent
developments in Lebanon and Iran. They describe the remarkable level of material and diplomatic
support that the United States provides to Israel and argues that this support cannot be fully
explained on either strategic or moral grounds. This exceptional relationship is due largely to
the political influence of a loose coalition of individuals and organizations that actively
work to shape U.S. foreign policy in a pro-Israel direction. Mearsheimer and Walt provocatively
contend that the lobby has a far-reaching impact on America's posture throughout the Middle
East-in Iraq Iran Lebanon and toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict-and the policies it
has encouraged are in neither America's national interest nor Israel's long-term interest. The
lobby's influence also affects America's relationship with important allies and increases
dangers that all states face from global jihadist terror. Writing in The New York Review of
Books Michael Massing declared Not since Foreign Affairs magazine published Samuel
Huntington's 'The Clash of Civilizations?' in 1993 has an academic essay detonated with such
force. The publication of The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy is certain to widen the
debate and to be one of the most talked-about books in foreign policy.
