Abstract
The Obama era symbolized an unprecedented downward spiral in US–Israeli relations. In the short term, one can attribute the deterioration to the difficult, at times impossible, relationship between Obama and Netanyahu, who shared different political worldviews. Washington and Jerusalem clashed over the Israeli–Palestinian peace process and what to do with Iran’s nuclear program. However, these tensions did not appear to have had any impact on the US’s commitment to Israeli security or on its view of Israel as an important strategic ally. In the long run, however, the Obama era signals a shift in US demographics that is likely to have electoral consequences in the future. As a result, the “special” relationship may be “special” no more as changing public attitudes afford the US the freedom of political action to distance itself from, and at time even collide with, Israeli policies as Obama had done.
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Notes
- 1.
Amir Tibon and Tal Shalev, “Scenes from a Marriage: The Worse Relationship Between a US President and an Israeli Prime Minister Ever—As Autopsied by the People Closest to Them,” Huffington Post. Accessed February 23, 2017. http://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/bibi-obama/
- 2.
Robert Freedman, “Introduction,” in Israel and the United States, ed. Robert O. Freedman, 1–21 (Boulder: Westview Press, 2012), 2.
- 3.
Douglas Little, “The Making of a Special Relationship: The United States and Israel, 1957–1968,” International Journal of Middle East Studies 25, no. 4 (1993): 567.
- 4.
The Eisenhower administration approved the sale of small arms to Israel in 1958 in the form on recoilless rifles but refused to sale hardware. However, as Douglas Little notes, Kennedy , in an attempt to persuade Israel away from developing nuclear weapons and throwing the regional into a nuclear arms race, approved the sale of conventional sophisticated hardware, hoping that this would allay Israel security concerns. See Douglas Little, ibid., 566.
- 5.
Ibid., 580. Douglas Little notes, however, that Eisenhower, fearing the spread of Soviet influence in the region, and Kennedy, fearing nuclear proliferation, had already established the special relationship between the US and Israel by then.
- 6.
Ibid., 4.
- 7.
According to Haim Malka, this aid represents 1.5% of Israel’s GDP and approximately 21% of its defense budget. See Haim Malka, Crossroads: The Future of US-Israel Strategic Partnership (Washington, DC: Center for Strategic and International Studies, 2011), 1.
- 8.
Freedman, “Introduction,” 6.
- 9.
Dennis Ross, Doomed to Succeed: The US-Israeli Relationship From Truman to Obama (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2015), 279. Clinton’s relationship with Netanyahu soured after Netanyahu attended a pro-Israel rally hosted by Christian fundamentalist Jerry Falwall, who at the time was accusing Clinton of being a drug dealer and involved in murder.
- 10.
Robert Freedman, “George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and the Arab-Israeli Conflict from 2001 to 2011,” in Israel and the United States, ed. Robert O. Freedman, 36–78 (Boulder: Westview Press, 2012), 44.
- 11.
Ross, Doomed to Succeed, 313–318.
- 12.
Freedman, “George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and the Arab-Israeli Conflict from 2001 to 2011,” 37, 72.
- 13.
Ross, Doomed to Succeed, 301. Obama was later criticized, including during the foreign policy presidential debate with Romney, for his adoption of a posture that created some daylight between the US and Israel to improve relations with the Arab world. See Molly Moorhead, “Romney Says Obama Wants ‘Daylight’ in US-Israel Relationship,” Politifact, October 22, 1012. Accessed January 5, 2017. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/oct/22/mitt-romney/romney-says-obama-wants-daylight-us-israel-relatio/
- 14.
