Co-Authors Reflect Ten years After Publishing Controversial Book, ‘The Israel Lobby’

University of Chicago professor John Mearsheimer, right, who together with Harvard professor Stephen Walt, unseen, published a book arguing that pro-Israel special interest groups have manipulated the U.S. political system to promote policies that favor Israel and run counter to American interests, defends his views with Israeli students at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem where the two lectured about their best selling book, Thursday, June 12, 2008.
University of Chicago professor John Mearsheimer, right, who together with Harvard professor Stephen Walt, unseen, published a book arguing that pro-Israel special interest groups have manipulated the U.S. political system to promote policies that favor Israel and run counter to American interests, defends his views with Israeli students at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem where the two lectured about their best selling book, Thursday, June 12, 2008. AP Photo/Ed Ou
University of Chicago professor John Mearsheimer, right, who together with Harvard professor Stephen Walt, unseen, published a book arguing that pro-Israel special interest groups have manipulated the U.S. political system to promote policies that favor Israel and run counter to American interests, defends his views with Israeli students at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem where the two lectured about their best selling book, Thursday, June 12, 2008.
University of Chicago professor John Mearsheimer, right, who together with Harvard professor Stephen Walt, unseen, published a book arguing that pro-Israel special interest groups have manipulated the U.S. political system to promote policies that favor Israel and run counter to American interests, defends his views with Israeli students at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem where the two lectured about their best selling book, Thursday, June 12, 2008. AP Photo/Ed Ou

Co-Authors Reflect Ten years After Publishing Controversial Book, ‘The Israel Lobby’

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The 2007 book, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy argued that a loose coalition of interests, which supports Israel, lobbies the U.S. government to skew U.S. foreign policy to Israel’s favor. The authors also assert this reality damages, both America’s and Israel’s, long-term interests. “The Israel Lobby” ignited a firestorm of debate. Critics accused the authors of giving voice to historic anti-Semitic slurs. Supporters hailed the book as opening a door to needed dialogue on a taboo subject.

Ten years later, the book’s co-authors, John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, join Worldview to discuss the changes in Middle East dialogue in the decade since they wrote the book. Mearsheimer is professor of political science at the University of Chicago and authored numerous books including, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics. Walt is a professor of International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He also authored the book, Taming American Power: The Global Response to U.S. Primacy.