Guest lecturer Grant F. Smith discusses key points developed in his new book, Big Israel: How Israel’s Lobby Moves America, while providing insight into likely Israel lobby demands on the next administration. Smith is the director of the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy, Inc.

Agenda items include:

1. Where did the Israel lobby come from? Before they evolved into a lobby for Israel, what social welfare needs did key organizations address and how?
2. What function does each major category of the Israel lobby serve? Which organizations lobby congress for foreign aid, and how do they work with hundreds of state-level lobbies to secure U.S. economic, diplomatic, financial and military support for Israel?
3. What Israel lobby organizations influence the media and what are their tactics? What core messaging and issue framing campaigns have they launched, and how have these changed over time?
4. Which Israel lobbying organizations work to sanction and punish domestic opposition to pro-Israel policies? What are their tactics?
5. Why has the United States provided more foreign aid to Israel than any other foreign country? How has American public opinion about aid changed over time?
6. How representative of the American Jewish community is the Israel lobby?
7. What key objectives will the Israel lobby try to achieve during the next administration?
8. What opposition has been mounted against Israel lobby programs, and how has this opposition changed over time?

Video Courtesy St Olaf College. Used by Permission.

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