David E. Sanger, “President Praises Effort by Powell in The Middle East,” New York Times, April 19, 2002. Accessed January 5, 2017. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/19/world/mideast-turmoil-diplomacy-president-praises-effort-by-powell-in-the-middle-east.htmlPresident. Identifying Sharon as a man of peace was received with a mixture of amusement and disbelief in the region, given Sharon’s reputation as a hawk, his involvement in leading Israel into what was perceived as its first “war of choice” in Lebanon in 1982, and his repeated denial or Palestinian nationhood. Sharon was also blamed, perhaps unfairly, for igniting the second intifada when it erupted after he decided to walk along with hundreds of Israeli police, on Temple Mount while he was campaigning for elections in 2000.
- 15.
Ross, 300.
- 16.
Ronnie Olesker, “Israeli Views on the US Presidential Election: Between Perception and Reality,” in The World Views of the US Presidential Election, ed. Mathias Maass, 133–150 (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009), 137.
- 17.
Ibid.
- 18.
Ibid., 138.
- 19.
Ibid.
- 20.
Roni Sofer, “Olmert: Obama Proved His Leadership,” Ynetnews.com, November 5, 2008. Accessed February 17, 2017. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3617987,00.html
- 21.
Shumel Rosner, personal communication with the author, November 18, 2008 Tel Aviv. Cited in Ronnie Olesker, “Israeli Views on the US Presidential Election,” 139.
- 22.
Ephraim Yaar and Tamar Hermann, Peace Index, January 10, 2017. http://www.peaceindex.org/indexMonthEng.aspx?num=316
- 23.
“The Noble Peace Prize for 2009,” NobelPrize.org , October 9, 2009. Accessed February 17, 2017. http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2009/press.html
- 24.
Roni Sofer, “Obama Calls Abbas, Olmert, on First Day, YnetNews.com , January 21, 2009. Accessed February 21, 2017. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3659961,00.html
- 25.
Dennis Ross, Doomed to Succeed, 346.
- 26.
Ibid., 349. Ross points out that Arab regimes might have had their own domestic interests in mind when they highlighted the Palestinian issues as a source for Arab rage and regional violence.
- 27.
The Israelis, along with the Saudis and Emirates, were fearful of the changes in Egypt, which up until then, was seen as a status quo power and a reliable partner. The Israelis in particular were fearful of what would come next and whether the Muslim Brotherhood would maintain the peace with it. See Ross, Doomed to Succeed, 355.
- 28.
Shmuel Rosner, “How Bad Do Israelis Think Obama is? As Bad as a US President Can Get,” Jewish Journal, April 28, 2015. Accessed January 5, 2017. http://jewishjournal.com/rosnersdomain/item/how_bad_do_israelis_think_obama_is_as_bad_as_a_us_president_can_get?fb_comment_id=817164915045995_817597548336065. The survey was conducted by Panel Politics.
- 29.
Richard Wike, “7 Charts on How the World Views President Obama,” Pew Research Center, June 24, 2015. Accessed April 10, 2016. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/06/24/7-charts-on-how-the-world-views-president-obama/
- 30.
Richard Wike, Bruce Stokes, Jacob Poushter, “America’s Global Image,” Pew Research Center, June 23, 2015. Accessed January 5, 2017. http://www.pewglobal.org/2015/06/23/1-americas-global-image/
- 31.
Shmuel Rosner, “What is the Israel Factor,” Jewish Journal, December 6, 2011. Accessed January 5, 2017. http://www.jewishjournal.com/rosnerdomain/item/what_is_the_israel_factor/
- 32.
Shmuel Rosner, “Israel Factor: US-Israel Relations (almost) at Lowest Point Ever,” Jewish Journal, September 16, 2015. Accessed February 6, 2017. http://jewishjournal.com/rosnersdomain/rosners_domain-mobile/177670/hush-uniform-41261/
- 33.
Shmuel Rosner, Israeli Opinion on Obama,” Jewish Journal, June 2015. Accessed February 6, 2017. http://jewishjournal.com/rosnersdomain/rosners_domain-mobile/109188/hush-uniform-39211/
- 34.
