The Observer, September 28, 2007
Volume XL, Issue 5
Case hosts controversial talk on Israel lobby
Ford Auditorium was host to a controversial talk Wednesday night by authors of a book critical of the Israeli lobby in U.S. government. The lecture had previously been cancelled in Chicago and New York, but went on with minimal protesting at Case.
The event, hosted by Alice Bach and the Hallinan Project for Peace and Social Justice, brought authors Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer to discuss their book, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy. Over 100 people from Case and the community attended the talk.
Attendees came for many different reasons. Blogger Jeff Hess, having read the book and the Anti-Defamation League's response to it, was curious about the central question of the book, "Can you say anything critical of Israel or are you trapped as a cheerleader?"
Students from other colleges were in attendance as well. "I don't know much about the U.S./ Israel relationship," said Patience Fiodembo, a student at John Carroll University. "I have heard some controversial things about John Mearsheimer; I want to see what he's about."
Bach introduced the two authors, remarking that their book "provoked both howls of outrage and cheers of gratitude for challenging what had been a taboo subject in America."
Bach, the Hallinan professor of Catholic studies at Case, is known for supporting all differing viewpoints in this argument. "I took her 'Palestine and Israel' class last year, and there was some amazing dialogue in that class," said Sheila Fell, a Case law student. "I think we need to look at the less predominant viewpoint since the media seems to always give the predominant one."
According to Walt, there are two main questions in this debate: "Is there a powerful pro-Israel lobby in the U.S.? On balance, is its influence postive or negative for both the U.S. and Israel?"
Walt made some disclaimers before taking on the first of these questions. He maintained that he and Mearsheimer do not question Israel's existence or challenge its legitimacy, and that they want the United States to come to Israel's aid if necessary. His main point of contention was that "reasonable people ought to be able to discuss openly the Israel lobby."
To provide some background to the authors' view on the effects of the Israel lobby, Walt informed the audience that Israel is the largest recipient of U.S. foreign and military aid even though its income is 29th in the world. He also pointed to the fact that Israel gets aid from the United States even when it does things that the United States formally opposes, and has consistent diplomatic backing from America.
Walt indicated that the pro-Israel lobby works in two ways in the American government – both in politics and by shaping public discourse. To the first point, Walt provided some quotes from various government officials, the most pointed being, "Everyone in Congress knows that you are playing with fire if you question U.S. support for Israel." To the second, he remarked that American public views of Israel are much more narrow than the views of Europeans or those inside Israel itself, where the actions of the state are more often called into question.
Mearsheimer continued the discussion on the topic of the lobby's influence on U.S. policy. According to him, this influence on policy has helped fuel terrorism by those against American involvement in Israel. "I'm not arguing that U.S. support is the only cause, just that it is a major cause," said Mearsheimer, continuing on to say that this support might serve as a powerful recruitment device for terrorists.
"The present relationship between Washington and Jerusalem is increasing problems," said Mearsheimer. He argued that Israel was one of the driving factors behind the American invasion of Iraq, with Israeli leaders pressuring the Bush administration to take down Saddam Hussein and to set its mark on Iran as soon as possible.
Mearsheimer addressed the authors' perceived bias. "We are sometimes accused of saying that the Iraq War is a 'Jewish war,'" he said. "Polls taken before the war show that American Jews are less supportive of the war than the general public."
The way the U.S./Israel relationship should look, according to Mearsheimer, is that the United States should stop its special relationship with Israel and instead treat it as a "normal country."
"When Israel is acting in ways that are consistent with American interest we should support them; when it is not America should distance itself and use its leverage to get Israel to change its behavior as it would do with any other country acting in ways which might harm the U.S.," said Mearsheimer.
Although Bach, Walt, and Mearsheimer all applauded Cleveland's willingness to support free speech and host the authors' talk, one audience member was cut off in the middle of a question to the authors when his comments began to seem pointed against the talk.
"I'm not surprised at Bach's attempt to stop my questioning," said freshman Caleb Posner. "I came because I knew there wouldn't be many people willing to question their irrational and factually incorrect assertions." Posner came in part to support many Jews who could not attend the talk due to obligations related to the start of Sukkot, a Jewish holiday that began at 6:59 p.m. Wednesday.
Sitting through the talk did not change any of Posner's opinions. "It remains my firmly held belief that the book is anti-Semitic tripe that is unfit to be anything more than toilet paper."
Other attendees came around to Mearsheimer and Walt's way of thinking.
"I thought that Israel was the victim before," said Fiodembo. "After listening to the speech I realize that Israel plays a major role in provoking other nations."
"We wrote the book to encourage Americans to begin discussing things more openly than they had previously," said Walt. "I think it helped open the door a little bit."
