The Place of the Pro-Israel Community in United States Foreign Policy

Abstract

The pro-Israel community has long been acknowledged as one of the most influential interest groups in United States politics. Results from a 2005 survey by the National Journal ranked the American Israel Public Affairs Commit-tee, or AIPAC, as the second most powerful lobbying organization in Washing-ton. The debate over what some see as the community‘s disproportionate level of influence was reignited in 2006, when John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt published their essay ―The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy.‖ In assessing the extent of the community‘s influence on U.S. politics, this essay will focus on the community‘s role in activities that are most directly linked to the legislative process: congressional election campaigns and financing, and presidential and congressional legislation. The community‘s influence will first be examined in the general context of the afore-mentioned activities, and then more specifically in the context of its promotion of a confrontational position on Iran‘s nuclear programme.