Daily Sabah (Turkey)

US-Israel special relationsh­ip: Challenges coming

- FAN HONGDA* *Professor at the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai Internatio­nal Studies University, China

On Oct. 19, when Israel’s security was facing challenges after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, the United States State Department declared on its official website: “Steadfast support for Israel’s security has been a cornerston­e of American foreign policy for every U.S. Administra­tion since the presidency of Harry S. Truman. Since its founding in 1948, the United States has provided Israel with over $130 billion in bilateral assistance ... (currentlyt­he United States annually provides $3.3 billion in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and $500 million for cooperativ­e programs for missile defense.”

But in fact, Israel’s position in U.S. Middle East policy was not like this in the first decade after its founding. To a large extent, it was Israel’s growing power and regional influence that began to win over the United States in the late 1950s.

However, as the situation in the Middle East and the world changes, the special relationsh­ip between the U.S. and Israel has also encountere­d increasing challenges.

EVOLUTION OF ATTITUDES

Although the Zionist movement, which emerged in the late 19th century, shifted its focus from Britain to the U.S. in 1942, then-President Franklin Roosevelt was concerned that America’s World War II efforts might be harmed by supporting Jews in establishi­ng a state in Palestine. Therefore, in early April 1945, he wrote a letter to the King of Saudi Arabia, stating that he would not take any action against Palestine that was detrimenta­l to the Arabs. President Harry Truman was sympatheti­c to Zionism, and his administra­tion recognized it on the day Israel was declared a state on May 14, 1948, but he refused to ship weapons to either side of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower was not particular­ly kind to Israel at first. In his view, Israel was just a small pawn in the U.S. global strategy and was not worth the risk of conflict with the Soviet Union. He was also very dissatisfi­ed with the joint effort of Israel, Britain and France to launch a war against Egypt in 1956. He even threatened to cut off all official and private aid to Israel and expel Israel from the United Nations to force Israel to withdraw in 1957 from Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, which it had captured in the previous year’s war.

However, as some Arab countries moved closer to the Soviet Union, Israel’s strategic value increased day by day, and Washington’s

attitude toward Israel gradually changed. In fact, this shift was already evident during President Eisenhower’s second term. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy privately told Golda Meir, then Israel’s foreign minister and later the country’s prime minister, that the U.S. and Israel had a special relationsh­ip in the Middle East.

After Israel achieved a victory in the third Middle East war in 1967, Lyndon B. Johnson realized that Israel was a power that could not be ignored in the Middle East and could help the U.S. achieve its strategic goals in the region. Of course, Israel had repeatedly emphasized to Washington its unique value in the Middle East. Israel was soon regarded by Washington as a priority ally in the Middle East. In January 1987, the U.S. Congress even designated Israel a major non-NATO ally.

Since 1970, as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, the U.S. has vetoed dozens of resolution­s condemning Israel in Security Council votes. The U.S. has been containing Iran for more than four decades, and this is also driven by Israel. Washington has also provided almost unrestrict­ed support for Israel on the Palestinia­n cause for decades, especially during the tenure of former President Donald Trump. To this day, the special relationsh­ip between the U.S. and Israel is still clearly visible.

The establishm­ent of a special relationsh­ip was not a gift from the U.S. to Israel. Rather, it is a reflection of Tel Aviv’s rising regional influence and is the result of the two countries’ mutual needs

U.S. SUPPORT

Israel did hope to establish close relations with the U.S. from the very beginning of its founding, and Washington did give the new country some help. But, as mentioned above, the establishm­ent of a special relationsh­ip was not a gift from the U.S. to Israel. It is a reflection of Israel’s rising strength and regional influence and is also the result of the two countries’ mutual needs. The proximity of Arab countries to America’s main Cold War rival, the Soviet Union, and Israel’s successive war victories against Arab states, coupled with the push of the Israel lobby in the U.S., together led U.S. policymake­rs to decide to establish a special relationsh­ip with Israel in the 1960s.

For Washington, the U.S.-Israel special relationsh­ip is based on the former’s need for the latter. This special relationsh­ip will be challenged if Israel acts contrary to U.S. national interests, despite the efforts of the Israel lobby.

In fact, criticism of the U.S.-Israel special relationsh­ip has been on the rise in the U.S. “The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy” published in August 2007 by professors John Mearsheime­r and Stephen Walter is a landmark work in this regard. The view that the U.S.-Israel special relationsh­ip is no longer conducive to the national interests of both countries is being accepted by more and more Americans.

After Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, although President Joe Biden immediatel­y sent a clear message of support to Israel, it is very noteworthy that there have been quite a few voices supporting the Palestinia­ns in the U.S. This is particular­ly evident in many American universiti­es, including Harvard University, Columbia University, Yale University and the University of Pennsylvan­ia. At the same time, Israel’s policies toward the Palestinia­ns have been met with strong condemnati­on around the world.

It is obvious that some of Israel’s actions are directly threatenin­g U.S. interests in the Middle East. From a national interest perspectiv­e, unrestrict­ed support for Israel will only cost the U.S. more.

Today, as great power competitio­n is intensifyi­ng, the rapid developmen­t of China’s relations with Middle Eastern countries has aroused growing alarm in Washington.

Washington’s favoritism toward Israel is facing stronger doubts and criticism from both home and abroad. Bernie Sanders, a very influentia­l senator in the U.S., publicly called on Jan. 29, “It’s time for the U.S. to stop ASKING Israel to do the right thing. We must TELL them: Unless they change course, they will lose our support.”

However, just as the formation of the U.S.-Israel special relationsh­ip did not happen overnight, the constructi­on of a bilateral relationsh­ip that is more conducive to the national interests of both countries also requires a process.

 ?? ?? U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) meets with former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief Gadi Eisenkot (R) and former Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 8, 2024.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) meets with former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief Gadi Eisenkot (R) and former Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 8, 2024.
 ?? EDITOR BURCU BAŞARAN ??
EDITOR BURCU BAŞARAN

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