The US continues supporting Israel due to "domestic politics" and concerns about the "powerful" Israel lobby in Washington, American political scientist John J. Mearsheimer said in an interview with the YouTube channel Judging Freedom.
"[US President] Joe Biden understands full well – as does [his predecessors] Barack Obama, Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush that if you cross the Israeli lobby, you will pay a political price," Mearsheimer pointed out.
He noted that “there’s absolutely nothing illegal, immoral and unethical about this lobby.” The political scientist recalled that the US political system “is set up in ways that allow a lobby to have a great influence”, pointing to the National Rifle Association as an example.
Mearsheimer added that there was a time when Israel was “a strategic asset” of the US, something which he said is not the case nowadays.
According to the pundit, Washington's current "special relationship" with Tel Aviv cannot only be explained by strategic or moral arguments, especially in light of "how Israel treated Palestinians", especially amid escalation of the two’s conflict following the October 7 Hamas attack on the Jewish state from the Gaza Strip.
The Washington-Tel Aviv "special relationship" has been developing since the US’ recognition the State of Israel back in 1948. In the latest development, President Biden vowed "to stand with Israel" in the wake of the October 7 attack, as he promised more military assistance to the Jewish state.
The rising death toll in Gaza and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent pledge to reoccupy Gaza, however, prompted "a notable shift in US [supportive] language toward Israel," according to US media.