U.S.
Criticism of Israel
by Mitchell Bard
The United States has been Israel's closest
ally throughout its history; nevertheless,
the U.S. has acted against the Jewish State's
wishes many times.
The U.S. effort to balance
support for Israel with placating the Arabs
began in 1948 when President
Truman showed
signs of wavering on partition and
advocating trusteeship. After the surrounding
Arab states invaded Israel, the U.S. maintained
an arms embargo that severely restricted
the Jews' ability to defend themselves.
Ever since the 1948
war, the U.S. has been unwilling to
insist on projects to resettle Arab
refugees. The U.S. has also been reluctant
to challenge Arab violations of the UN
Charter and resolutions. Thus, for
example, the Arabs were permitted to get
away with blockading the Suez Canal, imposing
a boycott on
Israel and committing acts of terrorism.
In fact, the U.S. has taken positions against
Israel at the UN more often than not, and
did not use its Security
Council veto to block an anti-Israel
resolution until 1972.
Perhaps the most dramatic example of American
policy diverging from that of Israel came
during the Suez
War when President
Eisenhower took a
strong stand against Britain, France and
Israel. After the war, U.S. pressure forced
Israel to withdraw from the territory it
conquered. David
Ben-Gurion relied on dubious American
guarantees that sowed the seeds of the 1967
conflict.
At various other times, American Presidents
have taken action against Israel. In 1981,
for example, Ronald
Reagan suspended a strategic
cooperation agreement after Israelannexed the Golan
Heights. On another occasion, he held
up delivery of fighter planes because of
unhappiness over an Israeli raid in Lebanon.
In 1991, President George
Bush held a press conference to ask for a
delay in considering Israel's request for loan
guarantees to help absorb Soviet and Ethiopian
Jews because of his disagreement with
Israel's settlement policy.
In staking his prestige on the delay, Bush
used intemperate language that inflamed passions
and provoked concern in the Jewish community
that anti-Semitism would
be aroused.
Though often described as the most pro-Israel
President in history, Bill
Clinton also was
critical of Israel on numerous occasions. George
W. Bush's administration has also
shown no reluctance to criticize Israel for
actions it deems contrary to U.S. interests,
but has generally been more reserved in its
public statements. During the first year
of the Palestinian War, the U.S. imposed
an arms embargo on spare parts for helicopters
because of anger over the use of U.S.-made
helicopters in targeted killings. The Bush
Administration also punished Israel for agreeing
to sell military equipment to China in 2005.
Sources: Mitchell Bard is the Executive Director of the American-Israeli Coopertive Enterprise |