WHEN BRITAIN ANNOUNCED its support for the establishment of a Jewish national home in Palestine by issuing the Balfour Declaration, many high-profile American Jews opposed the move. “I do not believe that it is to the interest of the Jews or the world to isolate them or to separate them with an effort to form a distinct and separate nation,” the Italian-Jewish New York congressman, Fiorello La Guardia declared. “While of course they are racially one, the Jews of America, England, France and Italy are no different than their fellow countrymen.” La Guardia and the other opponents were ignored. The United States government endorsed the Balfour Declaration. Today, a century later, it is the state of Israel’s main ally.
Fifteen years ago, after the. In it they argued that the pro-Israel lobby enjoys an undue influence on American politics. By convincing many Americans that American and Israeli interests were “essentially identical” the lobby had encouraged successive administrations to pursue policies that had jeopardised national security, and even, by making criticism of Israel difficult, Israel’s long-term prospects.
