Groundbreaking article co-authored by scholars John Mearsheimer (University of Chicago) and Stephen Walt (Harvard University) in 2006 that sought to explain why the US supports Israel, given the view that Israel's strategic value to the US or the moral necessity for a US-Israel alliance are not argued sufficiently. The authors posit that it is the role of the Israel lobby that explains what perpetuates the US-Israel relationship in the post-Cold War period. Despite personal attacks on the authors, Mearsheimer and Walt published a book the following year, The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy (2007), in which they expanded on ideas put forward in this article. This article is an essential read to gain an understanding of the structure, members, practices, impact, and affiliated organizations and think tanks within the Israel lobby. This source is incredibly valuable for research on the pro-Israel lobby, AIPAC, US foreign policy, US-Israel relations, the Oslo accords, Palestinian statehood, and Zionism.
