Authors Debate Israeli Lobby's Role

Interest group politics have been at the heart of the American political system since the country was founded in the late eighteenth century. Thus, the NRA, the farm lobby, the Cuban lobby, and the Israel lobby, are engaged in an enterprise that is as American as apple pie. Nevertheless, there is no question that the laws of the land could be changed to limit the influence of interest groups. Public financing of elections would be a positive step in this regard.

I agree with your description that lobbies try to influence policymaking. It is part of our system of government and politics and like most elements of a system, it has good and bad parts to it. What was as troubling about Mearsheimer and Walt's description of the role of the Israel lobby was their exaggerated and overwrought view of how much influence it has. People like former Secretary of State George Shultz and former U.S. Middle East negotiator Dennis Ross, long involved in a hands-on way in the making of U.S. Middle East policy, say that what Mearsheimer and Walt describe as to how policy is made bears no resemblance to reality. In fact, they point out, there is no single overwhelming influence and surely the Israel lobby is not, when policy is decided on. Many factors, external and internal, go into policymaking.

In that regard, having lobbies is not a bad thing. It gives a hearing to particular points of view, but does not necessarily lead to the domination of that one view. That is what I believe takes place with regard to U.S. Middle East policy.