(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . U.S.-Israel relations [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-06-09 “In recent months, many of the U.S. headlines about the Middle East have come not from the Gaza Strip, southern Lebanon or the Red Sea but from American university campuses.“ This quote begins an op-ed After the war in Gaza, US must change relationship with Israel published on May 30 in the Los Angeles Times. Written by Dr. Steven A. Cook of the Council on Foreign Relations, the article continues: The pro-Palestinian protests that rocked UCLA, USC and Columbia (among others) have generated reams of commentary about free speech, antisemitism, violence and higher education. The focus on these issues, important as they are, has obscured a possibly more significant development: The relationship between the United States and Israel is changing. Dr. Cook says that after many years of bipartisan congressional votes for U.S. military and diplomatic support for Israel, “the U.S. consensus on Israel began to break down in the 2010s.” Between 2008 and 2014, Israel and Hamas fought three wars, during which about 2,500 Palestinian civilians were killed and parts of Gaza’s infrastructure were destroyed. During this period, Israel continued to construct settlements in the West Bank. This de facto annexation seemed intended to preclude the establishment of a Palestinian state, which became an official goal of U.S. policy in 2002. Dr. Cook notes that a speech in 2015 by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to a joint session of Congress highlighted differences between Republicans and Democrats regarding Israel. In the speech, Netanyahu opposed the Iran nuclear deal, which Cook labels “the Obama administration’s signature foreign policy achievement.” John Boehner, the Republican Speaker of the House, invited Netanyahu to give the speech but did not coordinate the event with the White House. Cook calls this “a breach of diplomatic and political norms that many prominent Democrats have not forgotten.” Cook continues: This period of conflict, settlement expansion and diplomatic tension coincided with the publication of two books — “The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy”and “The Crisis of Zionism” — that raised difficult questions about the relationship, including whether Israel had come to exercise undue influence over U.S. policymakers and whether carte-blanche support for Jerusalem remained in Washington’s interests. Cook says “the combination of the bloodshed in Gaza, Israel’s persistent settlement-building in defiance of U.S. policy, and Netanyahu’s impudence” began a political change, especially among Democrats. Cook adds that “the bloodiness of Israel’s response to the shocking Oct. 7 Hamas attack has only increased Democratic misgivings.” He adds: Republican support for Israel remains rock-solid, and overall public support for Israel remains strong, but even centrist Democrats are discussing conditioning future U.S. military aid on Israel’s conduct in the West Bank and Gaza, a once-unthinkable development. Dr. Cook says proposals to place conditions on aid or cut it off are unrealistic, given “the staunch Republican support for Israel.” He suggests instead that cooperation and coordination between the U.S. and Israel on defense, technology and intelligence should continue to benefit both countries. He also says: Washington and Jerusalem should agree to phase out U.S. military aid over the next 10 years. The countries could instead agree to a series of treaties and agreements guaranteeing cooperation on security, technology and intelligence. In conclusion, Cook says “more normal bilateral relations with Israel would likely diminish the moral costs of military assistance” which have turned American campuses into “battlegrounds.” -------------------------------- Steven A. Cook is a senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. He earned a PhD in political science from the University of Pennsylvania in 2003 and an MA in International Affairs from the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University in 1995. UPDATE: from the New York Times Protest Against Gaza War Draws Thousands to the White House [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/6/9/2245029/-U-S-Israel-relations?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/