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With Friends Like These...
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Comments
1
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TJ Chambers
said:
As an American, I agree. Israel seems to be a pawn in our game. I do not like what our country does to Israel especially since we do not hold the same standards to the other countries we give aid to. I write the President, and Vice President all the time about it, which I am sure that they do not get the message. I do have a friend that is trying to start a Judeo Christian party in Israel and I think it will have a great impact on the Knesset. I hope that Israel can free itself from American aid so it can cut the strings from the puppet master.
Posted by: TJ Chambers on October 20, 2005 09:14 AM
2
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BobW
said:
No nation-state has friends. They only have interests. There are no double standards involved, less any media operations portraying otherwise.
US foreign aid and US defense aid are not the ultimate issue(s). Heck, the UK gets more than Israel and S. Korea was, for many years, a major recipient of US appropriations.
Israel's dependency on the US is a problem but not the ultimate one. "Israel" is something like embryonic Italy; a "geographical expression". Israel has 3 components that never jelled into a bona fide nation-state. These 3 cannot, by doctrine. These elements; the Jews, the Yevsektzia and the Arabs have antagonistic doctrines. Even a federal system probably cannot accomodate the inherent hostilities.
A major-but not ultimate-problem is that part of Israel's body politic believes the current situation furthers the interests of Israel.
Israel has so much talent.......the place could be a Singapore enroute to becomming a Switzerland in under 2 decades, when the impediment is gone. The impediment is NOT the Arabs. I said "when"; not "if".
Regardless of anything said, at some point soon on the calendar, Israel will experience a loss of its large appropriations from the US. The already austere budgets here are again under intense pressure. There will be value eminating from the situation. This is not a first time event in Jewish history.
Kol tuv,
BobW
Posted by: BobW on October 20, 2005 01:01 PM
3
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Ted Belman
said:
When I suggested to my daughter that America is not Israel's friend, she made the obvious point "With enemies like this, who needs friends."
Posted by: Ted Belman on October 20, 2005 01:17 PM
4
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Leonard
said:
Although it is true that American foreign policy interests do not always coincide with Israels' America remains nevertheless a true friend of Israels with common values and common goals. Sometimes there are disagreements amongst friends and Israel should hold true to her principles and self-interest in the same way that America does. President Bush has a grudging respect for Sharon as a man who keeps his word. Abu Mazen has yet to prove himself and it looks increasingly like he never will. Bush has already ruled out setting a time table for Palestinian Statehood for the duration of his Presidency which concludes in January 2009.
Posted by: Leonard on October 20, 2005 03:22 PM
5
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Ed D
said:
Ze'ev, I congratulate you on your stand. I have advocated this position in many of my comments and still believe that to wean ourselves from the US's gratuities, would be in Israel's best interest. It certainly gets rid of the carrot and the club.
Posted by: Ed D on October 20, 2005 04:32 PM
6
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Ted Belman
said:
The situation is far more complicated then that.
Let there be no mistake about it. Israel needs the US.
It needs the veto of the US to restrain the UN.
It needs the US guarantees. Presently the US is withholding these to pressure Israel not to build in the territories.
Israel just put out $2 billion to cover cost of disengagement. They have yet to pay it off.
If Israel were to walk from the US who will be there to take up the slack.
Look what the US is doing to Syria diplomatically. The US could do the same to Israel even without the leverage of the $3 Billion if it was so disposed.
The US doesn't want to cancel at least $2 billion of this because it is spent in their armament industry creating jobs etc. As for the expenditure genedraly the US gets way more in retgurn notg the least of whcih is not having Israel as a competitor for their armament industry.
Some quick thoughts.
Posted by: Ted Belman on October 21, 2005 04:39 PM
With Friends Like These...
These are not easy words to write, but they must be written and acted upon - the sooner the better.
The United States is no friend of Israel's. Yes, there may be common interests between the two countries, but do not believe for a moment that the United States ever has anything but its very own interests at heart, and if they happen to conflict with what happens to be in the best interests of Israel, well... that's life. (That is not to say that there aren't Americans who care deeply for the well-being of Israel).
Batya, over at BlogFree lists some of the more recent examples of how "Israel's best friend" isn't quite that, and this website gives as thorough a documentation of the issue as anyone could ever need.
It is abundantly clear of the double standard that the world, but the US in particular holds Israel to. Yet, I can't really blame the US for doing so. If I was giving someone $3 Billion+ every single year, I would want to have a pretty big say in that person's life too.
If Israel is to have the freedom to pursue policies that are in her own best interest, then it must act now to stop its dependency on US Foreign and Military Aid.
Yes, it will be hard at first, but I have no doubt that over the course of a decade or so, Israel will be able to rebound and have the freedom to act in its own best interests.
I am not saying that Israel should not ally itself with the US, but it should be a partnership of equals, and not one of dependency. I believe that in the long run, this will not only serve Israel's best interests, but those of the US, as well.
I do not believe, that if Israel had the ability to enact and enforce policies that were in the best interests of the Jewish State of Israel that we would find ourselves in the situation which we currently find ourselves in.
I admit that I am not qualified to come up with the exact way of how to wean ourselves off of the aid, but that does not mean that it isn't possible. Thank G-d, one thing that the State of Israel and the Jewish People are not lacking are strong Jewish minds, and I do not doubt that if we put our heads together that we could come up with a manageable solution.
Cross Posted at Israel Perspectives
Posted by Ze'ev Orenstein at October 20, 2005 03:58 AM