US-Israel special relationship: Challenges coming
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.