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Our Separate Ways: The Struggle for the Future of the U.S.–Israel Alliance
The future of the relationship between Israel and America is deeply uncertain: the current political leadership of both countries is hostile to the other, there is no longer a sense of shared strategic focus, and demographic changes are forcing the countries further apart with every passing year. The Start-up Nation may be enjoying a tech boom, but it also has booming inequality, booming numbers of poor and underemployed people, and booming numbers of orthodox religious conservatives (half of all Israeli preschoolers are Arab or ultra-Orthodox). In America, the increasing numbers of Jews marrying outside the faith and the precipitous decline of the influence of Evangelical Christians has narrowed the base of people devoted to the land of Israel. In the face of tectonic shifts, the alliance between America and Israel is strained to the point of rupture.
The situation is dangerous for both sides, and it comes at a dangerous time for the Middle East, which will be wracked by the aftereffects of the Arab uprisings and the growth of ISIS for a generation. And for America, the success of the “pivot to Asia” will be undermined by a departure from the Middle East that leaves Israel in the role of regional wrecking ball.
Undermining the relationship between Israel and the US is the fact that it was never clearly defined. The ambiguity has been politically helpful, but now threatens the future: there is no treaty, no agreed set of obligations, no mutual dependence. So when things get sour there is nothing to fall back upon except historical memory. Simon and Allin are among the shrewdest analysts of and practitioners inside the world of US-Israeli diplomacy. They have written an urgent, revelatory book showing the emerging fault lines between two previously staunch allies and the tremendous perils of a schism. And, they offer ways in which even at this late, disgruntled, embittered stage, the two sides might yet find a way toward a common future.
The situation is dangerous for both sides, and it comes at a dangerous time for the Middle East, which will be wracked by the aftereffects of the Arab uprisings and the growth of ISIS for a generation. And for America, the success of the “pivot to Asia” will be undermined by a departure from the Middle East that leaves Israel in the role of regional wrecking ball.
Undermining the relationship between Israel and the US is the fact that it was never clearly defined. The ambiguity has been politically helpful, but now threatens the future: there is no treaty, no agreed set of obligations, no mutual dependence. So when things get sour there is nothing to fall back upon except historical memory. Simon and Allin are among the shrewdest analysts of and practitioners inside the world of US-Israeli diplomacy. They have written an urgent, revelatory book showing the emerging fault lines between two previously staunch allies and the tremendous perils of a schism. And, they offer ways in which even at this late, disgruntled, embittered stage, the two sides might yet find a way toward a common future.
304 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 10, 2016
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June 27, 2016
Fascinating, authoritative, easy to read, and sure to be controversial
The first part of the book recalls not only the history of the Jewish state, how it came to be and how it has struggled and progressed, but how it has been perceived in the imagination of the American politic. As we recall, progressives, liberals, Democrats and educated people in general in the United States have long supported the Zionist idea of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. More recently in the middle of the twentieth century with the sense of the horror of the holocaust still fresh in everyone’s mind our feelings that Jews are justified in having a homeland safe from the prejudices and persecutions that they had long suffered during the centuries-long diaspora was strengthened. But then came in the latter half of the twentieth century “The Rise of the Right” (Chapter 2) and a shift in American appreciation of Israel’s struggles. Now Christian fundamentalists were in the vanguard of support for Israel while liberals were seen by some as growing lukewarm because of what many on the left saw as a growing apartheid state in the Middle East.
The second part of the book zeros in on the nitty-gritty of recent U.S.-Israeli politics, especially during the Obama administration. Authors Allin and Simon (both avowed Zionists, by the way) are senior professional political scientists with Simon being both Jewish himself and lately a close adviser to President Obama. They present a fascinating inside look at much that has gone on between the US and Israel during this latter stage of the conflict involving the Muslim world and Israel. Allin and Simon work hard to be objective and fair, but there is little doubt that they see President Obama as having a balanced position in the struggle and Prime Minister Netanyahu being an uncompromising nationalist. Indeed from reading this book it appears that Netanyahu is vehemently opposed to a two-state solution and is intent on Israeli supremacy in the Holy Land.
One of the things that the authors are at pains to demonstrate is that the Obama administration differed in no significant way from previous US administrations in its unequivocal support of Israel as a friend and an ally. I think they make case very well in spite a lot of right wing BS to the contrary, and despite the unfortunate personal animosity between Obama and Netanyahu, dubbed “the Obama-Netanyahu psychodrama…” on page 175.
