Walt suggested in 2010 that , owing to State Department diplomat Dennis Ross 's alleged partiality toward Israel , he might give President Obama advice that was against US interests . Robert Satloff , executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy ( WINEP ) , defended Ross and criticized Walt , in a piece published by '' Foreign Affairs '' ( which had published Walt 's piece a few days earlier ) . Satloff wrote that Ross 's connection to WINEP is innocuous ( Ross was a distinguished fellow at WINEP throughout George W. Bush 's administration , and Mearsheimer and Walt 's book described WINEP as " part of the core " of the Israel lobby in the United States ) and that Walt mistakenly believes the U.S. can not simultaneously " advance strategic partnership both with Israel and with friendly Arab and Muslim states " After the Itamar attack , in which a Jewish family was killed on the West Bank in March 2011 , Walt condemned the murderers , but added that " while we are at it , we should not spare the other parties who have helped create and perpetuate the circumstances " , listing " every Israeli government since 1967 , for actively promoting the illegal effort to colonize these lands " , " Palestinian leaders who have glorified violence " , and " the settlers themselves , some of whom routinely use violence to intimidate the Palestinians who live in the lands they covet "
Itamar attack
Itamar attack
Stephen Walt