Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In 1796, George Washington devoted eleven paragraphs of his Farewell Address to a single warning: that citizens who form "passionate attachments" to a foreign nation pose a danger no constitutional check can catch. In ISRAEL'S LOBBY, Eli Clifton and Ian Lustick argue that America's relationship with Israel is exactly the danger Washington foresaw — and that we shouldn't keep ignoring his warning.
Get the book: bookshop.org/p/books/israel-s-lobby-america-in-the-grip-of-a-foreign-power-eli-clifton/16ed5a856e6a2af0?ean=9781668210840&affiliate=95814
"Sympathy for the favourite nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest, in cases where no real common interest exists... gives to ambitious, corrupted, or deluded citizens... facility to betray, or sacrifice the interests of their own country, without odium, sometimes even with popularity." — George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796
Political scientist Ian Lustick, coauthor of ISRAEL'S LOBBY, calls the US-Israel relationship both a compelling corroboration of Washington's warning and an extravagant contradiction of his advice — "the most atypical bilateral bond in inter-state relations."
ISRAEL'S LOBBY combines investigative journalism and political science to show how Israel's lobby polices the speech of American politicians, students, and journalists, and coerces the White House into backing policies that work against American interests. Eli Clifton and Ian Lustick trace how this influence took hold across successive presidential administrations, and why it's more costly and more dangerous today than ever before.
"Eli Clifton and Ian Lustick have done a great job explaining to Americans what it really means to be America First." — Rep. (ret.) Ron Paul
"The Lobby they document is bigger than the NRA, more disciplined than almost any domestic interest group, and operating in direct contradiction to what the American public wants." — Former Speaker of the Knesset, Avraham Burg
#IsraelsLobby #GeorgeWashington #FarewellAddress #USForeignPolicy #ForeignPolicy #Israel #Politics #NewBook
In 1796, George Washington devoted eleven paragraphs of his Farewell Address to a single warning: that citizens who form "passionate attachments" to a foreign nation pose a danger no constitutional check can catch. In ISRAEL'S LOBBY, Eli Clifton and Ian Lustick argue that America's relationship with Israel is exactly the danger Washington foresaw — and that we shouldn't keep ignoring his warning.
Get the book: bookshop.org/p/books/israel-s-lobby-america-in-the-grip-of-a-foreign-power-eli-clifton/16ed5a856e6a2af0?ean=9781668210840&affiliate=95814
"Sympathy for the favourite nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest, in cases where no real common interest exists... gives to ambitious, corrupted, or deluded citizens... facility to betray, or sacrifice the interests of their own country, without odium, sometimes even with popularity." — George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796
Political scientist Ian Lustick, coauthor of ISRAEL'S LOBBY, calls the US-Israel relationship both a compelling corroboration of Washington's warning and an extravagant contradiction of his advice — "the most atypical bilateral bond in inter-state relations."
ISRAEL'S LOBBY combines investigative journalism and political science to show how Israel's lobby polices the speech of American politicians, students, and journalists, and coerces the White House into backing policies that work against American interests. Eli Clifton and Ian Lustick trace how this influence took hold across successive presidential administrations, and why it's more costly and more dangerous today than ever before.
"Eli Clifton and Ian Lustick have done a great job explaining to Americans what it really means to be America First." — Rep. (ret.) Ron Paul
"The Lobby they document is bigger than the NRA, more disciplined than almost any domestic interest group, and operating in direct contradiction to what the American public wants." — Former Speaker of the Knesset, Avraham Burg
#IsraelsLobby #GeorgeWashington #FarewellAddress #USForeignPolicy #ForeignPolicy #Israel #Politics #NewBook
