Book by John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt argues that a powerful pro-Israel lobby, centered on AIPAC but extending to think tanks, media, and Congress, has distorted US foreign policy in the Middle East in ways that serve Israeli government interests at the expense of broader American national interests and Palestinian rights. Mearsheimer and Walt trace the lobby's influence on US support for settlement expansion, the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and the marginalization of Palestinian rights in peace negotiations. One of the most debated books on the US-Israel relationship. Widely assigned in political science and Middle East studies courses, this is essential reading for researchers and students studying US-Israel relations, the domestic political constraints on US policy toward Palestine, and the role of AIPAC in shaping American foreign policy.
