Norman Finkelstein and James Petras debate AIPAC's Influence on US Foreign Policy

"The Lobby:” The Debate over AIPAC's Influence on US Foreign Policy
February 8, 2007

What role does the pro-Israel lobby play in the shaping of American foreign policy? Although discussions of this issue date back decades, the debate has recently been brought into the mainstream by an article published in the London Review of Books in March 2006 by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, which charges that the influence of the Israel lobby result in policies that are in essence incompatible with American interests. Apart from the predictable chorus of Anti-Semitic accusations which the article gave rise to, it also gave rise to a serious debate within the progressive movement, in an attempt to accurately assess the power of the lobby and its influence both on policies and on public opinion.

The two guests on our program have been important contributors to that debate:
Norman Finkelstein is a Professor of Political Science at DePaul University . He is the author of a number of books as well as articles on the history of Zionism, and on the role of the holocaust in shaping Israeli present day policies. His latest book published in (2005) is Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History .
James Petras is a retired Bartle Professor (Emeritus) of Sociology at Binghamton University , SUNY . He is the author of numerous books and articles on the making of state power and globalization, in the context of the US and Latin America and most recently in the Middle East . Is latest book published in 2006 is titled The Power of Israel in the United States