In addition to the insights the authors provide into US-Israel relationships there is a wealth of information about the so-called Arab Spring and its aftermath and about the situation in the Middle East vis-à-vis the rest of the world. They offer insights into the Sunni-Shia divide and the proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. There is some material on the horrors that developed in Syria and Egypt.
As for the “red line” that Obama had famously drawn in Syria about the use of chemical weapons, the authors exonerate the president by claiming that by the time it was clear that Assad had used chemical weapons the situation had changed and “98 percent of Syria’s declared stockpile of 1,308 metric tons of mustard agent and precursors had been destroyed.” (p. 151) The authors go on to argue that bombing Syria would not have gotten rid of the chemical weapons. Indeed some were in civilian areas and bombing them would result in the kind of collateral damage that would be unacceptable. On the other hand Obama’s opponents argue that the loss of credibility from not bombing Syria was of significant damage to the creditability of the United States. My personal opinion is I wish I knew what would have been the right thing to do. It’s easy to second guess and criticize but as Harry Truman said, “the buck stops here” and when you are in the hot seat you have to make a decision that will inevitably lead to dead bodies on the ground somewhere. One thing I have always admired about Obama as president is his obvious desire to be responsible for as few deaths as possible. However I think he made a mistake in not going after Assad regardless of what the Russians thought.
Putting aside the horrors of the past one of the most disturbing parts of the book is on education in Israel and the rise of a relatively uneducated ultra-conservative population. As the authors observe, “…the average achievement level of Israeli children in math, science, and reading is below twenty-four of twenty-five most relevant OECD countries.” (p. 195) They add, “The erosion of higher education in Israel has accelerated a serious brain drain because young Israeli doctoral students have little hope of finding teaching jobs in their own country. A truly astonishing percentage of tenure-track physics professors in the United States are Israeli.” (p. 196)
The authors believe that many well-educated people will consequently emigrate out of Israel. They add, “Over time, this process would facilitate the right-wing grip on electoral politics, not only by decreasing the pool of potential left-wing constituents but by increasing the societal load of economically disenfranchised voters, who, like their American counterparts, may be more attracted to right-wing policies.” (p. 198)
Finally, the authors quote George Washington University Professor Michael Barnett who opines that in lieu of a two state solution some other possible outcomes in Israel include “civil war, ethnic cleansing or a non-democratic state.” Then Allin and Simon ask, “can Israel and the United States remain close allies?” This is a very real question since it appears to the authors (and I for one tend to agree) that the United States is moving toward the multicultural left.
If you want to know how seasoned political scientists view international affairs as opposed to sound bites on Fox News or CNN this book is an eye-opener and an education.
--Dennis Littrell, author of "The World Is Not as We Think It Is"
The first part of the book recalls not only the history of the Jewish state, how it came to be and how it has struggled and progressed, but how it has been perceived in the imagination of the American politic. As we recall, progressives, liberals, Democrats and educated people in general in the United States have long supported the Zionist idea of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. More recently in the middle of the twentieth century with the sense of the horror of the holocaust still fresh in everyone’s mind our feelings that Jews are justified in having a homeland safe from the prejudices and persecutions that they had long suffered during the centuries-long diaspora was strengthened. But then came in the latter half of the twentieth century “The Rise of the Right” (Chapter 2) and a shift in American appreciation of Israel’s struggles. Now Christian fundamentalists were in the vanguard of support for Israel while liberals were seen by some as growing lukewarm because of what many on the left saw as a growing apartheid state in the Middle East.
The second part of the book zeros in on the nitty-gritty of recent U.S.-Israeli politics, especially during the Obama administration. Authors Allin and Simon (both avowed Zionists, by the way) are senior professional political scientists with Simon being both Jewish himself and lately a close adviser to President Obama. They present a fascinating inside look at much that has gone on between the US and Israel during this latter stage of the conflict involving the Muslim world and Israel. Allin and Simon work hard to be objective and fair, but there is little doubt that they see President Obama as having a balanced position in the struggle and Prime Minister Netanyahu being an uncompromising nationalist. Indeed from reading this book it appears that Netanyahu is vehemently opposed to a two-state solution and is intent on Israeli supremacy in the Holy Land.
