A Toxic Israel-U.S. Relationship Nears Its Breaking Point Amid War - Opinion
At the end of this futile war, a glimmer of hope emerges. It's written on ice: It could turn into a disaster, as wars do, and yet, there is some hope. In these days of despair, it's hard to expect any more than that.
The war may generate a fateful upending of the relations between the United States and Israel. What was will be no more. While people in Israel take pride in the cooperation between the two countries and in the alliance of pilots forged over the skies of Tehran, dark clouds are forming around the corner. The more the war's failure becomes apparent, the clearer it becomes that the United States has gotten itself into a mess without a clue as to how to get out, the greater the blame game that will follow.
It will be patently one-sided. The United States will cast all the blame on Israel. This could lead to a domino effect in other countries that are just waiting for the ties between the two to be severed. When the fire dies down, Israel may find itself in a situation it has never been in: a local North Korea. It could become an isolated pariah state devoid of the American support, without which it can't exist.
The unhealthy underpinnings of the ties between the United States and Israel should have been uprooted years ago. Without a logical base of common interests, it couldn't have lasted. The role-playing between them became increasingly blurred over the years, to the point that it was unclear which one was the superpower. Israel did whatever it pleased, and immense amounts of aid flowed its way unconditionally.
In the days of Mr. America, aka Benjamin Netanyahu, who dared to thumb his nose at the United States more than any other previous prime minister, these relations grew to monstrous dimensions. A prime minister undermined American presidents, and his country suffered no harm, such as during Barack Obama's term in office. Settlements, annexation, criminal wars in Gaza and Lebanon, pogroms, apartheid, genocide – and the United States condemned it. Condemned but kept paying, rebuked and cast vetoes at the UN, scolded and sent airlifts with munitions.
Europe was forced to bite its tongue and not take any action, not even after the Gaza war, out of fear of the United States. Now it's only waiting for an opportunity to settle accounts with Israel, as are huge swaths of U.S. public opinion, even among Jewish communities. Everyone has had more than enough of this kind of Israel, with its ongoing dismissal of the international community, its scorn for international law and the inconceivable gap between public opinion in most countries around the world and the positions of their governments.
The war in Iran may become a watershed. The two American parties are just waiting for the fissure to break open. The first to cast blame will be Donald Trump. He will give the signal, and the flood will follow. It could be destructive, but it may push Israel in a positive direction.
Israel won't wake up one morning and tell itself that the occupation, the apartheid and its endless wars must stop and that it must also listen to the world. Only severing the link to the United States could bring this about
Severing the unconditional link between the United States and Israel may turn into the only hope, if it's followed by a profound change in Israeli policies. This change won't happen on its own. Israel won't wake up one morning and tell itself that the occupation, the apartheid and its endless wars must stop and that it must also listen to the world. Only severing the link to the United States could bring this about. Herein lies a risk that the baby – which hasn't been a baby for a long time – will be thrown out with the global bathwater.
It's difficult to imagine Israel maneuvering without the United States. It's true that prattlers on the right are certain that Israel doesn't need America, but they'll have to face reality. Suddenly, there won't be arms and money and a veto at the UN Security Council. What then? Will settler leader Daniella Weiss protect us? Will National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir prevent a UN resolution? Will the settlers' Ford Rangers travel to Tehran?
That day is closer than all the participants in Israel's march of folly think. Israel will then finally have to decide between a different Israel, or no Israel at all.