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Antisemitism

Support for Israel blamed for US's woes

Academic researchers attack close ties between the two nations


By Ryan Jones
March 19, 2006

Dressed up in new academic attire, the centuries-old libel that the Jewish people have somehow taken control of the affairs of the most powerful nations on earth - in this case the United States of America - is again making headlines.

America's roughly six million Jews make up a minuscule voting bloc, and neither they nor their brethren abroad hold sway over critical natural resources, such as oil.

Yet despite their inferior numbers and lack of significant economic leverage, the pro-Israel Jewish lobby in America, represented primarily by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), has managed to hijack the foreign policies of the US government, contend a pair of researchers in a controversial 81-page report.

Writing under the banner of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt argue:

"The overall thrust of US policy in the [Middle East] is due almost entirely to US domestic politics, and especially to the activities of the 'Israel Lobby'... no lobby has managed to divert US foreign policy as far from what the American national interest would otherwise suggest, while simultaneously convincing Americans that US and Israeli interests are essentially identical."

In reality, Mearsheimer and Walt insist, supporting Israel is not in America's best interests.

"Israel is in fact a liability in the war on terror and the broader effort to deal with rogue states. The United States has a terrorism problem in good part because it is so closely allied with Israel, not the other way around."

Seemingly ignoring global Islamic hatred for the US and its Christian-based values, the two "experts" claim open belligerence from Iran, Iraq, Syria and the terrorist proxies directed by those states would simply not be an issue for America if it weren't for Israel.

The authors even go so far as to accuse Israel of not being a true democracy, and therefore not a suitable ally for the US.

It is unclear how they feel about Washington's close ties to brutal dictatorial regimes, such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt, since they chose to spend their time engaged in the more popular pastime of Israel-bashing.

Naturally, the report has topped headlines in the leftist international media, and in particular in the Middle East, where no love is lost for either Israel or the United States.

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