Since the election of both President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, the debate on the downfall of the Israel-U.S. alliance re received significant media attention. Particularly following the U.S. Administration’s insistence of an Israeli freeze on settlements, pundits heightened concerns that the strategic alliance between the two countries was reaching its end.
In an op-ed on Ynet News, Prof. Alon Ben-Meir outlines the reasons for a U.S. hard-line position on settlements. By pressuring Israel, Obama gains clout in the Arab world and can force concessions from the Netanyahu government on the peace process. However, in doing so, Obama alienated the Israeli public who, according to recent polls, do not consider the U.S. president a friend of Israel.
Ben-Meir wrote:
“Whereas it was critically important for the Obama administration to improve its relations with Arab states to regain its moral footing and influence, it absolutely cannot undermine the nature of US-Israeli special relations. This unique bond has offered successive American administrations a strong leverage with Israel, allowing it to exact important concessions in negotiations, as Clinton was able to do with Netanyahu in the Hebron agreement in 1997.
Although Arab states have in the past complained about American lack of evenhandedness, they understand that the US-Israeli relationship gives the American President a leverage to deliver for them. Any erosion of that relationship will create serious difficulties in future negotiations, as Obama is currently finding out for himself. The president must now correct that impression before he can move the peace process forward, restoring the trust and confidence of the Israeli people.”
The Israeli public generally considers former U.S. President George W. Bush to be among the strong allies of all time for the Jewish state. Using the ‘an enemy of my enemy is my friend’ logic, many Israelis praise Bush for attacking Saddam Hussein who was largely regarded as a major threat to Israel. Similarly, the Bush Administration seemed eager to attack Iran, a country that regularly threatens the Jewish state. The Bush Administration also launched the war on terror that bonded the two countries over the similar goals of thwarting Islamic extremism.
However, the U.S. military’s entrance into Iraq and the Bush Administration’s rhetoric against Islamic radicalism led to an increased negative perception of the United States in the Arab world. Until now, as favorable opinions of the United States increase in the Arab world, the positive perception of the U.S. Administration drops in Israel, and vice versa.
The catch-22 of the Middle East peace process is clear. The U.S. needs a strong relationship with both Israel and the Arab world in order to extract concessions from both parties on a peace process. However, any actions to strengthen one relationship often superficially diminishes the other.
One of the curve-balls in the logic, though, is the ‘shared values’ between Israel and the United States. Both countries pride themselves on their democratic values and pursuit of freedom, although the Israeli government has some work to do in that arena. Regardless, the relationship between the two countries based on these values runs far deeper than any minor disagreements between two temporary administrations. U.S. clout and perception in Israel may temporarily diminish, but the overall partnership endures.
Photo taken from al-Arabiya.