Lydia Saad, “Seven in 10 Americans Continue to View Israel Favorably,” Gallop, February 23, 2015. Accessed February 6, 2017. http://www.gallup.com/poll/181652/seven-americans-continue-view-israel-favorably.aspx?version=print
- 35.
Richard Wike, Bruce Stokes, Jacob Poushter, “America’s Global Image,” Pew Research Center, June 23, 2015. Accessed February 6, 2017. http://www.pewglobal.org/2015/06/23/1-americas-global-image/
- 36.
Lydia Saad, “Seven in 10 Americans Continue to View Israel Favorably,” Gallop, February 23, 2015. Accessed February 6, 2017. http://www.gallup.com/poll/181652/seven-americans-continue-view-israel-favorably.aspx?version=print
- 37.
In fact, the invitation was orchestrated by Ron Dermer, Netanyahu’s close ally and now Israeli ambassador to the US Dermer came up with the idea of sidelining the White House and going straight to Congress to influence American public opinion against the deal with Iran.
- 38.
“The Complete Transcript of Netanyahu’s Speech to Congress,” Washington Post, March 3, 2015. Accessed February 6, 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/03/03/full-text-netanyahus-address-to-congress/?utm_term=.040dc6d38044
- 39.
Jeffrey Goldberg, “The Crisis in US-Israel Relations Is Officially Here,” The Atlantic, October 28, 2014. Accessed February 6, 2017. https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/10/the-crisis-in-us-israel-relations-is-officially-here/382031/
- 40.
Ibid.
- 41.
Barak Ravid, “Ya’alon Raises US Ire Calling Kerry ‘obsessive and Messianic,’” Haaretz, January 14, 2014. Accessed February 8, 2017, http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.568577
- 42.
Jeffery Goldberg, ibid.
- 43.
Seth Frantzman, “Abstaining from History: Here is all the UN Resolution on Israel the US Abstained On,” TerraInCognita, December 24, 2016. Accessed February 6, 2017. https://sethfrantzman.com/2016/12/24/abstaining-from-history-heres-all-the-un-resolutions-on-israel-the-us-abstained-on/
- 44.
Ibid.
- 45.
Benjamin Netanyahu, Twitter Post. December 25, 2016, 9 AM. Accessed February 6, 2017. https://twitter.com/IsraeliPM/status/813021716511420416
- 46.
Benjamin Netanyahu, Twitter Post. December 24, 2016, 9:52 PM. Accessed February 6, 2017. https://twitter.com/IsraeliPM/status/812898825413296128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
- 47.
David McBride, “For All the Wrong Reasons? Re-evaluating Truman, Domestic Influences, and the Palestine Question, “DOMES 14, no. 2 (2005): 27–49; John Snetsinger, Truman, The Jewish Vote and the Creation of Israel, (Stanford: Hoover Institutional Press, 1974).
- 48.
For a controversial take on the role of the pro-Israel lobby in framing US foreign policy, see John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt, The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007). For critique of this argument, see Robert C. Lieberman, “The ‘Israel Lobby’ and American Politics,” Perspective on Politics 7, no. 2 (2009): 235–257.
- 49.
According to Gallop, 62% of Americans sympathize with Israel , while only 18% with the Palestinians. http://www.gallup.com/poll/167474/americans-mideast-country-ratings-show-little-change.aspx
- 50.
Fifty-six percent of Independents are sympathetic to Israel , and 58% of Democrats are, compared with 81% of Republicans. Ibid.
- 51.
Ibid.
- 52.
- 53.
- 54.
- 55.
Ibid.
- 56.
Ibid.
- 57.
Pew, “Comparison Between Jews in Israel and the US,” Pew Research Center, March 8, 2016. Accessed February 6, 2017. http://www.pewforum.org/2016/03/08/comparisons-between-jews-in-israel-and-the-u-s/#different-perspectives-on-the-peace-process-settlements-and-u-s-support-for-israel
- 58.
