Clear Enough? Israelis Must Make Decisions for Israel - by Mitchell Bard

Israel’s leaders will make a decision that is in Israel’s best interest regardless of what Americans think, because they have learned over the years that no concessions they make to the Palestinians will be applauded or bring peace. And Israel is ultimately alone in defending itself.

Mitchell Bard..
Algemeiner..
01 July '20..

As the Israeli government nears a decision on whether to apply sovereignty over parts of the West Bank, some American Jews, pundits, politicians, and Middle East experts are saying that doing so will harm Israel’s interests. Many apparently believe that Israelis are unable to comprehend the consequences, but they do.

The concerns include:

- Provoking a Palestinian uprising.
- Damaging relations with Jordan and Egypt.
- Jeopardizing the normalization of relations with the Gulf Arab states.
- Aggravating relations with the European Union and facing sanctions.
- Attracting condemnation from the United Nations.
- Exacerbating tensions between Israeli and American Jews.
- Giving ammunition to demonizers of Israel and supporters of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
- Strengthening critics and angering friends within the Democratic Party.
- Gaining recognition from Trump that might be reversed by a President Biden.

All of these are legitimate worries for Israel’s leaders. In the past, it was primarily Arabists in the US government who took the position that Israelis must be saved from themselves. Now some of Israel’s closest friends, including Democratic allies in Congress and their nominee for president, are speaking out against Israel taking unilateral action. The Trump administration, meanwhile, says that any Israeli action must be consistent with its peace proposal. Many Jews who traditionally defer to the Israeli government on matters of war and peace have joined the critics. And it is not just far-left Jews who are speaking out; moderate and even some conservative Jews have joined the chorus.

Meanwhile, none of the critics know yet what the government is going to do.

(Continue to Full Column)

Mitchell Bard is a foreign policy analyst and authority on US-Israel relations who has written and edited 22 books.