Testing the U.S.-Israel Bond

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/24/opinion/shmuel-rosner-testing-the-us-israel-bond.html

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TEL AVIV — In 2007, the historian Michael Oren released his book “Power, Faith and Fantasy” in which he prophesied that the United States would continue to pursue “traditional patterns of its Middle East involvement” in the years to come. Last month, Mr. Oren — still a historian but now also a former Israeli ambassador to the United States, and a current member of Israel’s Parliament — released “Ally: My Journey Across the American-Israeli Divide,” in which he refuted his own prophecy.

In Mr. Oren’s view, President Barack Obama did not pursue traditional patterns in the Middle East; instead, he claims that Mr. Obama changed America’s policies to the detriment of its staunchest ally in the region in a way that could imperil Israel’s future. This pattern culminated on July 14 when the Obama administration, along with several other countries, signed an agreement with Iran that is supposed to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons.

Some readers believe Mr. Oren committed an unforgivable sin by publishing a book that includes bold criticisms of Mr. Obama’s policies, an armchair psychoanalysis of the president’s motivations and complaints against notable Jews. But this is not the source of the outrage against him and his book; it is because Mr. Oren is seeking to redefine (or re-establish) what it means to be a true ally of Israel.

Mr. Oren has commended the Obama administration for its military “aid and support” for Israel. But he questions whether an administration that conducts “negotiations with Iran for seven months behind our backs, and trying to strike a deal that’s bad, very bad, for our security,” as he told me, can take credit for making Israel safer.

Critics have disputed Mr. Oren’s accounts of various events. They have questioned his timing and his motivations: “He is a politician trying to sell a book” was the response from the U.S. State Department. They also accused him of engaging in an “insensitive and unjustified attack on the president,” as the Anti-Defamation League framed it, because of his view that Mr. Obama’s outreach to the Muslim world may have stemmed from having a Muslim father.

Some of Mr. Oren’s critics make valid arguments. His book surely added fuel to an American-Israeli fire that he claims he wants extinguished. And his account of several specific incidents (among them one that involves this newspaper) was disputed.

But the value of his book is that it poses a question that few others dare to ask: What sort of support does Israel deserve to expect from Americans, including Jewish Americans?

Israel is the junior partner in the American-Israeli alliance, and should be very careful not to become (or to be perceived as) ungrateful for the support that it gets. Israel is also an independent country whose interests do not always align with American interests. It should respect a decision by American leaders and voters to prioritize American interests over Israeli ones.

However, it is still reasonable to argue that in recent years the bar for being “pro-Israel” in America has been drastically lowered.

The Obama administration has just legitimized and bolstered Israel’s arch-enemy while claiming to care for Israel. There are columnists (many of them Jewish) who write about Israel mostly when they have negative things to say, yet they still proudly wear the mantle of being pro-Israel. There are American organizations (such as J Street) that support goals that barely any Israeli agrees with, that nevertheless flaunt the pro-Israel label.

Mr. Oren’s book is controversial because he had the chutzpah to hint that a vague definition of the alliance — so vague that it allows one ally to make deals that infringe on the other ally’s ability to defend itself — is not truly an alliance.

He had the audacity to propose that when something as grave as the agreement with Iran is on the line, the facade that all pro-Israel positions are the same becomes dangerous. It gives individuals and institutions the luxury of holding on to the pro-Israel label while promoting policies that are highly damaging to it.

In Israel, Mr. Oren’s complaints against the policies of the Obama administration and biased criticisms of Israel by Mr. Obama’s supporters are widely shared. Still, his book was received with a measure of alarm. The head of his own party, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, distanced himself from the book. Isaac Herzog, leader of the Labor Party, called his characterization of the Obama administration a “grave mistake.”

They reacted like this because Israel benefits from the current American political climate in which being openly hostile to Israel is an unpopular fringe position. That’s why Israel trains its leaders and officials to sing the mantra of bipartisan support in Washington, and to work to keep it a reality.

Of course, Israel needs American support that is meaningful and goes beyond platitudes. But as they battle to get such meaningful support, Israelis also need to be careful not to alienate Americans by telling them that their support is not enough.

And this is where I differ with Mr. Oren. Perhaps because he was born in the United States, trusts the American government’s instincts and believes in the American people’s enduring love for Israel, Mr. Oren has boldly drawn a line between what counts as support for Israel and what falls short.

But fearful Israelis like me don’t share his belief in the innate steadfastness and durability of the alliance. We are afraid of lines, because we know that nations — like France in the 1960s — can one day be close allies of Israel’s and the next day not. We know that American presidents — like Dwight Eisenhower — can be highly popular without caring much for Israel. And we know that American political parties can change their outlook on Israel rapidly if it wins votes.

We avoid drawing lines like Mr. Oren’s because we worry about what might happen if, in the coming years, more Americans than Mr. Oren expects decide to cross them.

Shmuel Rosner is the political editor at The Jewish Journal and a senior fellow at The Jewish People Policy Institute.