Analysis & Opinions - The New York Times
Israel's Friends and the Path to Peace
Letter to the Editor
Note
This letter was written in response to Jeffrey Goldberg's op-ed, "Israel's 'American Problem' " which was published on May 18, 2008.
Jeffrey Goldberg attacks our book, “The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy,” while openly embracing one of our main arguments.
He writes that we “argue, unpersuasively, that American support for Israel hurts America. It doesn’t. But unthinking American support does hurt Israel.”
Our book contains detailed case studies showing that unconditional support for Israel is not in America’s national interest. Readers can judge for themselves whether we are “persuasive.”
But we also emphasized that “the lobby’s impact has been unintentionally harmful to Israel,” that its actions “may even be jeopardizing the long-term prospects of the Jewish state” and that its “influence has been bad for both countries.”
The lobby’s harmful impact on Israel was also a central theme of an op-ed article, “Israel’s False Friends,” we wrote in The Los Angeles Times on Jan. 6. Mr. Goldberg clearly agrees with this part of our argument.
John J. Mearsheimer
Stephen M. Walt
Chicago, May 18, 2008
Want to Read More?
The full text of this publication is available via the original publication source.
For more information on this publication:
Belfer Communications Office
For Academic Citation:
Mearsheimer, John J. and Stephen M. Walt.“Israel's Friends and the Path to Peace.” The New York Times, May 20, 2008.
The Authors
John J. Mearsheimer
- Editorial Board Member, Quarterly Journal: International Security
Stephen M. Walt
- Robert and Renée Belfer Professor of International Affairs; Faculty Chair, International Security Program
- Member of the Board, Belfer Center
- Faculty Affiliate, Future of Diplomacy Project
- Faculty Affiliate, Middle East Initiative
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Note
This letter was written in response to Jeffrey Goldberg's op-ed, "Israel's 'American Problem' " which was published on May 18, 2008.
Jeffrey Goldberg attacks our book, “The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy,” while openly embracing one of our main arguments.
He writes that we “argue, unpersuasively, that American support for Israel hurts America. It doesn’t. But unthinking American support does hurt Israel.”
Our book contains detailed case studies showing that unconditional support for Israel is not in America’s national interest. Readers can judge for themselves whether we are “persuasive.”
But we also emphasized that “the lobby’s impact has been unintentionally harmful to Israel,” that its actions “may even be jeopardizing the long-term prospects of the Jewish state” and that its “influence has been bad for both countries.”
The lobby’s harmful impact on Israel was also a central theme of an op-ed article, “Israel’s False Friends,” we wrote in The Los Angeles Times on Jan. 6. Mr. Goldberg clearly agrees with this part of our argument.
John J. Mearsheimer
Stephen M. Walt
Chicago, May 18, 2008
Want to Read More?
The full text of this publication is available via the original publication source.The Authors
John J. Mearsheimer
- Editorial Board Member, Quarterly Journal: International Security
Stephen M. Walt
- Robert and Renée Belfer Professor of International Affairs; Faculty Chair, International Security Program
- Member of the Board, Belfer Center
- Faculty Affiliate, Future of Diplomacy Project
- Faculty Affiliate, Middle East Initiative
- Recommended
- In the Spotlight
- Most Viewed
Recommended
Audio - Radio Open Source
JFK in the American Century
Analysis & Opinions - Foreign Policy
The Realist Case for the Non-Realist Biden
Journal Article - Quarterly Journal: International Security
Network Connections and the Emergence of the Hub-and-Spokes Alliance System in East Asia
In the Spotlight
Most Viewed
Policy Brief - Quarterly Journal: International Security
The Future of U.S. Nuclear Policy: The Case for No First Use
Discussion Paper - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
Why the United States Should Spread Democracy
