The relationship between the United States and Israel has long been the subject of intense

scrutiny, very often distorted by polemic and conspiracy.

One of the most influential of these distortions came in 2007, when the political scientists

John Meersheimer and Stephen

Walt argued that American foreign policy had been hijacked by a powerful Israel lobby, an argument

that, despite its weaknesses, really has shaped how many Americans view relations between

these two nations. My guest today, the historian and policy scholar Daniel Samet, has written a new book that

aims to set the record straight. Drawing on archival research and much evidence, Samet demonstrates

that U.S. policy during the Cold War towards Israel was not the product of special pleading

and manipulation, but instead of America's own assessment of its own strategic

interests. By examining the presidencies from Truman through George H.W. Bush, Samad shows how

American leaders, whatever their personal sympathies, consistently acted to advance U.S. national

priorities. Sometimes Israel fit into that strategy, and sometimes it didn't.

Welcome to the Tickfoot podcast. I'm your host, Jonathan Silver. Daniel and I discuss how Israel was

perceived in Washington during America's long twilight struggle with the Soviet Union. What lessons that

history holds for America's rivalry with China today,

and why misconceptions about the Israel lobby persist in our political discourse.

Daniel Samet is a Gene Kirkpatrick Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute,

where he works on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East.

His book, U.S. defense policy toward Israel, was published earlier this year.

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