Will Bernie Lead A Re-Evaluation Of US-Israeli Relations

The “third rail” of American politics has always been known as Social Security. In that regard, I would offer that the third rail of American foreign policy is our relationship with Israel.  But I wonder if Bernie Sanders is finally going to help Democrats kill the power of this issue.  I had mentioned back in April how Bernie had seemingly moved the conversation on the Isreali-Palestinian question without the normal outrage that his views normally produced. Back then, he had called Israel’s action in Gaza “disproportionate” and he had done that in New York of all places. And now it looks like Bernie is going to push for a more even-handed approach that emphasizes that the Palestinians “need to be treated with dignity and respect” in the upcoming Democratic platform. In a concession by the Clinton campaign, Sanders is able to appoint five members to the 15 member platform committee and one of his appointees is Cornel West who has made his own provocative statements in the past, saying in 2014 that “[t]he rockets of Hamas indeed are morally wrong and politically ineffective – but these crimes pale in the face of the U.S. supported Israeli slaughters of innocent civilians”.  On the other hand, Hillary Clinton has long been a strong supporter of Israel, both as the Senator from New York and as Secretary of State. So it is quite possible that there might be a significant platform fight over this issue.

All this comes as the dynamics of US-Israeli relations have changed dramatically over the last couple of years. First, the Republicans in Congress conspired with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to allow him to come and give a speech to a joint session of Congress, without seeking administration approval, opposing the Iranian nuclear agreement. That speech backfired in a tremendous way as many Americans felt that Netanyahu was interfering in US domestic politics.  Subsequently, the failure of AIPAC, one of the most powerful lobbying organizations in the US, to stop the Iranian nuclear accord severely damaged that powerhouse.  In addition, the rise of J Street, a more progressive lobby that is firmly committed to a two-state solution put further pressure on the established Israel lobby. Additionally, Netanyahu himself has moved farther and farther to the right in order to maintain a coalition that will keep him in power.  And only a couple of weeks ago, Israel’s defense minister, Moshe Yaalon, quit, warning that the country was being overrun by “extremist and dangerous elements”.  Netanyahu filled his post with Avigdor Lieberman, a man who only last year suggested that Arab citizens of Israel that were deemed disloyal should be beheaded. The increasing rise of the hard right in Israel and the building of settlements, both legal and illegal, on the West Bank that increasingly looks like South African apartheid are additional cause for a re-evaluation of US-Israeli relations. The final important change is that the continuing thaw in US relations with Iran, our decreasing reliance on Mideast oil, and Obama’s general reluctance to get drawn into the quagmire that is the Middle East, have all made our relationship with Israel significantly less strategic.

Sanders, as a member of the Jewish faith and someone who spent months on an Israeli kibbutz in his youth, is perfectly positioned to push this debate forward, not only in the platform committee but also during the convention proper. Yes, Republicans will jump all over it as another indication of Democratic weakness. But it is a discussion the country needs to have – let’s hope Bernie pushes the issue.