Not above the fray: How the US-Israel alliance is now part of American partisan politics
Three experts speaking at the Israeli American Council National Summit weigh in on the once-sacrosanct bipartisan support for the Jewish state in DC and what has shifted
WASHINGTON — At the largest annual pro-Israel conference in the United States — if not the world — former US special envoy to the Middle East Dennis Ross said US support for Israel faces significant challenges.
Speaking at one of the best-attended of the 40 breakout sessions during the three-day Israeli American Council National Summit 2024 in Washington, Ross gave perspective to whatever daylight now exists between Jerusalem and Washington. For decades, despite a strong bipartisan consensus, there have been many disagreements and policy differences between American and Israeli governments, he pointed out, including US administrations that were particularly close to Israel.
“Today, one of the main challenges is a demographic issue,” said Ross, who teaches at US universities and whose 2015 book, “Doomed to Succeed,” examined US-Israel relations since the latter’s founding in 1948.
“The younger generation in this country has not been forged with a set of understandings and memories of Israel. Palestinians have had a strategy of being a victim and emphasizing victimization… The problem when you make being a victim a strategy, it guarantees you will always be a victim. That imagery of Palestinian victimization is what you see on campuses,” said Ross.
Ross, a Distinguished Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, was one of three panelists at the IAC session, titled “The US-Israel Alliance: Now and Tomorrow,” held on September 21 amid growing concern that support for Israel in the US is eroding. He was joined by Michael Oren, former Israeli ambassador to the US, and Victoria Coates, a national security and foreign policy expert at The Heritage Foundation, in an engaging discussion moderated by Yuna Leibzon, chief US correspondent for Israel’s Channel 12 News.
For his part, Oren believes bipartisan support among Democrats and Republicans is a strategic, national interest for Israel.
“We must do everything to preserve that sense of bipartisanship,” Oren told the session. “During an election year, that becomes a particularly acute challenge when you have swing states like Michigan, where you have large populations that are not exactly enamored with the Jewish state and accuse the administration of being too pro-Israel, and accuse even The New York Times of being too pro-Israel. You also have policy makers in government today who are determined, pretty much at any price, to prevent the United States from getting dragged into a regional conflict. That has repercussions for the US-Israel relationship at this very critical time.”
In his speech at the conference’s opening event, where he was received enthusiastically by a crowd of 3,000 mostly Israeli-Americans, former US president Donald Trump gave a highly partisan depiction of US involvement with Israel. He denounced his rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, as a mortal danger to Israel’s future and castigated any Jew who loves Israel and votes Democrat as a “fool,” saying “you should have your head examined,” echoing previous statements.
Coates, a former deputy national security adviser to Trump, is a strong advocate of US support for Israel being a nonpartisan issue.
“It should be bipartisan,” she told the audience, which frequently applauded all three panelists. “Part of my work is to make a factual case of why the US-Israel relationship is such an enormous benefit that we institutionalize it… That’s really my goal moving forward. I’m a Christian. I have my reasons for loving Israel but that’s not why I support this alliance. It’s in the national security interest of the United States.”
Her recommendation was endorsed by Ross, who pointed out “it’s easy for people to be riveted on the moment and to see only the sources of friction” and to lose sight of the bigger picture.
“I like the notion of institutionalization,” Ross said. “Up until the Reagan administration, Israel was seen with support on the basis of values, not interests. I was one of the authors of strategic cooperation. The principle of this was to say, yes, we will always have shared values and that is the pillar of the relationship. We shouldn’t diminish that in any way. Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East. Period. We will always and should always have a commitment to Israel because of that. But it’s also easier to rationalize at times, remind people, that Israel is also a national security interest of the United States.”
Before the IAC conference, Oren spent several days in Washington with a delegation of residents of northern Israel displaced from their homes since last October due to Hezbollah shelling from Lebanon. The group met with Democratic and Republic members of Congress and also had a meeting at the White House.