Tamar Hermann, Ella Heller, Nor Atmore, Yuval Lebel, “2013 Israeli Democracy Index,” Israeli Democracy Institute, figure 46, pp. 92. Accessed February 13, 2017. https://en.idi.org.il/media/3958/democracy-index-english-2013.pdf
- 59.
Ibid., pp. 93.
- 60.
Ibid.
- 61.
Tamar Hermann, Chanan Cohen, Dana Bublil, Fadi Omar, “2016 Israeli Democracy Index,” Israeli Democracy Institute, figure 3.11 pp. 83. Accessed February 10, 2017. https://en.idi.org.il/media/7811/democracy-index-2016-eng.pdf
- 62.
Accessed February 10, 2017. http://jstreet.org/about-us/mission-principles/#.WJ3j8xi-JsM
- 63.
Dov Waxman, “The Israel Lobbies: A Survey of the Pro-Israel Community in the Unites States,” Israel Studies 25, no.1 (2010): 13.
- 64.
Ibid., 5.
- 65.
“Speakers” J Street 2017 Conference page. Accessed February 16, 2017. http://jstreet.org/conference/program/speakers/
- 66.
Melissa Apter, “AIPAC, J Street Spend Millions Dueling Over Iran Deal,” Washington Jewish Week, July 29, 2015. Accessed February 16, 2017. http://washingtonjewishweek.com/23901/23901/news/world-news/. See also Ailsa Chang, “Lobbyists Spending Millions to Sway the Undecided on Iran Deal,” NPR.org , August6, 2015. Accessed February 16, 2017.http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/08/06/429911872/in-iran-deal-fight-lobbyists-are-spending-millions-to-sway-12-senators
- 67.
Ilai Z. Saltzman, “Not So “Special Relationship,”” Israel Studies, 22 (1), 2017: 61.
- 68.
Dennis Ross, Doomed to Succeed, 350.
- 69.
Joint Press Conference with Secretary Gates and Minister Barak from Tel Aviv, Israel, March 24, 2011. Accessed February 16, 2017. http://archive.defense.gov/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=4797
- 70.
Greg Rosenbaum, “Obama Has a Stronger Record on Israel Than You Might Have Been Led to Think,” Haaretz, June 23, 2015. Accessed February 16, 2017. http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.662588
- 71.
Ibid.
- 72.
David E. Sanger, “Obama Order Sped Up Wave of Cyberattacks Against Iran,” New York Times, June 1, 2012. Accessed February 16, 2017. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/01/world/middleeast/obama-ordered-wave-of-cyberattacks-against-iran.html
- 73.
Greg Rosenbaum, “Obama Has a Stronger Record on Israel Than You Might Have Been Led to Think,” Ibid.
- 74.
“US-Israel cybersecurity collaboration legislation signed into law,” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, December 20, 2016. Accessed February 16, 2017. http://www.jta.org/2016/12/20/news-opinion/politics/us-israel-cybersecurity-collaboration-legislation-signed-into-law
- 75.
Peter Baker and Julie Herschfeld Davis, “US Finalizes Deal to Give Israel $38 Billion in Military Aid,” New York Times, September 13, 2016. Accessed February 16, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/14/world/middleeast/israel-benjamin-netanyahu-military-aid.html?_r=0
- 76.
D’vera Cohn and Andrea Caumont, “10 Demographic Trends that are Shaping the US and the World,” Pew Research Center, March 31, 2016. Accessed February 22, 2017. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/03/31/10-demographic-trends-that-are-shaping-the-u-s-and-the-world/
- 77.
Oren Liebermann and Euan McKirdy, “Israel to Build Entirely New Settlement in the West Bank,” CNN.com , February 1, 2017. Accessed February 17, 2017. http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/01/middleeast/israel-settlements-approved/
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Olesker, R. (2018). Israeli View of the Obama Era: A Relationship Reexamined. In: Maass, M. (eds) The World Views of the Obama Era. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61076-4_9
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