I was surprised by Rotem Sella’s Wall Street Journal op-ed, “Israel Is a U.S. Ally, Not a Client”. I actually agreed with his conclusion:
The perception of Israel as a client state is outdated. In the 1970s U.S. aid accounted for about 10% of Israel’s gross domestic product. In 2023 it accounted for 0.76%. In 1979 Israel’s GDP per capita was half of France’s. Today, Israel’s is larger. Mr. Netanyahu’s market reform and an ascendant tech industry have transformed Israel into an independent regional power.
Relations between the U.S. and Israel need an update. The first step is to stop regular U.S. military aid to Israel. American taxpayers shouldn’t subsidize a prosperous country or send help outside of emergencies. That money should go to U.S.-Israeli co-investment in military technology. The two countries can split the bill on mutually beneficial projects. This is similar to how the Iron Dome was developed, and its technology has benefited both countries.
Since the Oct. 7 attack, about 800 Israeli soldiers have been killed in a war to secure our country. Israelis don’t expect American soldiers to risk their lives for our sovereignty. This should be another pillar of our security relations.
I agree with all of that although I will admit to healthy skepticism about this: “Many Americans seem to believe we hope the U.S. will fight our battles for us. That isn’t the case.” It’s unclear to me how Israel will fight Iran, particularly an Iran supported by Russia and China.
I don’t believe that Israel is a U. S. ally. I think our interests are too far apart. How interested are we, really, in a “greater Israel”? The largest party in the present ruling coalition, Likud, believes in Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank and settlement of it. The second largest party, Yesh Atid, believes in a halt to settlements in the West Bank. The third largest party, Religious Zionist, is even more extreme in its support for settlements than Likud. What is the U. S. position? The Biden Administration’s position appears to be that West Bank Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. What is Trump’s position?
It is not their country. It is the Palestinian’s country. The Ashkenazi are European invaders and colonists. Our submission to the racist apartheid Israeli state has made us complicit in genocide and ethnic cleansing, and it has isolated us from the wider world, which despises everything American, and justifiably so.
The Israeli ambassador said in an interview several months ago that they didnt need the yearly tribute we send but he wanted access to additional funding whenever needed and he felt that Israel had secured that due to their strong relationship with conservatives in the US. IOW, we are a bank for the Israelis where they can take out money but never have to pay it back. Also, the guy gives Netanyahu credit for economic success. Looking at GDP per capita, their metric, growth has been slower during the Netanyahu years than in the 20 years before he took office.
Steve
What would you do about Israel, Bob?
The region matters because of the oil and the trade route Suez canal.
No country can rationally rely upon relationships or treaties with Islamic theocracies because of their internal strife and endless conflicts.
So that, and the relationship between our dominant religion and theirs makes us natural partners.
Picture a Palestinian state, Jew-free, from the river to the sea. Nirvana, yes?
More likely endless war, another, less advanced, North Korea.