While the national attention is turned to terrorism, dramatic changes are taking place with regard to Israel and the strategic architecture of the Middle East. News outlets speak of the latest terror wave, without paying attention to the public debate about the fascinating opportunities opening up for Israel to strengthen its hold in the region and international status. The crux of the matter is Israel's maneuverability and freedom of action as a regional power, especially vis-à-vis the United States.
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Even some politicians, let alone shallow Western journalists and academics, have grown accustomed to confusing the country's great dependence on US aid with the concept that says this assistance is driven mainly due to sympathy for the Jews and efforts by the excellent pro-Israel lobby in Washington.
They assume that the fact that the "progressive" anti-Israel bloc has become very strong will greatly curtail our strategic maneuvering freedom, even when it comes to matters deemed as critical. Israel has become stronger, especially having recovered from the damaging consequences of the Oslo Accords, which paints a more encouraging picture.
About 30 years ago, Israel willingly gave up its international and regional status for the sake of peace with Palestinians. When the country came to its senses, it managed to integrate into a regional order detached from the need for the consent of its bitterest enemy.
This was made possible with the recognition of the determining factors in the Arab world of the resounding failure of the Arab Spring, the severity of the Iranian aggression, the depth of former US President Barak Obama's political folly, as well as that of current President Joe Biden, and Israel's credibility.
The first highlighted the Arabs' weakness; The second convinced of the existential threat Tehran poses and the need to defend against its regional hegemony; The third proved once again that Washington has become addicted to policies that support its enemies at the expense of its allies; the fourth showed Israel's strength and determination to fight Iran and its proxies. The combination of these four opened the door for Israel in the Middle East, allowing it to operate as a regional power.
We could, of course, speak about normalization, about finding a "solution" to the Palestinian issue and revisiting the degree of the West's sympathy for Israel. But a serious discussion requires a different perspective, one that focuses on Israel's most crucial regional challenge, the main obstacle to successfully tacking this challenge, and how to deal with this obstacle.
Israel also has to deal with its allies who have lost faith in the Biden administration. After Washington abandoned the region that faces a threat from Tehran, some of them blatantly ignored phone calls by the president and requests with regard to oil production, sanctions on Russia and human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia and Syria.
This alliance allows for greater maneuverability vis-à-vis the administration due to Israel's power and determination, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates' oil, gas and money, Egypt's legitimacy and overt and covert support of other Arab countries. Even Syria and Turkey understand the power of the axis and are trying to join.
It is a complex mixture of alliances and regional considerations. Of course, not all factors accept Israel as the leader, but it does maneuver well in the new arena. Although Israel needs US support, with time, even Washington will find it difficult to build on the ayatollahs despite its weakness and to push Israel and its many allies into a dangerous corner of reconciliation with Iranian aggression.
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