One of the things that the authors are at pains to demonstrate is that the Obama administration differed in no significant way from previous US administrations in its unequivocal support of Israel as a friend and an ally. I think they make case very well in spite a lot of right wing BS to the contrary, and despite the unfortunate personal animosity between Obama and Netanyahu, dubbed “the Obama-Netanyahu psychodrama…” on page 175.
In addition to the insights the authors provide into US-Israel relationships there is a wealth of information about the so-called Arab Spring and its aftermath and about the situation in the Middle East vis-à-vis the rest of the world. They offer insights into the Sunni-Shia divide and the proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. There is some material on the horrors that developed in Syria and Egypt.
As for the “red line” that Obama had famously drawn in Syria about the use of chemical weapons, the authors exonerate the president by claiming that by the time it was clear that Assad had used chemical weapons the situation had changed and “98 percent of Syria’s declared stockpile of 1,308 metric tons of mustard agent and precursors had been destroyed.” (p. 151) The authors go on to argue that bombing Syria would not have gotten rid of the chemical weapons. Indeed some were in civilian areas and bombing them would result in the kind of collateral damage that would be unacceptable. On the other hand Obama’s opponents argue that the loss of credibility from not bombing Syria was of significant damage to the creditability of the United States. My personal opinion is I wish I knew what would have been the right thing to do. It’s easy to second guess and criticize but as Harry Truman said, “the buck stops here” and when you are in the hot seat you have to make a decision that will inevitably lead to dead bodies on the ground somewhere. One thing I have always admired about Obama as president is his obvious desire to be responsible for as few deaths as possible. However I think he made a mistake in not going after Assad regardless of what the Russians thought.
Putting aside the horrors of the past one of the most disturbing parts of the book is on education in Israel and the rise of a relatively uneducated ultra-conservative population. As the authors observe, “…the average achievement level of Israeli children in math, science, and reading is below twenty-four of twenty-five most relevant OECD countries.” (p. 195) They add, “The erosion of higher education in Israel has accelerated a serious brain drain because young Israeli doctoral students have little hope of finding teaching jobs in their own country. A truly astonishing percentage of tenure-track physics professors in the United States are Israeli.” (p. 196)
The authors believe that many well-educated people will consequently emigrate out of Israel. They add, “Over time, this process would facilitate the right-wing grip on electoral politics, not only by decreasing the pool of potential left-wing constituents but by increasing the societal load of economically disenfranchised voters, who, like their American counterparts, may be more attracted to right-wing policies.” (p. 198)
Finally, the authors quote George Washington University Professor Michael Barnett who opines that in lieu of a two state solution some other possible outcomes in Israel include “civil war, ethnic cleansing or a non-democratic state.” Then Allin and Simon ask, “can Israel and the United States remain close allies?” This is a very real question since it appears to the authors (and I for one tend to agree) that the United States is moving toward the multicultural left.
If you want to know how seasoned political scientists view international affairs as opposed to sound bites on Fox News or CNN this book is an eye-opener and an education.
--Dennis Littrell, author of "The World Is Not as We Think It Is"
July 9, 2019
Fascinating, authoritative, easy to read, and sure to be controversial
The first part of the book recalls not only the history of the Jewish state, how it came to be and how it has struggled and progressed, but how it has been perceived in the imagination of the American politic. As we recall, progressives, liberals, Democrats and educated people in general in the United States have long supported the Zionist idea of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. More recently in the middle of the twentieth century with the sense of the horror of the holocaust still fresh in everyone’s mind our feelings that Jews are justified in having a homeland safe from the prejudices and persecutions that they had long suffered during the centuries-long diaspora was strengthened. But then came in the latter half of the twentieth century “The Rise of the Right” (Chapter 2) and a shift in American appreciation of Israel’s struggles. Now Christian fundamentalists were in the vanguard of support for Israel while liberals were seen by some as growing lukewarm because of what many on the left saw as a growing apartheid state in the Middle East.
The second part of the book zeros in on the nitty-gritty of recent U.S.-Israeli politics, especially during the Obama administration. Authors Allin and Simon (both avowed Zionists, by the way) are senior professional political scientists with Simon being both Jewish himself and lately a close adviser to President Obama. They present a fascinating inside look at much that has gone on between the US and Israel during this latter stage of the conflict involving the Muslim world and Israel. Allin and Simon work hard to be objective and fair, but there is little doubt that they see President Obama as having a balanced position in the struggle and Prime Minister Netanyahu being an uncompromising nationalist. Indeed from reading this book it appears that Netanyahu is vehemently opposed to a two-state solution and is intent on Israeli supremacy in the Holy Land.
