Independent Power or Follower? The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy in the Middle East

In 2007, Mearsheimer and Walt published The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy, in which they argue that the U.S. Israel lobby has managed to front its own interests at the cost of U.S. interests. In this article we explore the validity of this argument. We look at examples of American Middle East policy where both the U.S. and Israeli authorities had interests. We observe that the Israel lobby appears more powerful than it really is because U.S. foreign policy interests are often in line with those of Israel and the Israel lobby to begin with. In contrast, in cases where the U.S. and Israel have contradictory interests, the limited influence of the lobby becomes apparent. Future researchers would be well advised to take into account the multiplicity of actors that influence U.S. foreign policy, rather than put too much weight on a single actor like the Israel lobby.