A Slave to America?

The recent tiff between the White House and the Netanyahu administration has reignited a long-running debate on the terms of cooperation between the United States and Israel. Officials of both countries have repeatedly harped about the shared values and mutual interests of the two countries.

The United States supplies Israel with military might and aid, and occasionally fights wars that are arguably on Israel’s behalf (see Iraq). Israel also gains as an ally the strongest military and economic power on the planet, granting the Jewish state a big brother to come to its defense when facing international condemnation for whatever human rights violation happens to earn outrage at any given point in time.

In response, the United States gains an ally in the Middle East to defeat terrorism and thwart the spread of communism, along with a foothold in the region to help push American interests and democracy. Not to mention that U.S. officials gain domestic support from the very influential Jewish community.

The quid pro quo here is far from tangible and very difficult to quantify. Arguments have emerged in the U.S. alleging that Israel is more of a liability- wasting taxpayer funds, delegitimizing U.S. officials in the eyes of the Arabs (and oil sheikhs), and a burden on U.S. foreign policy as a whole. Instead, these people argue, the U.S. should downgrade ties and assistance. Or, at the very least, use economic incentives to bend Israeli policies to the White House’s political whim.

Well, at least some Israelis would be more than happy to oblige. A recent op-ed in Yediot Achronot‘s Ynet calls for Israelis to liberate themselves- this time from the United States. The author argues that Israel “bows” its head every time President Barack Obama questions an Israeli action. The author writes:

“In a month, our state will be 62 years old. The time has come to declare our independence.”

The entire dispute between the U.S. and Israel stems from Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel when a Netanyahu administration bureaucrat issued an order to ramp up housing construction in a disputed area of East Jerusalem. Biden, as was widely reported and on this blog, said last year that Israel is a sovereign country and can act as it pleases. Biden’s comments in no way attempted to strong arm Israel, and instead recognize the perils of international relations that, to quote the Rolling Stones, you can’t always get what you want.

The United States is not a life line to Israel. Israelis, and the Jews in general, have battled adversity and succeeded when the odds were highly stacked against them. Israel as a country has exceeded expectations and rebuffed repeated efforts to wipe it off the map. The entire Arab world targeted Israel, and Israel won. Granted, the United States was integral to some of Israel’s military and economic achievements, but those victories are still Israel’s and Israel’s alone.

However, without the United State’s support, Israel is left virtually stranded on an island in the international sea of hostility. The country could thrive on proverbial coconuts, but hostile seafarers, inclement weather, famine, drought, and restless natives threaten to weaken, if not destroy, Israel as it is left isolated. The U.S. is that cruise ship that could provide some much-needed supplies on the sea of international relations.

The debate on whether the United States should continue to support Israel will likely continue, but I doubt policy makers would make the mistake to think that severing ties would not catapult U.S.-interests in the region. Likewise, Israeli officials should recognize that the United States is a key ally and regional interests of both countries hinge on a peace process that is only complicated further by increased settlement activity.

(Wow. That’s a horrible analogy, but you get the point.)