MECHANISMS OF POLITICAL INFLUENCE OF PRO-ISRAEL INTEREST GROUPS IN THE UNITED STATES

Abstract

The article analyses the historical origins of the Israeli lobby in the United States of America and outlines the peculiarities of the legal strategies of pro-Israeli interest groups aimed at avoiding registration under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), despite maintaining close coordination with Israeli interests. Significant financial activity during the 2024 election campaign indicates the growing concern of these structures about the possible loss of bipartisan consensus and a noticeable change in public sentiment, especially among young people and the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. Uncovering of hidden disinformation operations, in particular, the Stoic Project, funded by the Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, and the use of fake accounts on social media to discredit American lawmakers, indicates a shift from legitimate mechanisms of political influence to practices that can be considered manipulative interference. Such instruments of hybrid information activity significantly change the nature of political influence.