The influence of the pro-Israel lobby on U.S. foreign policy decisions is examined in a book published by journalist Eli Clifton and retired University of Pennsylvania professor Ian Lustick. The authors argue that this influence, extending from campaign financing to congressional activities, has political, financial and security-related consequences for Washington.
The Israel Lobby: America in the Grip of a Foreign Power was published in August by Atria/One Signal Publishers. Foreign policy researcher Clifton is among the founders of the Quincy Institute, while Lustick, a former University of Pennsylvania professor, has studied the Israeli-Palestinian issue and is among the founders of the Association for Israel Studies.
Aid to Israel and the definition of the lobby
Clifton and Lustick use the term “pro-Israel lobby” for organizations, groups and individuals from Jewish, Christian and other communities that advocate U.S. policies aligned with Israel’s interests. The authors reject equating this structure with American Jews and consider it misleading to claim that the lobby’s political objectives reflect the views of all Jews in the United States.
The book states that Israel has been one of the largest recipients of U.S. aid since the 1970s and has received approximately one-quarter of the American military aid provided to other countries. It says that loans and grants provided to Israel between 1948 and 2024 exceeded $300 billion when adjusted for inflation, surpassing the $179 billion in aid received by Egypt.
The authors argue that Israel received at least $16.3 billion in military aid after October 7, 2023. Clifton and Lustick describe the pro-Israel lobby as one of the most influential foreign policy lobbies in U.S. history and characterize the American Israel Public Affairs Committee as a major power center that acts like a representative of a foreign power.
Congressional elections and political donations
Organizations linked to Israel allegedly spent $45 million on the 2024 House of Representatives and Senate elections. The book states that a significant portion of this money was directed to campaigns against Democratic Representatives Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman, who called for a ceasefire in Gaza.
According to the authors, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s 2024 speech to the U.S. Congress was interrupted by applause 74 times, and members of Congress stood during 53 of those ovations. Clifton and Lustick also recount that Netanyahu said during a 2001 meeting with Israeli right-wing activists that the United States was easy to influence.
Clifton and Lustick write that, following the Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling in the Citizens United case and regulations that expanded the operating scope of super political action committees, some billionaire donors who openly supported Israel became influential in campaign finance. According to the book, the disclosed political contributions of nine donors have exceeded $1.7 billion since 2012, with Sheldon and Miriam Adelson ranking first at approximately $700 million.
The definition of antisemitism and universities
The book argues that the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism can be used to limit criticism of Israel. The authors contend that the alliance’s “working definition” could restrict freedom of expression.
Clifton and Lustick also allege that the Anti-Defamation League included some anti-Zionist statements in its antisemitism statistics after October 7, 2023. The book states that the average number of incidents recorded in 2023-2024 increased approximately threefold compared with 2021-2022, and that changes in the criteria for recording incidents also contributed to the rise.
The authors claim that the Trump administration launched more than 60 investigations at universities over allegations of antisemitism during the first nine months of 2025. The book also states that funding for higher education institutions was reduced by approximately $11 billion during the first four months, and that the detention of Mahmoud Khalil, one of the leaders of pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University, by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement provided an example of this process.
Claims about the Mavi Marmara, BDS and the war with Iran
The book argues that after Israel attacked the Mavi Marmara, a ship carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, in 2010, the Israeli government began viewing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement as a more serious threat. Clifton and Lustick state that 35 U.S. states enacted laws targeting BDS between the end of 2015 and the middle of 2025.
The authors allege that the Israeli government allocated resources to combat BDS, that the issue was addressed at the ministerial level and that Israeli security agencies were also involved in the process.
Clifton and Lustick also assess U.S. President Donald Trump’s launching of a war with Iran in February 2026. The book claims that the attack on Iran in June 2025 and the 2026 war were initiated, planned and persistently demanded by Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu, who served as prime minister for many years. It also claims that the war’s daily cost in early March 2026 was $1 billion.
Shifts in U.S. public opinion
According to a poll cited in the book and dated October 2025, 41 percent of Americans supported reducing military aid to Israel, 24 percent supported maintaining aid at its current level, and 13 percent supported increasing it. A Pew Research Center poll published the same month found that 59 percent of Americans viewed the Israeli government negatively.
Clifton and Lustick conclude that this shift in U.S. public opinion has made it more difficult for the pro-Israel lobby to exert influence.
