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Zalman Shoval

US-Israel disharmony

Ties between Israel, US politicians eroding; smart moves needed

Israel has succeeded in doing what until recently was thought to be almost impossible: To rub both the Democrats and the Republicans the wrong way.

 

One of the most important principles in Israel's foreign policy is the effort to maintain a balance between the two large American parties. The reasons for this are simple; firstly, they both support Israel; secondly just as in any democracy, once one party is up while the other is down and vise versa – and in the American regime even representatives of the minority faction in congress are very powerful when it comes to crucial issues such as political-security, finance and foreign aid.

 

Where has the former harmony "on both sides of the corridor" disappeared to? It began with Ehud Olmert's address at the IPEC conference where he sounded "more republican than a republican" regarding President Bush's policies in Iraq, and it continued in a further statement by the prime minister several weeks ago when he supported the American army remaining in Iraq.

 

Perhaps Olmert was right: Hasty withdrawal from Iraq doesn't serve Israel's best interests, and it appears that the prime minister and his advisors believed that such statements would assist Bush. But it is a known fact that the road to hell is paved with good intentions and the political fallout of these statements emboldened those who are spreading the falsehood that Israel and the Jews "dragged" the US to war with Iraq.

 

This was the first blunder. Next came the Nancy Pelosi affair involving the House Speaker, considered to be the most powerful woman in American politics. Pelosi met with Bashar Assad in Damascus. The meeting was a mistake, but instead of allowing the embarrassing outcome to speak for itself, the Prime Minister's Office came along and publicly leveled criticism at Pelosi.

 

The backlash wasn't far behind: Pelosi responded in rage and two Jewish congress members closely affiliated to Israel spoke out against Olmert in a way that was even unpleasant for those not considered to be among his supporters.

 

Beyond these embarrassing mishaps the almost full political coordination that once existed between Washington and Jerusalem has disappeared. True, gone are the conflicts that characterized the senior Bush Administration; however, it is difficult to shirk the feeling that Washington not only takes Israel's stances less seriously but that it also purposely emphasizes this fact.

 

Why? Because of the entanglement in Iraq on the one hand and the need to impede Iran on the other, the US is making an effort to fall in line with the European Union and the "moderate" Arab states headed by Saudi Arabia. And there's another reason. Israel's failure in the Second Lebanon War eroded Israel's role as America's strategic ally.

 

And thus we are witnessing Condoleezza Rice's meetings with ministers of the Palestinian "unity government" while the US Administration decides to sell new and sophisticated arms to Saudi Arabia and other Arab states.

 

This is not necessarily the last chord: If Israel doesn't immediately take vigorous and smart moves towards both the Administration and Congress alike, we shouldn't be surprised if the US agrees to board the Saudi wagon and accept the "Saudi Peace Initiative" as a basis for an agreement with the Palestinians.

 

Zalman Shoval is a former ambassador to the US

 


פרסום ראשון: 05.06.07, 19:35
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