The announcement of further Israeli colonisation of East Jerusalem should come as a shock to no one, but its timing must have felt like a slap in the face to Joe Biden. The measured and calculated public ‘row’ which followed, which was called the worst crisis between the US and Israel in 35 years only illustrates the point that the US won’t abandon Israel, come what may.
Racist crackpots like to imagine that Jews control the media, but if that was true, surely they would have had an easier time of it these last few weeks. There has been almost universal condemnation of their settlement extensions and bombing of Gaza, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon made a point of condemning the blockade of Palestine during his visit there. But it’s beginning to look like Israel no longer cares what the rest of the world thinks.
From their point of view, why should they? The Israeli elite knows that it is seen as the bad guy across the world, and barring an unprecedented attack on Israel, that’s not going to change. Why should they exert effort fighting a losing battle for public opinion? It really doesn’t affect life for the average Israeli citizen if people in Europe, China or Brazil perceive them as the aggressors. All that matters is security. And Israel’s is guaranteed.
Contrary to popular perception, Israel doesn’t rely on the US for security. Its armed forces are by far the strongest in the region, and while they do primarily use American equipment, they also buy from Europe and are developing an indigenous arms industry. Even if the Israeli Defence Forces were overwhelmed and Arab armies approached their borders, Israel could threaten to obliterate Damascus, Riyadh and Beirut with just a few of the 200-odd nuclear weapons they have. Tehran gaining a handful of nukes would make no difference to that equation; Iran would be committing national suicide if it used WMDs on Israel.
But Israel does rely on the US to keep the UN Security Council from passing resolutions against it. The relationship is essentially a diplomatic one for Israel, conducted through their lobby groups in Washington (Like any nation with a large diaspora, Israeli lobby groups are disproportionately powerful. Ireland and Armenia punch above their weight in a similar manner).
The lobby groups don’t have to do much lobbying though, as the US wouldn’t dream of dropping Israel or even becoming an honest broker in the Middle East. The embarrassment America suffers for its support is more than offset by the fact that Israel is the best proxy Washington can buy. Direct intervention in the Middle East is not going to be a realistic option for the US for some time. In the meantime, it can rely on Israel to do its bidding, be that bombing Iran or assassinating Hamas members, because their objectives broadly coincide.
American policy has been so oriented towards Israel for so long that it could no longer change direction even if it wanted to, and it doesn’t want to. Israel knows The White House doesn’t really care how it acts in the occupied territories, and that no existential threat towards the Jewish State actually exists. Both sides are locked together, and that suits them perfectly. Nothing to see here.
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