Israeli Independence Day is a good time to think about what makes the Jewish state so successful. Going from a glorified refugee camp to a global power in the span of one human lifetime is enough of a triumph that surely it contains lessons for other aspiring nations out there.
But not everybody’s so impressed. Amos Hochstein, the Jerusalem-born lobbyist-turned-envoy for Democratic administrations, doesn’t think much of his place of birth. Hochstein’s answer to what makes Israel successful would appear to be: nothing.
“The most important asset Israel has is not its military or its intelligence, it’s the special relationship with the United States that has been bipartisan for so many decades,” Hochstein said this past weekend. The comments were intended as a partisan attack on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom Democrats dislike because, as Hochstein explains, he gets along with Republicans.
Indeed, Hochstein argues that U.S.-Israel relations are too close at the moment. It would be better, he seems to be saying, if Israel and the U.S. didn’t get along very well during Republican administrations. Netanyahu, he says, “has decided to become not just part of the Republican Party, but he’s decided to become just an appendage of Donald Trump.”
Is Hochstein right, that the best thing about Israel is non-Israelis? That Israel survives and thrives based on whether its prime minister is nice enough to Israel’s critics in the U.S.? That Israel is not an ally but a dependent, a hanger-on, the nation-state equivalent of guy-on-couch?
I don’t buy it. Not because American support for Israel isn’t important—it is. It’s very important, in fact. But it took decades after Israel’s establishment for the special relationship to develop to this point.
Israel’s most important asset is not, contra Hochstein, another country. That level of dependency is something Israel could never afford. Indeed, the story of the past few weeks is neither Israel’s dependence on the U.S. nor its manipulation of the U.S. into a wag-the-dog inversion of the relationship. It is, instead, the story of an ally who shows up.
There are many reasons for a Jew in the world today to be thankful for Israel’s existence, but this year has really driven home what it means as an American of any faith or creed to have Israel by our side.
Of course, willing and able are two different things. Israel is both. “To our Israeli allies, thank you for being a brave, capable, and willing ally on this battlefield,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said earlier in the war. “The rest of the world and the rest of our so-called allies saw what real capabilities look like. They should take some notes.”
In March, the New York Times reported that “U.S. and Israeli military officials are talking as often as 4,000 to 5,000 times a day, divvying up targets across Iran.” Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine spoke of his regular contact with his Israeli counterpart, and one source told the Times that the majority of military briefings were being held in English, not Hebrew, because of how closely the forces were cooperating.
But being a good junior partner isn’t just about the fighting. Israel has also been willing to stop at a moment’s notice when President Trump wants to switch gears to the diplomatic track. Last week, this meant agreeing to a cease-fire in Lebanon that Israeli voters didn’t like and that became a cudgel used by the political opposition against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Still, Israel complied. It was reminiscent of the point during last year’s U.S.-Israel joint bombing missions when Trump decided enough had been accomplished and ordered Israeli jets to turn around and go back home mid-flight.
European allies claim they agree with the necessity of stopping Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and diminishing the Islamic Republic’s ability to bomb European bases and territory, but when Trump asked them to put their money where their mouths were, they balked. When the Iranians threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping, the Europeans got together and came up with a plan—to be carried out only once the war was over and such a plan was no longer needed.
The structure of U.S. “aid” to Israel also follows this pattern, because it requires Israel to purchase from American manufacturers. Thus U.S. companies get a boost, the manufacturing base has steady income and occasional growth spurts, and the U.S. still gets all the intel once those weapons are battle tested—and without having to deploy the systems themselves or send U.S. troops into harm’s way to carry out real-world trials.
The aid is becoming a political football, and opposition to it has been made a progressive litmus test, so the aid structure will almost certainly be reworked. Doing so will harm American workers and the domestic economy far more than it would punish Israel.
Trump is loving the returns America gets by putting the alliance to fuller use. The Israelis, Trump said, “have proven to be a GREAT Ally of the United States of America. They are Courageous, Bold, Loyal, and Smart, and, unlike others that have shown their true colors in a moment of conflict and stress, Israel fights hard and knows how to WIN!”
That statement began with the words “whether people like Israel or not.” Because the truth is that Israel is a superb ally, and reality is impervious to partisan narratives that suggest otherwise.
Source:
www.commentary.org
