The Israel Lobby and U. S. Foreign Policy
Back in 2007 two of America's great strategic thinkers wrote a book entitled The Israel Lobby and U. S. Foreign Policy. They were John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago and Stephen Walt of Harvard. This book, which was extremely readable, became a sensation, as you might guess. It even became a best seller, which is amazing for a book that is 484 pages long, including 106 pages of footnotes. And it came under the predictable assault from pro-Israeli activists who made all the not-surprising accusations.
A student group in Ann Arbor invited Mearsheimer and Walt to come to the University of Michigan to speak. They invited me to introduce them. I am not sure how they decided that I was the best person, but I am glad they did.
The rather large room was packed, and were very attentive to my every word.
The student who headed the organization made a nice introduction when telling the audience who I was but he called me John Stockton. He was a bit embarrassed and quickly apologized. I told him that I had no problem when people confused me with one of the great point guards in NBA history.
This is my introduction to these two great scholars and their book, and the issues surrounding it. Remember this was when the Obama-Clinton struggle for the Democratic nomination was going on.
Note that at several points in the podcast, I pause to explain to the audience the context for a certain comment or to explain some term that may not be familiar today.
Remember, there is an earlier podcast called Paradigm Lost, which discusses another book and its analysis of why internal dynamics in Israel pulled Israel away from a political settlement based on two states. And ways in which the pro-Israel lobby influenced U. S. policy, not for the good.
Truth in Podcasting: Mearsheimer and Walt cited one of my articles. It was in one of those hundreds of footnotes, but anyway, thanks guys.