“One of the messages we brought and not everyone wants to hear this,” Oren told the audience, “Israel has been in a regional war since October 8.”
Up until the Reagan administration, Israel was seen with support on the basis of values, not interests
Having grown up in the US and later represented Israel in Washington, Oren understands the American political landscape and its evolving impact on relations between the two allies.
“One of the transformations that has been affected by the election is what I call the ‘but’-ing of American support for Israel — b-u-t, not two t’s,” Oren specified. “’We support Israel’s right to exist and its right to defend itself, but it depends how it does it.’ ‘We support Israel’s right to exist and defend itself, but there must be the creation of a Palestinian state.’ ‘We support Israel’s right to defend itself and exist, but there must be an end to this war and a hostage release.’
“All this would be problematic even in and of itself but all those buts are probably not attainable and this qualifies the support for Israel in a very troubling way. This will be the great challenge for people, like me, who seek to maintain bipartisanship,” said Oren.
The oversized influence of universities received repeated attention in the discussion.
“This year, I will speak at 20 campuses around the country,” Ross said. “I know what I see when I’m there. There’s a reservoir of misinformation and unfortunately a lot of it comes from the faculties and it requires a dedicated effort to make the case [for Israel]. There’s a battle to be fought on campus. A small percentage are activists and their opposition to Israel’s existence is part of their identity. They’re not persuadable. The vast majority of students don’t know and need to hear and because they have a kind of curiosity; they are persuadable.”
He added that Israel must also do its part.
“Israel has a responsibility to help us make the case,” he insisted. “It can’t be only Americans who believe in this relationship. Israel too has a responsibility to reach out and tell its story. It must reach out to younger people here.”
There’s a reservoir of misinformation and unfortunately a lot of it comes from the faculties
Oren, a former Knesset member whose 2016 book, “Ally,” was subtitled “My Journey Across the American-Israeli Divide,” cited the role of universities and the challenge of changing opinions in academia.
“We didn’t originate wokeism, intersectionality and critical race theory and yet we’re on the receiving end of so many of these ideas,” he said. “We have to be humble about what we can impact. This doesn’t excuse us of the imperative of fighting back, both on campus and in the media. Even if there’s a chance of changing the minds of a small group, it’s incumbent to do that. You go to fight because that also impacts American policy because the people who are making those policies are watching those channels. The protests on campus have, I think, an exaggerated gravitational pull on policy. So you can’t afford to ignore them.”
When asked about how the Arab world sees current US-Israel ties, Coates pointed to Arab frustration.
“I’ve heard from some Arab partners in the region that they’ve actually been commiserating with the Israelis, that this is what it’s like when America isn’t fully with you,” she said. “I think the Arab world is somewhat confused by all these [anti-Israel] protests in New York, Los Angeles and London while the so-called ‘Arab street’ is rather remarkable for its calm. This is an amazing juxtaposition and they’re somewhat befuddled but at the same time there’s still an openness to expanding peace deals and cooperation.”
If we are perceived as prevailing over Hamas and Hezbollah, the chances for peace will be greatly augmented
Oren postulated that the current conflict may help determine the prospects for peace.
“People have to understand that if we win this war, however you define winning it, if we are perceived as prevailing over Hamas and Hezbollah, the chances for peace will be greatly augmented,” Oren said. “It’s just the opposite of what they’re saying on campuses, that we’re hurting peace. And forgive me, John Lennon, somewhere up in heaven, we’ve got to give war a chance.”
In an interview with The Times of Israel after the session, Ross voiced concern about the future of US-Israel ties.
“No one should take the relationship for granted,” he said. “At a time when the US is supporting Israel and gets criticized by much of the world for doing it, Israelis need to keep that in mind.
“Israelis need to understand just how much the US has been doing for them over the past year. They should be more demonstrative [in their appreciation]. At times, when I hear some people criticize the US, saying it needs to do more for Israel, they should be mindful of how much the US has done,” said Ross.
