Any way you slice it, we're standing on a precipice. On the one hand, we have a Biden administration that is very sympathetic toward Israel. Perhaps the most sympathetic ever. To the extent, in fact, that it rushed to stand by Israel shortly after the horrific events of October 7 unfolded. At that time, it was exactly the kind of assistance we needed,and let us know that we are not alone and the world‘s greatest democracy is backing us up, and doing so with more than just words.
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However, the United States is also full of the world's leading college campuses, where an alarmingly increasing number of young people are constantly bombarded with anti-Zionist and anti-Israeli propaganda, with a puzzling amount of sympathy toward terrorists. At the entrance to Columbia University in New York, there is a massive sign that says: "Israel is the new Nazi Germany." That said, while the pro-Palestinian factions in the United States may be the most boisterous, they’re hardly a majority. Most Americans still support Israel.
The problem is many Israelis live in a sort of alternative reality, where Israel requires no external assistance in order to sustain itself in a rough, geopolitical neighborhood. It is imperative to remember that, without any American support, Israel would be under an existential threat.
Ironically, Israel has brought much of this pro-Palestinian whirlwind in American colleges upon itself, as National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, has been making a string of highly contentious claims that have served anti-Israeli loudmouths alarmingly well. All they had to do in order to show the world that Israel is losing its way, is simply quote whatever it is Ben-Gvir says.
Disagreements between the Israeli and American governments are a legitimate occurrence, and not every U.S. demand should automatically be taken as if Moses descended from the mountain with the 10 commandments himself. For example, when there were those in the United States that demanded an FBI investigation into the killing of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu-Akleh, then-Prime Minister Yair Lapid was resolute in saying "IDF soldiers will not be questioned by the FBI or any other foreign entity, regardless of how friendly it is, and we will not abandon IDF soldiers to the hand of foreign investigations and our stern protest on the issue has been conveyed to the Americans."
It’s worth keeping in mind, though, that Israel has had its fair share of mistakes in the way it has managed itself ever since the terror attack on October 7, as it has been in constant reactive mode, rather than proactive. A proactive move by Israel would’ve meant insisting on a cease-fire in exchange for demilitarization in Gaza. While it is clear Hamas would have repeatedly rejected such an offer, that in and of itself would have given a diplomatic and geopolitical advantage to Israel.
Instead, Hamas has been lifting its head up high, demanding more and more. At the moment, Hamas not only wants a complete and total IDF withdrawal from within the enclave, it also demands the complete removal of the siege on Gaza. In other words, Hamas wants a clear trading route between themselves and Iran, no doubt planning a more severe October 7.
Standing against the axis of evil, which originates with the octopus itself - the Islamic Republic of Iran, the United States is offering a sort of strategic lifeline. It bears mentioning that the October 7 attack was primarily designed to put a wrinkle in the historic mega-deal that was forming between the United States and Saudi Arabia, which included a normalization pact between the Saudis and the Israelis. The significance of such a pact cannot be overstated, as it includes monumental advantages to Israel, both from a security standpoint, as well as a financial one.
But nothing is free. If Israel was to capitalize on and acquire these advantages, it would have to agree to a more moderate approach when it comes to controlling Palestinian territories, most notably Gaza. Rebuilding the enclave, after the relentless Israel bombardment, would require hundreds of billions of dollars. Israel has no problem with the idea of rebuilding Gaza, but it is quite reticent about any solution that involves erecting a sovereign Palestinian state.
That idea wasn’t popular in Israel well before the war, and has become a political impossibility after it. The concerns are not without merit. We should first remember that the Palestinians have transformed refusing Israeli offers for a sovereign state into an art form. Not only did they reject offers from former Israeli premiers such as Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert, but also any offer originating directly from various U.S. presidents, such as Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Donald Trump.
Claims made by the Israeli government against forming a Palestinian state serve as no more than a two-bit shield. Netanyahu needs to defend himself from his more hawkish coalition partners and keep them from dropping out thus forcing a new Israeli election. If anything, Israeli moderation, which would inevitably include slowing down, or completely halting, construction in the West Bank, would improve its international standing, enable the kind of progress required to actualize the aforementioned mega deal with the Saudis that the Biden administration needs so badly before the upcoming November elections, and perhaps most importantly significantly weaken both Iran and Hamas.
Ben-Dror YeminiYnetItamar Ben-Gvir can make all the Wall Street Journal proclamations he wants, but they are no more than PR for its own sake. He remains very much a persona non grata in the United States. If Israel is Ben-Gvir, all other countries would be wise to stay away from it. As it stands, public opinion in the United States is shaped in a way that around a third of all Americans think US military aid to Israel is too big. Should Ben-Gvir persist in running his mouth, that number will easily eclipse 50%.
Netanyahu is juggling many factors all at once, and needs to be playing the long game, in which he has to decide whether he’d rather give up on Ben-Gvir or the United States. At the moment, it seems Netanyahu is struggling to make the right decision.