ISBN : 9782296051171
LE POIDS DU LOBBY PRO-ISRAÉLIEN ET SES LIENS AVEC LES ÉVANGÉLIQUES AMÉRICAINS
Mokhtar Ben Barka
The aim of this paper to explore American Evangelicals' ties to Israel and to the pro-Israel lobby, and more specifically the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Set up in the early 1950s, AIPAC actively seeks to steer US foreign policy in a pro-Israel direction. To that end, it works closely with Congress, candidates for federal office, White House, Pentagon and State Department officials, and other policymakers whose decisions affect Israel's future and America's policies in the Middle East. In a highly critical essay, Professors John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt have recently argued that the pro-Israel lobby managed to divert US foreign policy from the American national interest and that Israel has been more of a liability, thus provoking wrath among Israel's supporters. Israel has held a fascination for the Evangelicals as far back as the formation of the modern state, which many viewed as a sign that millennial prophecies about Christ's return were beginning to unfold. The Evangelical view of Israel derives largely from a double-edged theological position. Following a classic anti-Jewish stance, it regards the Jewish people as spiritually blind for rejecting Jesus. Yet it says that divine promises to Jews-to bless those who bless them, to return them to their land-remain intact. The relationship between Jews and the Evangelicals is a source of considerable debate within the Jewish community.