The Israel lobby wields as much or more influence over American politics than any lobbying group in Washington. As Ilan Pappé, the Israeli historian, professor and author, and host Chris Hedges detail in this latest episode of The Chris Hedges Report, the lobby’s rise to power consisted of diverging ideological factions uniting in pursuit of their shared interests in controlling the land of historic Palestine.

The history and manifestation of this systemic corruption of the Zionist lobby, hyper-dependent on coercion and total control, is thoroughly described in Pappé’s new book, Lobbying for Zionism on Both Sides of the Atlantic. 

Through Pappé’s historical accounts and analysis, he dispels the fabrication that Israel was created to protect the Jews of the world from systemic oppression. Those first involved in lobbying for Zionism were separated into two ideological groups; the religious Zionists, who actually believed in a messianic connection to historic Palestine, as well as protecting marginalized Jews, and those who the Israeli author describes as “more cynical”; the imperialists, or those “who saw the theological ideas as a good pretext for fulfilling more secular political roles…they wanted not only Palestine, but also Syria and Egypt to expand the British empire.”

Even the Zionists who sincerely wanted to help the oppressed Jews of the world, however, found themselves working with antisemitic bigots to achieve their goal. As Pappé states,

“One of the major motives for leaders of the Jewish community in Britain to support the idea of the Jews going from Russia to Palestine was the fear that these Jews would come to London.”

This sordid partnership highlights the way that the Zionist lobby has functioned since its inception. Pappé describes it as a system that is “a solution for a certain group of Jews that is developed by a certain group of Jews who are not part of that project, but that project serves other interests that they have.”

This idea is embodied in the current state of Israel, and the lobby’s obsession with controlling its “allies,” as opposed to actually pursuing policies and partnerships that benefit it:

“As we’ve seen, the way AIPAC decided who Israel’s enemies were often had very little to do with the actual policies, which were frequently to Israel’s advantage–they decided simply based on how obedient an administration was to the lobby. America’s endorsement of the Oslo Accords was not a milestone on the road to peace for AIPAC, but a testimony to its own failure to influence America’s policy.”

It is through this endemic toxicity that Israel may very well be leading itself, and Zionism with it, to its demise.

(0:00) Intro

(5:29) Zionism as a narrative

(9:29) Wealthy Jews vs poor Jews

(19:46) Ben-Gurion takes over the Zionist project

(22:28) Britain makes Palestine Zionist

(31:49) Palestinian anti-colonial resistance

(41:50) Christian-Zionist lobby

(46:25) Israel lobby after Holocaust and in America

(55:08) AIPAC is born

(1:06:30) Israel lobby after October 7

(1:15:42) What’s next for Palestine and Israel?

( Source: ScheerPost )

Professor Ilan Pappé, is an Israeli historian, anti-Zionist activist, and professor at the University of Exeter. He is one of Israel's 'New Historians', who have challenged traditional versions of Israeli history, including Israel's role in the Palestinian exodus in 1948 and Arab willingness to discuss peace. He is the author of The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine and Ten Myths About Israel.

In this latest book, Ilan Pappe unveils how over a century of aggressive lobbying changed the map of the Middle East. Pro-Israel lobbies convinced British and American policymakers to condone Israel’s flagrant breaches of international law, grant Israel unprecedented military aid and deny Palestinians rights. Anyone who questioned unconditional support for Israel, even in the mildest terms, became the target of relentless smear campaigns. Lobbying for Zionism on Both Sides of the Atlantic shows us how an unassailable consensus was built – and how it might be dismantled.