One of the things that the authors are at pains to demonstrate is that the Obama administration differed in no significant way from previous US administrations in its unequivocal support of Israel as a friend and an ally. I think they make case very well in spite a lot of right wing BS to the contrary, and despite the unfortunate personal animosity between Obama and Netanyahu, dubbed “the Obama-Netanyahu psychodrama…” on page 175.
In addition to the insights the authors provide into US-Israel relationships there is a wealth of information about the so-called Arab Spring and its aftermath and about the situation in the Middle East vis-à-vis the rest of the world. They offer insights into the Sunni-Shia divide and the proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. There is some material on the horrors that developed in Syria and Egypt.
As for the “red line” that Obama had famously drawn in Syria about the use of chemical weapons, the authors exonerate the president by claiming that by the time it was clear that Assad had used chemical weapons the situation had changed and “98 percent of Syria’s declared stockpile of 1,308 metric tons of mustard agent and precursors had been destroyed.” (p. 151) The authors go on to argue that bombing Syria would not have gotten rid of the chemical weapons. Indeed some were in civilian areas and bombing them would result in the kind of collateral damage that would be unacceptable. On the other hand Obama’s opponents argue that the loss of credibility from not bombing Syria was of significant damage to the creditability of the United States. My personal opinion is I wish I knew what would have been the right thing to do. It’s easy to second guess and criticize but as Harry Truman said, “the buck stops here” and when you are in the hot seat you have to make a decision that will inevitably lead to dead bodies on the ground somewhere. One thing I have always admired about Obama as president is his obvious desire to be responsible for as few deaths as possible. However I think he made a mistake in not going after Assad regardless of what the Russians thought.
Putting aside the horrors of the past one of the most disturbing parts of the book is on education in Israel and the rise of a relatively uneducated ultra-conservative population. As the authors observe, “…the average achievement level of Israeli children in math, science, and reading is below twenty-four of twenty-five most relevant OECD countries.” (p. 195) They add, “The erosion of higher education in Israel has accelerated a serious brain drain because young Israeli doctoral students have little hope of finding teaching jobs in their own country. A truly astonishing percentage of tenure-track physics professors in the United States are Israeli.” (p. 196)
The authors believe that many well-educated people will consequently emigrate out of Israel. They add, “Over time, this process would facilitate the right-wing grip on electoral politics, not only by decreasing the pool of potential left-wing constituents but by increasing the societal load of economically disenfranchised voters, who, like their American counterparts, may be more attracted to right-wing policies.” (p. 198)
Finally, the authors quote George Washington University Professor Michael Barnett who opines that in lieu of a two state solution some other possible outcomes in Israel include “civil war, ethnic cleansing or a non-democratic state.” Then Allin and Simon ask, “can Israel and the United States remain close allies?” This is a very real question since it appears to the authors (and I for one tend to agree) that the United States is moving toward the multicultural left.
If you want to know how seasoned political scientists view international affairs as opposed to sound bites on Fox News or CNN this book is an eye-opener and an education.
--Dennis Littrell, author of the sensational mystery novel, “Teddy and Teri”
The first part of the book recalls not only the history of the Jewish state, how it came to be and how it has struggled and progressed, but how it has been perceived in the imagination of the American politic. As we recall, progressives, liberals, Democrats and educated people in general in the United States have long supported the Zionist idea of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. More recently in the middle of the twentieth century with the sense of the horror of the holocaust still fresh in everyone’s mind our feelings that Jews are justified in having a homeland safe from the prejudices and persecutions that they had long suffered during the centuries-long diaspora was strengthened. But then came in the latter half of the twentieth century “The Rise of the Right” (Chapter 2) and a shift in American appreciation of Israel’s struggles. Now Christian fundamentalists were in the vanguard of support for Israel while liberals were seen by some as growing lukewarm because of what many on the left saw as a growing apartheid state in the Middle East.
The second part of the book zeros in on the nitty-gritty of recent U.S.-Israeli politics, especially during the Obama administration. Authors Allin and Simon (both avowed Zionists, by the way) are senior professional political scientists with Simon being both Jewish himself and lately a close adviser to President Obama. They present a fascinating inside look at much that has gone on between the US and Israel during this latter stage of the conflict involving the Muslim world and Israel. Allin and Simon work hard to be objective and fair, but there is little doubt that they see President Obama as having a balanced position in the struggle and Prime Minister Netanyahu being an uncompromising nationalist. Indeed from reading this book it appears that Netanyahu is vehemently opposed to a two-state solution and is intent on Israeli supremacy in the Holy Land.
