Israel–U.S. Relations: A Deep and Serious Crisis

The partnership of the last 40 years between Israel and the United States has always seemed monolithic, watertight and stainless, even though there have been frequent divergences on chronic problems, such as that of the Arab territories occupied by Israel in 1967. The disagreements were overcome; the incurable fractures were set aside. The very difficult problems have increased in both number and difficulty, and the two countries are no longer able to dispose of them. New problems are changing the context of the relationship between the two. For example, the American war in Afghanistan, the advancement of China towards the Middle East, Middle Eastern modernizations with the new role of Turkey, the dynamism of the Gulf Emirates and still more have put pressure on their relationship. In the extended Middle East, a decisive game is in play for the future world order and to define the borders between the advancing Asian power and the retreating American power. In the face of this, the occupation of the Palestinian lands and the politics of the settlements are by now dangerous historical anachronisms. The contrasts between the U.S. and Israel are becoming sharper because factors that conflict with the global game are in play.

AIPAC, the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, the most important organization in the pro-Israel lobby of the U.S., is rather influential in Congress. Its annual conferences have always been important political shows, in which a large number of members of Congress and important administration officials reiterate the solid friendship between the two countries and the solemn American effort for Israel. The AIPAC conference that was held at the end of March this year respected the ritual without, however, resolving the depth of the contrasts between Benjamin Netanyahu’s Israel and Barack Obama’s America. Israel refuses Obama’s strategy regarding the occupied territories (a halt to settlements and progress toward a Palestinian state), on the process of peace (Obama is in favor of the 2002 proposal for Arab peace that was refused by Israel) and on the relationship with Iran (Obama is seeking a diplomatic dialogue; Israel wants a military attack). In his first year, Obama yielded on these points to the intransigence of Israel and of the pro-Israel lobby. A year ago, a significant showdown derailed Charles W. Freeman’s nomination for the number two position in national intelligence, due to a campaign of denigration claiming Freeman was insufficiently supportive of Israel.

Today’s dangerous news is a relationship postulated by U.S. General David Petraeus, one of the most prominent officials in Washington and the military officer in charge of the Middle East sector (excluding Israel and the Palestinian territories, which fall under the “European command”), regarding the connection between Israel’s behavior and U.S. military interests. According to Petraeus, the political prestige of the United States in the Middle East and Southwestern Asia and the relative military possibilities in Iraq, Afghanistan and on the new Pakistani front are seriously compromised by Israel’s harsh policies towards the Palestinians. These harsh policies really feed Islamic extremism and are deeply opposed by the political elite of the region, according to whom Israel holds the unconditional support of the United States.

Admiral Michael G. Mullen, commander of the American armed forces, was coldly received when he went to Israel to explain the situation. Netanyahu pretended not to understand. When Vice-President Joe Biden arrived for a visit, Israel chose the line of provocation, announcing the construction of 1,600 new apartments (for Jewish Israelis) in the Arab part of Jerusalem, conquered in 1967 and whose annexation to Israel had no international acknowledgement. In the history of relations between the U.S. and Israel, the deliberate affront to Biden and to the U.S. is unprecedented. The media magic of the AIPAC conference did not restore things to normal. A very deep and serious crisis between the countries has begun.