Only six decades ago, a major milestone was achieved in US-Israel relations when the Jewish state became a de facto strategic partner of the John Kennedy administration: The Hawk missile deal, signed in 1962, paved the way for the systematic upgrade and fortification of the security ties between Washington and Jerusalem. It reached a high point – which we are currently still in – when the US military aid morphed into a 3.8 billion dollar annual package that is guaranteed until 2028 and which included extensive collaboration on technology, intelligence, and operational activity, including through joint drills and periodic strategy meetings.
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Alongside this flourishing axis of strategic cooperation, there has been another tier that supported this relationship, although it has been unraveling at the seams. This second dimension of the relationship, which has served as a safety net for the Jewish state and an insurance policy for a rainy day, is the shared-values component of the alliance, which has from the get-go been cemented through the prevailing sentiment in large swaths of the American public that the Zionist enterprise is a true reflection of the seminal American ethos in its purest form.
With this in mind, the State of Israel is viewed as the beacon of democracy much like its older sister, a shining city that spreads the principles of equality, tolerance, and freedom – the values that have shaped the US narrative since its foundation.
The current crisis between US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu erupted in full force in recent months and threatens to have the basis of this partnership unravel on both dimensions and primarily affect the "affinity" component of it, which has served as a moral, normative and ideology linchpin of this unique partnership.
Since March, we have seen the clear and stated linkage – from the president himself – made between the two traditional dimensions of the alliance. The way Biden has put it in his meeting with President Isaac Herzog in recent days and in the briefing he gave his associate Thomas Friedman if the judicial reform in Israel moves forward without broad national consensus and threatens the democratic nature and stability of the existing order in Israel, the US administration will find it hard to support Israel in the Gulf by pushing for the expansion of the Abraham Accords (with a special focus on Saudi Arabia).
In other words, if Israel deviates from its traditional political culture, it should not expect the US to use its powerful leverage (such as in arms deal with Saud Arabia) to help pave the way for more peace deals.
The inevitable result is a major tectonic fault because the collapse of the ideological component that gave the alliance an impenetrable armor will have the strategic aspects exposed for quite some time
The pomp and circumstance in Herzog's Washington tour only reinforces the rift between Netanyahu and Biden, despite the somewhat reconciliatory tone the two had in their phone call a day before Herzog arrived. Although there is still uncertainty as to when the Israeli prime minister will arrive in the US and where he will be hosted, one cannot ignore the contrast between the warm embrace given to Herzog and the ongoing cold shoulder of the administration toward the current government due to the judicial reform and its conduct vis-a-vis the Palestinians.
Hezog's speech before a joint meeting of Congress made this contrast all the more palpable. While some Democratic lawmakers boycotted the event – which took place in the very same venue where Netanyahu delivered a provocative speech against President Barack Obama in an effort to derail the nuclear deal – Herzog found himself surrounded by a large crowd of supporters from both sides of the aisle.
The welcoming atmosphere afforded to Herzog, including the repeated standing ovations, demonstrated once again that there is a value-based bond that is shaped by history and culture between Israel and the US.
The question is whether the fissure in the top echelons between the two nations regarding the set of norms governing the two countries will eventually trickle into the strategic dimension and eventually create a new situation plagued by uncertainty and risks for Israel.
Professor Abraham Ben-Zvi and Dr. Gadi Warsha's upcoming book, published by Lamda-The Open University Press, is called "Knock of every door: Israel's foreign policy 1948-2018" (Hebrew).
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