Israel Is Not America's Greatest Ally.(Brief Article)

Once again, conflict is raging between Israel and the Palestinians--and once again, the U.S. government can see fault only on one side. Even as Israeli soldiers were demolishing his compound and threatening his life, Palestinian Authority chairman Yasir Arafat was instructed by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell to end terrorism against Israel, including that committed by groups Arafat cannot control. What passes in the United States as an evenhanded stance is perceived, not only in the Middle East but in Europe and throughout the world, as unquestioning American support of bully tactics by Israel. In fact, with his uncritical support of Israel, George W. Bush has managed to create an alliance of Arab states supporting Iraq against the United States. The Arab-Israeli conflict has also fueled divisions between the United States and its European allies over the war against Al Qaeda. One can only hope that the depth of the international opposition to America's policies may slowly force a reappraisal of U.S.-Israel relations--for the good of both countries.

The U.S.-Israeli relationship has gone through two phases. In the first phase, which lasted from Israel's establishment in 1948 until the 1967 war, Washington supported or opposed Israel in light of America's broader Middle Eastern and global strategies. Although the Truman administration supported the creation of Israel, the Eisenhower administration opposed Israel, Britain and France when they tried to seize the Suez Canal in 1956. Following the 1967 war between Israel and its neighbors, however, most Arab states sided with the Soviet Union, and a bloc of communist and Third World countries in the United Nations routinely demonized both Israel and the United States. Israel and the United States were natural allies.

After the Berlin wall fell, if a realistic re-examination had been permitted, it would have become clear that Israel had ceased to be as valuable a U.S. asset. But for more than a decade, U.S. policy toward Israel has been shaped as much by domestic politics as by grand strategy: the pro-Israel lobby is the most powerful one in Washington. This support for Israel--no matter what its policies--has given license to Israel's hard right to employ savage means of oppression against the Palestinians, and even against their own Arab citizens. While it is rarely noted in the American media, Israel has now occupied Palestinian lands for 35 years, denying 3 million people rights, and ruling over them with brutality. It would seem difficult to make a humanitarian case for unqualified support for such policies.

Is it time for a third era in U.S.-Israel relations? While America should continue to guarantee the survival of Israel ...