Is the US Still Israel’s Ally?

After countless visits to Israel, Antony Blinken has made no headway in convincing Israel to meet any of his demands. The Israelis aren’t interested in increasing humanitarian aid or modifying its attacks in Gaza. Israel is expected to avoid killing civilians and to try to preserve the Gazan infrastructure. Blinken on his last visit didn’t even acknowledge the nine IDF soldiers who were killed the day before his visit.

In a conversation between journalist Caroline Glick and David Wurmser, an American foreign policy specialist, Glick asked how Israel could proceed to strengthen its position with the U.S. Wurmser suggested a three-point strategy: (1) The State Dept. is filled with anti-Israel personnel; Israel needs to circumvent them, and it knows how to do this; (2) Israel, in spite of its recent reluctance to challenge the U.S., has always acted in the past with conviction; the country must once again make demands and state its expectations unequivocally, as Golda Meir did with Henry Kissinger and President Nixon; in this way, they can regain the respect of America; and (3) Israel must make the effort to work through Congress and appeal to the American people. These actions, if taken together, will emphasize that Israel is not the “vassal” (a term that Wurmser used) of the U.S., but is an independent, sovereign nation.

If the U.S. decided that it would withhold armaments, Glick asked Wurmser if Israel would survive the war. I was surprised to learn that Wurmser said it would be a very difficult situation for Israel—many more Israelis would die, but there would be advantages as well. Israel would change its strategies to deal with the new conditions. It would likely put Gaza under siege, and cut back on humanitarian aid (meaning fuel and electricity). According to Wurmser, the Israelis have gone beyond the normal expectations of warfare, even more than the U.S. follows. But if the U.S. withholds arms, the war will likely become more brutal.

When survival is on the line, good manners drop away.

Do you see Israel being able to survive a long war without the U.S.?

Do you think Israel should be doing more to remain in the good graces of the U.S.?

This video shows the conversation between Glick and Wurmser. The discussion of the U.S. relationship begins at the 40:00 mark and lasts about 4 minutes.