It is often asserted that the Israel Lobby is just another lobby, doing what lobbies do—arguing for its client (the State of Israel in this case), cajoling lawmakers into adopting its point of view, making use of loopholes in the ethics laws to pay for congressional indoctrination trips to Israel, trying to prevent opposite points of view from receiving mention in the media or the classroom, etc.

But the Israel Lobby, inclusive of those individuals and organizations that finance it, goes beyond mere lobbying in the above sense when it provides funds to organizations whose main purpose is to promote and extend the illegal settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.  The purpose of those illegal settlements is to establish “facts on the ground”, settlements designed to prevent the creation of a viable Palestinian state. In helping to finance those illegal settlements the Israel Lobby goes beyond lobbying to actually helping to execute the policies of a foreign government, policies that are at odds with the official policies of the U.S. Government.