Vision to Reality: The Reut Blog

Israel’s strong alliance with the U.S. is perceived as particularly critical in this period in which Israel faces dual threats of the Iranian nuclear program and increasing international isolation. However, recent tensions between the countries may indicate deeply rooted underlying dynamics that point to a distancing trend.

 Recent events seem to significantly manifest these divergent interests. On the political level, the U.S. is more deeply enmeshed in the Middle East, yielding a broader range of regional strategic priorities and stripping Israel of its unique political status. Within the Obama administration – and increasingly in mainstream political commentary – Israel is persistently viewed through the lens of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

•  U.S. General David Petraeus’s remarked that “America’s relationship with Israel is important, but not as important as the lives of America’s soldiers,” and that “the enduring hostilities between Israel and some of its neighbors present distinct challenges to our ability to advance our interests.” (While Petraeus denied blaming Israeli policy for endangering U.S. interests, reports ignited a serious wave of media coverage.)
•  An important New York Times article pointed out that “a phrase at the end of President Obama’s news conference on Tuesday… was a stark reminder of a far-reaching shift in how the United States views the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” Obama referred to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a “vital national security interest of the United States,” which the article characterized as a move ” highlighting a change that has resulted from a lengthy debate among his top officials over how best to balance support for Israel against other American interests.”
• Writing in the New York Times, Martin Indyk characterized recent tension in the U.S.-Israel relationship as resulting from “a dramatic change in the way Washington perceives its own stake in the game,” marked by then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s Jerusalem speech linking U.S. strategic interests to achieving a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

 In the U.S. context, public opinion is a traditional bastion of pro-Israel support and the correlation between political tensions and wider perceptions are an open question. There do, however, seem to be indications that the shift is not circumscribed to political spheres.  

• While a recent U.S. Gallup poll reflected a nearly unprecedented high overall level of public support for Israel, the Jerusalem Post’s Shmuel Rosner noted a disturbing trend in which a 37 percent gap between Republican and Democratic levels possibly reflects the widest ever. The bedrock of the solid standing Israel enjoys in the U.S. is the bi-partisan nature of support, with Israel associated with broad, consensual values. An erosion of this dynamic would represent a significant threat.
• Stephen Walt’s attack on Dennis Ross’s “dual loyalty” in Foreign Policy is just one example of what seems to be an increasing trend in mainstream political commentary, which more often exhibits unself-conscious boldness in questioning the basis of the U.S.-Israel relationships and the motives for its sustenance.

For further analysis of trends in the U.S.-Israel relationship, see:

Not So Special (Relations) Anymore…

The Israeli – US Special Relationship

The Coming Moment of Truth between Israel and the US