Over the past few months, the special relationship between Israel and the United States has been under constant observation from parties on both sides. Many U.S. officials say it was Israel’s actions during the Palestinian peace talks that could have put President Barack Obama on edge. Some Israeli officials say it is just time they become independent of the U.S because of its inefficacy in providing them with the backing to push out Palestinians.

Construction in the West Bank began on Monday, which means over the next few months, Israel’s popularity will plummet. Since the global community views the U.S. and Israel as sharing the same bed, it could only be assumed that our global popularity vote goes with them. So I decided to get to the bottom of what is really going on with the U.S./Israeli relationship.

On July 8, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, gave a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations. He addressed a number of issues the Israeli state is targeting and how U.S. and Israeli relations are panning out.

Netanyahu said, ‘I told the Oval Office that the reports of the demise of the U.S./Israel special relationship are not only premature, but they’re wrong. Now they’re wrong not simply because of the unbreakable bond between our two countries.’

There was more to the prime minister’s statement, but the excerpt given illustrates a primary issue in U.S. foreign relations, particularly those pertaining to Israel. Making unbreakable bonds with a nation that is hated by most — if not, all — Middle Eastern countries show courage, but also create an inability to provide solutions.

I’ve been reassured by Netanyahu’s statement that the U.S./Israel relationship is as strong as ever, but it only makes me more worried that the Middle Eastern region will never see peace over the Israel and Palestinian conflict.

When an individual places him or herself as a mediator, he or she must be the neutral party that has the power to move the opposing sides toward a solution. The only position in which the U.S. can help Israel or Palestine is in one displaced from a governmental bond that automatically picks a winner.

I find it hard to believe the U.S. has yet to do this. If Obama wants to raise his popularity points and show the world that the U.S. is capable of actually solving long-standing issues, he needs to start making hard-hitting decisions when it comes to Israel.

Obama and former President Bill Clinton’s first plan of action should be to stop ‘urging’ nations and to actually do something. They should also reconsider this ‘unbreakable bond’ Netanyahu refers to and start chipping away at it to show some form of neutrality.

I wish the support for Israel came from a moral standpoint, because arguing against it would be like arguing politics or religion at the dinner table — pointless.

John Sumpter is a senior political science major. His column appears weekly, and he can be reached at jsumpte@syr.edu.

 

Published on September 29, 2010 at 12:00 pm