The Arab Lobby: The Invisible Alliance That Undermines America’s Interests in the Middle East
The Arab Lobby: The Invisible Alliance That Undermines America’s Interests in the Middle East is a 2010 book by former AIPAC newsletter editor Mitchell Bard. The book appears to be an attempt to divert attention from the growing focus on the influence of the Israel lobby over US foreign policy. Bard's 2001 book Myths and Facts: A Guide to the Arab-Israeli Conflict is widely considered the handbook for pro-Israel debating.
The Case
- The point of this study is to highlight how the debate may be distorted because of the vast financial resources of the Arab lobby, and to expose some of its efforts to manipulate public opinion and foreign policy, often beyond public view, in ways that have gone largely unnoticed and demand greater scrutiny.” [1]
Criticism
R. M. Schneiderman of Newsweek writes:
- From the get-go, Bard undermines his own thesis. “In some ways the term Arab lobby is a misnomer,” he writes. And indeed, what Bard is really talking about are two separate groups: a Saudi Arabian lobby and a pro-Palestinian lobby. Do these groups have some power? Yes, especially the former, because of the oil issue. But if Bard set out to show the pernicious influence of “the Arab lobby,” what he really offers is a litany of examples of AIPAC outflanking the pro-Saudi and pro-Palestinian lobbies.[2]
Schneiderman notes that according to the book, 'Apparently anyone who criticizes Israel is part of a nefarious “Arab Lobby,” or is an “Arabist” who has “gone native.”' The book is also 'Lightly footnoted and chock-full of offensive innuendo.'Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag[3] The book has been generally well received in the Jewish press.[4]
Notes
- ↑ Bard (2010):xii
- ↑ R. M. Schneiderman, Review of 'The Arab Lobby', Newsweek, 3 September 2010
- ↑ Adam Serwer, Common Cause, The American Prospect, 26 August 2010
- ↑ Lee Smith, The Arab Lobby, The Tablet, 1 September 2010
