By: Rosemary Dewar
Israel is not just a friend, she is a confidant. The shift in perspective with regard to Israel’s right to exist has improved and solidified. America has advanced their partnership with Israel in a suitably strategic manner. It is reflected in our current entertainment culture, domestic policy, and international collaboration. Throughout this transition, Israel has been able to better defend its sovereignty. This is a new beginning of an interdependent and successful friendship.
For the past 85 years, Israel has been the whipping post of the international community. Israel became a singular receiver of ire and harassment. They were damned if they acquiesced to international pressure, and they were damned if they chose to protect their citizens. Since the United Nations announced its recognition of the establishment of the Jewish state, it has also assumed the opinion that they made the Jewish state, and that they can also break it. Each nation felt they had the jurisdiction to “discipline” as they saw fit, to the detriment of all citizens of the Jewish state.
As America’s purpose for a relationship with Israel has changed, so has America’s entertainment. Last month the movie Beirut, starring Jon Hamm and Rosamund Pike, was released. The script, written by Tony Gilroy in 1992, was a drama based on true events. Gilroy stated, “…It seems to have a deeper resonance [now].” Regardless of Gilroy’s intended depiction, he successfully exposes the presence during the Reagan administration of State Department leftovers from Jimmy Carter’s administration. He also illustrates Israel’s patience and rightful defensive position, and the insidiousness of the PLO and Hezbollah. He is completely accurate to assert that this type of story would not have been well received then. Today, the general perception regarding the Middle East is shifting.
Since President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city, and moving the United States’ embassy to the capital, it has prompted nearly twenty countries to follow suit. Many more are expected. The international community now has the understanding that their hesitation in recognizing Israel’s sovereignty would be a direct interference to the peace they say they want to see in the Middle East. Following the shift regime change in Saudi Arabia, the crown prince has officially informed the Palestinian Authority to accept peace or “shut up and stop complaining.”
Furthermore, Jordan is preparing to revoke citizenship of the Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, and thirty members of the executive administration.
Celebrations for Israel’s 70th anniversary of independence will be met with the opening of the U.S. embassy at the middle of this month. With America’s leadership, Israel has been fortified as a force to not be tested without consequence. The newly appointed U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, has stated, “The U.S. fully supports Israel’s right to defend itself.”
This week, Israel was able to complete a mission that has the potential to cripple the Iran Nuclear Deal enacted by the Obama administration in 2015. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s presentation of hundreds of thousands of files illustrating Iran’s escalating nuclear capabilities was a step towards Israel’s license to preserve itself. The fact that the United States authenticated the files and kept its knowledge of the information secret for the past two months is a strategic miracle.
The United States’ next steps in handling the Iran Deal will have a direct effect on future relations with North Korea, Russia, and China. Their ability to continue dark trade between them will be severely diminished.
A substantial power shift is occurring in the Middle and Far East. The level of successful diplomacy will define the level of cooperation.
America and Israel have been able to position themselves as formidable and equipped for future confrontations. The relationship between Israel and the United States has never more concrete than it is today. It is this type of advancement that would have moved David Ben-Gurion, Golda Meir, and Menachem Begin to emotional elation.
Am Yisrael Chai! (The People of Israel Live!)
By: Rosemary Dewar
