Product Description

This book is a chapter-by-chapter analysis and documentation of the power of Israel via the Israeli, Jewish or Pro-Zionist Lobby on US Middle East policy. It raises serious questions as to the primary beneficiary of US policy, and its destructive results for the United States. The extraordinary extent of US political, economic, military and diplomatic support for the state of Israel is explored, along with the means whereby such support is generated and consolidated. Contending that Zionist power in America ensured unconditional US backing for Israeli colonization of Palestine and its massive uprooting of Palestinians, it views the interests of Israel rather than those of Big Oil as the primary cause of the disastrous US wars against Iraq and threats of war against Iran and Syria. It demonstrates and condemns US imitation of Israeli practice as it relates to conduct of the war on terrorism and torture. It sheds light on the AIPAC spying scandal and other Israeli espionage against America; the fraudulent and complicit role of America's academic "terrorist experts" in furthering criminal government policies, and the orchestration of the Danish cartoons to foment antipathy between Muslims and the West. It questions the inability in America to sustain or even formulate a discourse related to the subject of Israeli influence on the United States. It calls for a review of American Mideast policy with a view to reclaiming US independence of action based upon enlightened self-interest and progressive principles.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #22822 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 191 pages

Michael Parenti, author of The Culture Struggle and Superpatriotism
"This is an eye-opening, must-read book for every advocate of democracy and every opponent of imperialism"

Tom Brass, Editor The Journal of Peasant Studies
"Jim Petras is one of the best informed political scientists of his generation."

From the Publisher
Publication of "The Israeli Lobby" in The London Review by two distinguished American academics, Mearsheimer (University of Chicago) and Walt (former dean, John F. Kennedy School of Government,Harvard), opened the door to discussion of the extent of Israeli influence upon American decision-making, and the means and processes whereby this occurs. The catastrophic Israeli assault on Lebanon, the war in Iraq, and threat of deepening US descent into the quagmire by an attack on Iran--with all that this portends for the well being of Americans and the American infrastructure--has heightened public interest in US Middle East policy, and readiness to question received norms. A CBS poll finds that 80 percent of Democrats believe the United States should have stayed out of Iraq, and more than 60 percent want US troops home as soon as possible. As for Lebanon, there is a widening consensus that Israel has blundered. The time is ripe for a re-assessment of American Middle East policy.

Despite academic awareness of the influence of Israel and the "Jewish" lobby (so-designated by Israeli politicians) in America, there are surprisingly few scholarly works addressing this particular topic. This book is highly documented and rigorously argued. The author has eminent standing in the progressive/left community, with long involvement in social justice struggles in Latin America. He is among the few American academics who enjoy an iconic status among progressives similar to that of Noam Chomsky. Petras challenges Noam Chomsky concerning his treatment and interpretation of Israel's influence in the U.S. This will spark a major debate among progressives, given the stature of both parties.

Customer Reviews

Great book
Petras' insight into the "jewish" lobby is both insightful and compelling. Aside from sharing the more well known revelations of Israel's duplicity in the reasons for the US going into war with Iraq, it also points out the insider dealings of the Israel friendly elite who also happen to be running the world's richest State, the USA.
Gladly not a scathing attack on the Jewish faith, nor a tome for anti-semitics - this book is a reminder that all is not well in Middle Eastern politics, particularly with the behind the scenes machinations between Israel and its greatest benefactor, America.

An excellent synopsis of Israeli influence over the US' Federal Government IF you account for the writer's leftist views
1) Overview: Making the Case for Reducing Israeli and Jewish Power in the US Government

Petras does an excellent step by step job of documenting just how the Neocons in the Pentagon took the United States to war in Iraq. He lays out the strategy and highlights the influence of Jewish Zionists, Mossad agents, and Christian sympathisers in the US government and in Israel and how they work together to move our government in ways that benefit Israel, but- at least in the Iraq invasion- most likely are undertaken at direct cost to Americans' lives and wellbeing. He backs up his points with facts that have yet to be countered by other political science researchers. For example Petras states that 35% of Republican and 60% of Democrat campaign donations come from American Zionists! He links US Government payments to Israel as a primary source of this funding. The work appears to be properly researched to US academic standards and is a moderately easy, if distressing, read.

2) Criticism: The Facts Add Up, But the Writing Method is Somewhat Manipulative

Petras lays out the facts and then slowly but surely introduces naming conventions and other writing techniques demonstrative of agitation propaganda we became familiar with in the Cold War from Soviet media. Being an old Cold Warrior myself I have a zero tolerance policy for this type of manipulation. Further Petras' commentary on Reagan and the Contras/ Central American issues demonstrate a leftist writer with an axe to grind. Still his points on Israel, the Neocons, and the Iraqi invasion are fact based from what I can assess, ergo they must be taken seriously. Effectively, if Dr. Petras had left out the leftist influence in his writing, the work would be a winner no holds barred. As it is it still must be taken seriously by every foreign policy analyst that reads it. Especially pertinent is the apparent move towards converting the American Republic into an empire- which, Petras observes, may be the Knesset's plan to expand its power by using controlled US power as a surrogate for Israeli influence globally.

3) Observations: What we really need is a plan to get the American Government back to being free from foreign influence

If George Washington had two great warnings in his Farewell Address they were:
1) Beware of foreign entanglements
2) Honesty is the Best Policy

We really need to get a bigger picture idea of the influence of Jewish culture and its Neocon/Zionist execution and impact on America and her citizens. The book is limited in scope to the Iraqi invasion, AIPAC/Mossad spying in the US Government, the impact of torture on America's image globally, and the clear massive and intentional over representation of Zionist goals within America's government. The book does not address other issues that may be related to Zionist influences in the US. For example, how will the US Government handle comming conflicts between Zionists and Islamist inside the continental US? Are Israelis responsible for our elected representatives' decision to not protect our borders from illegal aliens? (In this case, what else could explain the Bush Administrations decision to not enforce immigration law with 90% of Americans demanding it?)

Conclusion: This is an important work and a must read for Americans who want their nation to regain its independance and to maintain their role as its owners.

The Power of Israel over the United States
I find it absolutely scary how a little "country" has so much control over our congress and our people here in the U.S.A.Unless we the people wake up and revolt against this foreign powers' control here , we as a nation are doomed to follow in the same path of the Roman Empires' demise.