Israel’s Lobby: America in the Grip of a Foreign Power by Eli Clifton 

Israel’s Lobby: America in the Grip of a Foreign Power by Eli Clifton and Ian Lustick — an unflinching exposé of the outsized influence of the pro-Israel lobby on American foreign and domestic policy.

The greatest story in geopolitics and American domestic affairs is how the government of a small Middle Eastern country came to hold a controlling interest in United States foreign policy. Today, Israel’s lobby is in a position to shape political speech, pressure elected officials, and steer the White House toward policies that many Americans view as costly and contrary to long-term national interests.

Combining investigative journalism with political science, Eli Clifton and Ian Lustick examine how American and Israeli oligarchs, megadonors, PACs, think tanks, and advocacy organizations have captured key parts of the policymaking process across successive presidential administrations. They analyze the role of campaign finance, the rise of extreme right-wing politics in Israel, and the ways the lobby has responded to criticism by framing opposition as antisemitism rather than engaging policy debates.

Israel’s Lobby argues that this influence has grown more consequential and more dangerous in recent years, distorting U.S. foreign policy while also affecting domestic free speech and democratic norms. Clear-eyed and rigorously reported, the book is both a historical account of the lobby’s rise and a warning about its present impact.