John Mearsheimer, co-author of the Israel Lobby, Al-Jazeera, December 30:
Almost all of the major candidates are falling over themselves to demonstrate how deeply committed they are to America’s special relationship with Israel. Hardly a word of criticism is directed at anything Israel does and that is due to the activities of the lobby. If these presidential candidates were real friends of Israel as they claim to be they would not only be criticising Israel for its policies in the occupied territories … they would be arguing that the US put significant pressure on Israel and the Palestinians to reach an agreement on a two-state solution. That’s what a real friend would do.