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Is the Israel Lobby Governing US Foreign Policy?

October 29, 2007
John Mearsheimer professor, political science, U of Chicago
Stephen Walt professor, international affairs, Harvard

John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt discuss their controversial book The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy.

In March 2006, John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt published an article entitled "The Israel Lobby" in the London Review of Books that ignited a storm of controversy. They argued that a group of pro-Israel activists was manipulating US foreign policy to benefit the state of Israel at the expense of the United States own national interests. What evidence do Mearsheimer and Walt point to in backing up their claim that the "Israel Lobby" is guiding policy decisions in Washington? What changes do they recommend to align US Middle Eastern policy with the nation's genuine interests abroad? These are questions that John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt address as they discuss their controversial book The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy.

WGBH
Cambridge Forum
Image of The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy
Author: Stephen M. Walt, John J. Mearsheimer
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (2008)
Binding: Paperback, 496 pages