One of the things that the authors are at pains to demonstrate is that the Obama administration differed in no significant way from previous US administrations in its unequivocal support of Israel as a friend and an ally. I think they make case very well in spite a lot of right wing BS to the contrary, and despite the unfortunate personal animosity between Obama and Netanyahu, dubbed “the Obama-Netanyahu psychodrama…” on page 175.
In addition to the insights the authors provide into US-Israel relationships there is a wealth of information about the so-called Arab Spring and its aftermath and about the situation in the Middle East vis-à-vis the rest of the world. They offer insights into the Sunni-Shia divide and the proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. There is some material on the horrors that developed in Syria and Egypt.
As for the “red line” that Obama had famously drawn in Syria about the use of chemical weapons, the authors exonerate the president by claiming that by the time it was clear that Assad had used chemical weapons the situation had changed and “98 percent of Syria’s declared stockpile of 1,308 metric tons of mustard agent and precursors had been destroyed.” (p. 151) The authors go on to argue that bombing Syria would not have gotten rid of the chemical weapons. Indeed some were in civilian areas and bombing them would result in the kind of collateral damage that would be unacceptable. On the other hand Obama’s opponents argue that the loss of credibility from not bombing Syria was of significant damage to the creditability of the United States. My personal opinion is I wish I knew what would have been the right thing to do. It’s easy to second guess and criticize but as Harry Truman said, “the buck stops here” and when you are in the hot seat you have to make a decision that will inevitably lead to dead bodies on the ground somewhere. One thing I have always admired about Obama as president is his obvious desire to be responsible for as few deaths as possible. However I think he made a mistake in not going after Assad regardless of what the Russians thought.
Putting aside the horrors of the past one of the most disturbing parts of the book is on education in Israel and the rise of a relatively uneducated ultra-conservative population. As the authors observe, “…the average achievement level of Israeli children in math, science, and reading is below twenty-four of twenty-five most relevant OECD countries.” (p. 195) They add, “The erosion of higher education in Israel has accelerated a serious brain drain because young Israeli doctoral students have little hope of finding teaching jobs in their own country. A truly astonishing percentage of tenure-track physics professors in the United States are Israeli.” (p. 196)
The authors believe that many well-educated people will consequently emigrate out of Israel. They add, “Over time, this process would facilitate the right-wing grip on electoral politics, not only by decreasing the pool of potential left-wing constituents but by increasing the societal load of economically disenfranchised voters, who, like their American counterparts, may be more attracted to right-wing policies.” (p. 198)
Finally, the authors quote George Washington University Professor Michael Barnett who opines that in lieu of a two state solution some other possible outcomes in Israel include “civil war, ethnic cleansing or a non-democratic state.” Then Allin and Simon ask, “can Israel and the United States remain close allies?” This is a very real question since it appears to the authors (and I for one tend to agree) that the United States is moving toward the multicultural left.
If you want to know how seasoned political scientists view international affairs as opposed to sound bites on Fox News or CNN this book is an eye-opener and an education.
--Dennis Littrell, author of the sensational mystery novel, “Teddy and Teri”
May 28, 2017
Excellent bit sobering book about US entanglements in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. There have been several of these books, including by the most dominant negotiators on the US government side, Dennis Ross and Martin Indyk. It's shocking to see that the same mistakes are made over and over again. After 3 years living in Jerusalem, I come to the conclusion that US (and other western governments) are held hostage by the Israeli government, their agents operating worldwide and the horrible memories of the holocaust - no matter what party is in power. The authors make some useful suggestions for the way forward for the two countries that are being driven apart by powerful demographic, cultural and strategic currents. However, the assumption that "Israel is moving right while America moves (...) left" (page 187) and the US political landscape witnesses "an emerging liberal majority" was maybe true when the book went to press mid-2016, but things have changed considerably. What this means for the US-Israeli relations is still difficult to predict. The authors were not very positive about the Trump scenario: "In a worst case, the United States and Israel could be joined darkly in a kind of shared Trumpismo." (page 221). Anyhow, the book is another alarming and painful wake-up call to all politicians involved to finally step out of their shadows and agree on a lasting and peaceful solution.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews