American Jews’ Influence On U.S-israeli Foreign Policies

America and Israel have kept a very close relationship since Israel fulfilled their dreams of the establishment of the state. For many decades, America has provided Israel with military, economic, as well as political support and assistance. The special relationship between America and Israel was determined by the national interests of America; however, another important factor could not be ignored, i.e., the Jews in America.American Jews, as a minority group, have been Israel’s stable supporters. They participated in politics by way of supporting presidential candidates, actively lobbying Congress, organizing political propaganda to influence media and public opinions. Jewish Americans have higher economic, social and political status, which in turn creates opportunity for their political participations. Moreover, with the impact of the religious Judaism, and the national revival desire, the Zionism, which was the spiritual link, Jewish Americans adopt pro-Israeli policies when it comes to the U.S.-Israeli foreign policies.Under the influence of American Jews, America show an obvious partiality towards Israel in dealing with the Arab-Israeli conflicts and the Middle East issues. For a long time, America regarded Israel as the strategic asset, which was part of their Middle East plans. The Balance of Power Theory and the Deterrence Theory in international relations will make us see clearly that America adopted pro-Israeli policies partly because of the impact and lobbying of Jewish Americans, and partly because of the American national interests. As far as Jewish Americans were concerned, they regarded Israel as the only Jewish state in this world. By applying the Diaspora Theory of Stuart Hall, we can analyze that American Jews, as a minority group, experienced the conversion of dual cultural identities. The Diaspora Theory of Stuart Hall provided a theoretical support for analyzing Jewish Americans’upholding of Israel both spiritually and materially, at the same time, showing allegiance to America.Although Jewish Americans have made great impact on U.S-Israeli foreign policies, their influence can not be exaggerated. Their influence was not unlimited, which was usually restricted by subjective and objective conditions. There are also some problems in the process of their political participations, for example, the conflicts between Jewish Americans and American national interests; the political division among American Jews;the anti-Semitism in American society, which all hinder the future political development of Jewish Americans.The thesis can be divided into six chapters. Chapter One is the introduction, which states the relationship between Israel and America, and the research aims. Chapter Two is the Literature Review, which introduces some books on the U.S-Israeli foreign affairs, and expounds the theories concerning this thesis. Chapter Three illustrates the ways and reasons of Jewish Americans’influence on U.S-Israeli policies. Chapter Four is the main body of the thesis, which analyzes the impact of Jewish Americans in terms of foreign aid policies, political policies, and sanction policies. Chapter Five pointed out this influence is not unlimited. Chapter Six is the conclusion.