[ars]

And why is it so "powerful"? Is it perhaps because lots of people think that Israel is right?

Being morally correct and helping people is a very strong American ideal - even when it's to the detriment of the country. And supporting Israel fits right in, even when it causes America trouble.

[jbooth]

I'd say if you think a country is "right", you're getting it wrong. This is not an endorsement of "jews control the world" conspiracy theories.

[Hawramani]

It seems because of the fact that American Jews are much better organized, and better focused on their interests, than any other group. They're probably the most politically active group in the US.

I don't see anything wrong with the Jewish people looking out for their interests, but as a scientifically-minded person I'm more interested in objective analyses of the situation (as in the mentioned book) than vague anecdotes like 'lots of people think that Israel is right'.

If American Jews are an order of magnitude more politically active than other groups, we shouldn't be ashamed to admit it. It's an interesting sociological phenomenon that needs to be studied.

[ars]

It would have to be quite a few orders of magnitude, considering that Jews make up less than 2% of the US population.

It's not as hard as you think to get support for Israel. It doesn't require a lot of lobbying when the people being lobbied already agree with your position.

The objective analysis of the situation is that support for Israel is the right thing to do morally. It's not always great for short term American interests, but long term its value is unquestioned.

Obviously it would be a lot easier to submit to Arab demands, but even though letting someone bully you can remove the short term pain, long term it's not a good idea.