Rating: 
Summary: Prejudice of the worst kind
Review: Criticizing Israel is not anti-Semitism -- unless it's the only criticism that one directs at a state -- and the loudest. That's the kind of criticism of a state you get here. It smacks of anti-Judaism, since Israel is the world's only Jewish state, while there are 22 Arab Muslim states and 57 Muslim states. Where is Findley's criticism of their far worse deeds? After all, they get a whole lot more aid, collectively, than Israel. I'll bet he's never thought of that, and most readers apparently haven't either. But what exactly does the U.S. get for its generous donations to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, etc. etc. etc.? A big fat nothing. That's what. Israel, on the other hand, gives the U.S. all of its intelligence, not to mention most of the military developments it produces for desert warfare. Hmmmm.
This book, in short, stinks.
Rating: 
Summary: Finally someone with authority tells us "why"....
Review: Ever since I happened to notice George W. Bush repeating over and over again during his presidential campaign the mantra, "I know one thing -- Israel is our friend", my interest was piqued. At the time, I thought conservatives were largely at odds with Jews due to their reputations for being liberal Democrats. (Since then, I have discovered that conservative Christians often support Israel because of their biblical beliefs regarding Jews as God's chosen people). Later, I saw Hillary Clinton stammer and look visibly shaken during an otherwise very confident and fine performance on a Crossfire appearance, when Chris Matthews pressed her about the Palestinian right to statehood, and her only being able to blindly repeat the stock answer "well, I support Israel's right to defend itself." I thought...hmmm, this is interesting. It seems that nobody, regardless of political persuasion, wants to say anything even remotely being construed as being against Israeli policy. Since then I have read a lot on the issue and have been watching the news media and our government officials more closely. The most recent standout example was when Howard Dean was publicly criticized for the apparent crime of saying that US needed more balance in its policies with respect to the Israel/Palestine issue. Joseph Lieberman publicly castigated Dean for that statement, saying he was hurt and saddened Dean had been so insensitive to Jews. Does sensitivy to Jewish feelings mean that we must muzzle oursleves with respect to U.S. foreign policy? After all, it is our money, our security, and our lives that we're talking about. Findley's book shows that this is more true than we ever thought possible in a supposedly "free" society. He shows how powerful pro-Israel lobby wields such influence that governmental officials and the media cannot even public disagree when Israeli interests counter U.S. interests. If what Findley says is true, a one-time leader of the powerful AIPAC actually boasted that his organization actually controls U.S. foreign policiy in the Middle East. Apparently Congressmen and Senators routinely "clear" their positions and legislation with AIPAC before proceeding. Over and over again I have watched the U.S. government and our main media outlets whitewash, or more likely, completely fail to cover, Palestinian deaths at the hands of Israelis, while never failing to report and denounce Israeli deaths at the hands of Palestinians (despite the fact that far more Palestinians have died). Our unbelievable amount of monetary and military aid to Israel, more than 3 billion annually, is outside of the realm of public debate. Along the way I have talked to many Jews and non-Jews, in a sincere effort to come to some understanding about all this, to determine what is at the root of this seemingly inseperable and super-loyal bond between the U.S. and Israel. Up until I read Findley's book, nobody has ever been able to articulate the reasons behind the power that Israel holds over our country (and thus over U.S. taxpaying citizens). In talking to others, I dismissed comments I got like "well, you know the Jews run the country", knowing that Jews have always been shunned and discriminated against and that was too convenient an answer. I wanted real answers -- facts, not opinions -- from an insider, someone in a position to know. With this book I got them. The edition I read was from 1985, but based on what I observe going on in the country today, things have not changed any since then, if they have not gotten worse. It is impossible to call into question our foreign policy or the actions of the Israeli government without being labeled anti-Semitic, something that is very dangerous indeed. Equating the individual with the individual's goverment is always a dangerous thing. Open debate and access to facts must be a staple of a democracy, of a "free society", as our president is fond of saying. It appears to me that whether Jew, Arab, or any other religion, too much of a marriage of church and state, or perhaps more precisely, a marriage between religion and ethnicity, always results in great conflict, unrest and thousands of dead people. When people start painting all people of a certain ethnicity with the same brush, when we start talking about "the Palestinians" or "the Jews" as if they all were the same, we run into big trouble. As an analogy, imagine if we had citizenship quotas in the United States -- for example, to rectify past injustices, if by law we had to maintain no less than a 70% Native American population in the United States, and that political boundaries were be constantly being adjusted to preserve this majority. If you think for a second that the rest of us would take that lying down and just walk away, without a revolution, well we all know that would just never happen. But this is exactly what is happening in Israel - an Israeli ethnic majority is openly pursued and maintained, yet it is still referred to, at least by the United States, as one of the few democracies in the Middle East. I truly marvel at the psychology of those among a people as historically opressed as the Jews, who cannot seem to look past their own needs and their own pain to see the pain and injustice suffered by others at their own hands. (Findley correctly points out that many Israeli and Jews in America do publicly speak out) but I am speaking of those who show no apparent sympathy for the plight dreary and powerless life of the average Palestinian. This extreme and destructive self-intrest exists on both sides -- the Palestinian suicide bomber likewise displays an appalling lack of empathy for his fellow man. Thank goodness for courageous people like Paul Findley and for those profiled in his book who do "dare to speak out". These people evidently recognize that truth is the most precious ingredient in a democracy, and more importantly, it is what we must all work hard to seek seek out and strive to live by. I strongly recommend this book for people find themselves looking at the all the spin, who know that facts as they are presented just don't add up. This book fills in the gaps and is wholly consistent with what I see going on today. There was not one thing that I read in this book that didn't seem quite right. If you can clearly see the "what", but are still trying to find out the "why", this book will connect the dots for you.
Rating:
Summary: The United States Under Siege!
Review: Findley's book should compel us to reevaluate our relationship with Israel. It is compulsory reading even to those who are remotely interested in America's Middle East policies. Factual, objective and deeply disturbing, this book courageously exposes the hijack of powerful American political institutions by pro-Israeli lobbies. America's claim to be a 'honest peace-broker' in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is thoroughly discredited in this book. Fanatically attached to Israel, it's the latter that diabolically manipulates for its own selfish interests the United States foreign policies with regards to the Middle East. Just like the Nazis who skillfully exploited the Weimar democracy to bring about totalitarianism, Israel does the same with America's democratic and liberal institutions to justify its ongoing persecution of the Palestinian people. As an American, I feel painfully devastated to know that the majority of our elected Congressmen are utterly spineless with their persistent failure in resisting the unjustifiably aggressive pro-Zionists lobbies. The terrible truth is that these cowardly, if not traitorous, politicians are so eager in their demonstration of loyalty to Israel rather than to their own country. Findley illustrates numerous instances of the lobbies' persistence in securing their questionable objectives even when they openly conflict with America's domestic interest. It is unnerving to realise that the officials of AIPAC, ADL, AJC and other pro-Israeli lobbies have penetrated almost every level of America's leading political, economic and social institutions. Chapters 7 & 8 have been devoted to analyzing the lobbies attack on academic freedom in the U.S. Even our students are not being told the complete truth as to what is actually occurring in the Middle East. In their misguided religious zeal, Christian Zionists have appointed themselves as the unofficial spokesman of the Israeli government in justifying the latter's oppression and denial of Palestinian rights. Little do these Christians realize that this perverse attitude runs counter to the genuine spirit of their faith. Findley examines this disturbing phenomenon in chapter 9 of his book. This book makes it painfully clear that these unscrupulous lobbyists are more than prepared to pursue their agenda by every criminal and unethical means which include intimidation, sustained harassment, blackmail, character assassination and the occasional death threats. If you seek to understand the American occupation of Iraq (despite the worldwide protest against such aggression), this book may provide some answer. Suffice to say that the devastation of Iraq greatly promotes Israel's interest in the region. Our dear President has, like those who were before him, succumbed to the subtle yet determined persuasion of the powerful pro-Israeli lobby. This book deserves to be distributed as widely as possible. Every American who loves his country should read it. Only then will he understand why the rest of the world, especially the Muslim Middle East, is against our great nation. I salute Mr. Findley for making the courageous, if not controversial, decision of writing this book. I truly appreciate his contribution in making me comprehend the ugly reality of America's attitude towards the Middle East. Anti-Semitic he is not; a national hero he is.
Rating: 
Summary: One thing wrong
Review: George Bush's stated policy is to have a Palestinian State living side by side with Israel. He says this right there on whitehouse.gov. He is the only president to have supported this notion of statehood for Palestinians. So maybe AIPAC's influence is not in all of Washington, but only in certain people in Washington.
Rating:
Summary: I found this book to be highly informative and objective.
Review: I feel that this book is a must read for all Americans interested in U.S. - Middle East relations and the challenges to formulating a more balanced and just policies. Paul Findley, an Illinois Congressman for 22 years, examines the role of pro-Israel special interest groups in heavily influencing public officials and policy makers into making biased and counterproductive decisions impacting our relationship with the countries of an important region of the world. Findley has carefully researched and examined the extent of pro-Israel lobbying in this nation. While he defends the rights of American citizens to support causes they feel a moral obligation to, he argues eloquently that the interests of another country should never be placed above the interests of the United States. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in understanding the importance of having balanced foreign policies, particularly at a time when the United States is trying to serve as an honest broker to resolving conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere. It was educational and a real eye opener to me, a seeker of truth and objectivity.
Rating:
Summary: Informative but flawed
Review: I liked this book to be honest. It highlighted Israeli espionage in the United States, a topic which is usually washed away, except for the high-publicity Jon Pollard case. However, reading the book, I thought Rep. Findley was a bit naive or in denial. In one chapter, he seems sympathetic toward an Arab-American who called Yassir Arafat a "man of peace". If Arafat is a man of peace, I'm a Martian. In another portion of the book, he glosses over Jesse Jackson's notorious "hymietown" comments. While American institutions should have been defended more aggressively from Israeli esionage, and still should be, he seemed to ignore or sugarcoat Arab and Islamist terrorism. Well informed book written from a hazy perspective.
Rating:
Summary: Good information about an under discussed topic
Review: I purchased the first edition of this book in the mid 1980's when I saw the author appear on the Today Show. Though the book was a gift, I ended up reading it and using it as a basis of college reports. The book will give you a good understanding of the dynamic that causes so much hatred within the middle east.
Rating:
Summary: Republicans can "hear" Findley
Review: I would like to respectively disagree with other reviewers of this important book. If one wants to understand the role that US-Israeli relations contribute to bringing terrorist hits on the US, one can more profitably read experts like Edward Said, Robert Fisk, Aharon Amir, Francis Boyle, William Blum, Ahmed Amr, George Monbiot, Chalmers Johnson, ... -- or just use Google to look at left/progressive online literature. The immense value of Findley's 1985 book is that it was written by a basically Conservative, Republican Congressman of 22 years. Findley is one of the very few authors that persons on the Right can hear.
Another important Conservative Republican author is Jude Winniski, a former WSJ columnist and economic consultant to the Reagan administration.
But Winniski has decided to discontinue speaking out on US/Israeli relations whereas Findley, now an elderly man, continues to speak truth to power. I highly recommend the book to Liberals to give to their Conservative friends. I recommend the warm and lovingly-concerned Findley for exactly the reason I do not recommend the embittered/angry Noam Chomsky despite the differential knowledge of Chomsky over Findley.
Rating:
Summary: A stark revelation about who wields the true power in D.C.
Review: Paul Findley has written one incredible, eye-opening book that calls into question the high pressure, unethical, slander tactics used against academics, religious figures, journalists and political figures who speak out against the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's overzealous involvement and desirous control of economic and military diplomacy as well as education. This is a group that nobody wants to mess around with. The power hungry citizens and 'big wigs' in this lobby have a disturbing amount of clout that really makes you look at government differently. To stand up and speak out against Israel's lobby and their very questionable dealings in national and foreign affairs is essentially to put a career/social/economic death mark on your forehead. The shady dealings that this group instigates and leads, whether it be on a large or small scale, undermines the ethics and principles for which this country and the Jewish faith stand for. This book is an education in itself. Although disturbing, because it makes the Constitution seem like a useless piece of paper with 'silly' writing on it, Findley's book is very benefical if you want to know how a facet of foreign and national policy operates.
Rating: 
Summary: Eye opening and scary.
Review: Paul Findley is a former Washington insider who has experienced the power of the Israli lobby first hand. He spoke out against it and it ultimatley cost him his political career.
Although the content is dry at some points findley is able to back up all of his accusations with documented facts. One of the most interesting sections is the one where he talks about the israli attack on the USS Liberty and the attempt to cover it up.
After reading this book people will definitly question just why we were atacked on 9/11 and why we are now involved in the catastrophe in Iraq. After reading this people will also wonder why George W Bush keeps repeating the line that the "terrorists hate america because we are free" when its obviously because of our parasitic alliance with the jewish state.
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