US President Donald Trump’s recent announcement of a ceasefire deal with Israel’s archenemy, Iran, included Lebanon, home to the Islamic regime’s key proxy – the Hezbollah terror organization. The president’s move appears to have put a strain on the special US-Israel relationship, in the midst of what Israelis see as an existential war.
In this special edition of The Jerusalem Report, published on the eve of the United States’s 250th birthday, some top thinkers and analysts share their views of where the relationship stands today, how that compares with the past, and where it is going.
For the cover story, I sat down with US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, a die-hard Israel supporter. While recognizing there are some tensions, he remains optimistic about the future ties between the two countries.
Feature writer Rachel Fink explores how the negative sentiments toward Israel, held by a growing number of young American Jews, have led to a new type of Israel tour. Report staff writer Chani Kaplan talks to young Israelis about their views of the US and the future of relations between the countries.
Analyzing where we are today, Ofir Dayan, from the Institute for National Security Studies, writes about the anti-Israel mood among the broader US population, pointing out how an old country now has a young Israel problem.
Historian Gil Troy examines the support US presidents have, or have not had, for Israel throughout history. Nachman Shai, a former minister and now dean of Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem, also looks at the strong past relations between the two countries, while pointing out that the relationship is not guaranteed.
Columnist Dr. Eric R. Mandel argues that the strength of America’s partnership with Israel requires foresight; and Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, looks at how the special alliance is now being more tested than ever.
Jerusalem Post Defense and Tech editor, Anna Ahronheim, delves into the new US-Israel defense model that is emerging in light of the possibility that the multi-billion-dollar Memorandum of Understanding, traditionally signed between the two states, might end. Ruth Pines Feldman, a senior fellow at the Misgav Institute for National Security, examines how the defense partnership keeps ties strong between the two countries.
David Harris, executive vice chair of the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism, looks at the experience of Jews living in America; feature writer Batsheva Shulman talks to American Jews who have made aliyah, despite the war and missiles.
On the recent developments relating to the war with Iran, Andrew Fox, from the UK’s Henry Jackson Society, weighs in on how Israel failed to miss the signs that Trump was always likely to end the fighting with Iran based on his own interests. Janatan Sayeh, a fellow at Washington-based Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, lays out why the MoU is bad for the West as well as for the Iranian people.
Feature writer Dana Ben-Shimon talks to analysts in the Gulf states about concerns that the deal is not optimal for the region. Retired colonel Jacques Neria, a special analyst of the Middle East and a contributor to the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs’s blogs, argues why including Lebanon in any ceasefire is bad for Israel and future stability in the region.
Even after years of writing about the US-Israel relationship for a variety of international media, and examining up close the ups and downs of this special bond, the contributions to this edition have opened my eyes to where that relationship stands today – and where it might be headed.
Happy birthday, America!
– Ruth Marks Eglash