International relations scholar John Mearsheimer talked about the political lobby for Israel and its effect on U.S. foreign policy during a speech Wednesday night that drew a crowd of more than 100 people to Ustler Hall.
The speech was sponsored by Human Rights Awareness on Campus.
Mearsheimer, a University of Chicago professor, said the American Israel Public Affair Committee, along with its partners that make up the Israel lobby, have tremendous power over Congress and the president.
This power, he explained, has prevented the U.S. government from pressuring Israel to form more fair and peaceful relations with Palestinians.
“President Obama is not going to be able to push Israel into a two-state solution,” he said.
Mearsheimer said finding a way to form two independent states for Israelis and Palestinians is the best course of action for both the U.S. and Israel because the alternative would be an apartheid state where Palestinians are more severely oppressed.
Political science junior Joshua Villanueva said afterward he appreciated Mearsheimer’s viewpoints.
“I’m more convinced of the two-state solution than I was before,” Villanueva said.
Mearsheimer was paid $5,000 to speak.
Correction 3/25/10: Corrected the spelling of "Israelis."
