Even if America had decided to destroy the Iranian regime’s nuclear facilities by itself, it’s very likely that the regime’s response would have been far more severe if not for Israel practically knocking out the Iranian military before America entered the fighting. America seemingly acted because it was a cakewalk with minimal risk and an obvious necessity to denuclearize the Islamic regime.
In other words, America would have been facing either a nuclear threat from a crazed Islamic regime or another prolonged, painful and undesired war in the Middle East, if not for Israel carrying the bulk of the operational load.
Americans realize that this was a great week and that the isolationist hope of never fighting is unsustainable and suicidal, even though Americans also have little patience for wars abroad.
Thankfully, Israeli ingenuity and courage, combined with American weaponry and a president willing to act, proved again to be one of the most formidable combinations in warfare and a combination that essentially kept and keeps America out of war. It’s in both countries’ interest that the relationship only deepen, and that’s the case that pro-Israel organizations and Israeli leadership need to be making now.
One of the greatest dangers facing Israel and America, other than the potential premature end to this war and the continued existence of the Islamic regime, is the rising tide of American isolationism.
The isolationists are clearly gaining power and are an incomprehensible danger to their own safety and Israel’s, but with immediate action, Israel can stem the tide.
Now that the Israeli military and Mossad have gone above and beyond what was even imaginable and proven that investing in Israel is the most effective American foreign military investment, it is time to make the case to Congress and the American people that Israel should continue to be a close American partner.
Israel's interests are the West's interests
Pro-Israel organizations in America should be making this case right now.
These organizations should be performing polls right now to gauge American interest in providing military aid to Israel. They should be polling whether Americans prefer the current situation of Israel decimating the Islamic regime or whether Americans would have preferred a nuclear armed Iran, or perhaps an American-led war on Iranian soil.
They should be polling whether Americans would rather provide Israel the weapons to fight for the safety of the world, or whether Obama’s ineffective bribes to the Iranian regime were preferable.
They should be polling whether they’d prefer America take on the Houthis, if they disrupt international shipping again, or if it’s preferable for Israel to do so. It’s likely, especially at this moment, that Americans of sound mind will overwhelmingly support the continued partnership between Israel and America, for their own sake, not Israel’s.
Clearly the isolationists came out of this round looking like deceitful liars, fools and far bigger fear-mongers than anyone, but they’re still a very relevant and dangerous force within Republican Party politics.
They must be exposed for their foolishness and deception, and their ideas must be defeated. It would be a catastrophe to let the current sentiment pass us by, rather than immediately making the case for strengthening our alliance.
It would be a huge mistake to take America’s support for granted - even in the Trump era. The forces pulling Trump and America away from Israel are quite strong and need to be confronted.
The full court press should not end with Pro-Israel organizations. The wind must be taken out of the sails of the isolationist cause by pushing the debate into public discourse and forcing politicians and future presidential candidates to take a real position, such as occurred in 2015 when Bibi and Dermer went to battle to prevent Obama’s appeasement nuclear deal with the Iranian regime.
Israel clearly has some of the greatest operators in American politics, particularly Dermer and Bibi, so they should, when the time is right, get out there to make the case and drive the conversation. Their unwillingness to back down from a fight against Obama led eventually to the Abraham Accords, the destruction of the Iranian nuclear project, and hopefully soon the fall of the evil regime itself.
If those two successfully lead the fight for Israel’s relationship with the United States, it will lead to more groundbreaking achievements and security for Israel and America.
Trump is likely to take Israel’s side because he is a friend, but also because he wants to find a middle ground between the isolationists and realists in his party. Trump can claim well-deserved credit for the policy of backing Israel, which resulted in the destruction of the Iranian nuclear program and will likely bring more peace deals to the Middle East.
There is reason to believe that Arab governments might be as concerned as Israel by the rising isolationism within Republican Party politics. With the shared Iranian danger dissipating, perhaps Israel fighting this fight and showcasing its popularity with Americans could draw Arab neighbors into a new type of friendship with Israel and end the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Israel has shown its neighbors that it’s the ultimate power and defender of the region, with American support. The time is right to make the case for our alliance, considering what Israel just accomplished - and rescued America from having to accomplish on its own.
American people do not respect Bibi’s political opponents, the ones who claim credit for all the good despite having taken none of the action, so all the more so, the cause must be fought soon, with Bibi leading the charge. It might be Bibi’s final great act in securing Israel for generations, before he potentially departs as Churchill did, in electoral defeat at home after having achieved victory abroad.
America clearly has interests in the Middle East, but it’s frankly terrible at achieving its goals on its own. Fighting wars in the region spreads America too thin, endangers its fighters, and distances voters at home.
The way Israel handled the Iranian regime is extraordinary, but it’s not the only example of Israel securing American interests in recent months. Take, for example, the American air campaign against the Houthis meant to secure international shipping.
By most accounts, little was accomplished despite a significant investment of planes, some of which rolled off an aircraft carrier; drones, several of which were downed; and warriors, thank God, none of whom were harmed.
On the other hand, Israel has shown a much greater willingness to hit the Houthis hard, including by destroying their seaports and airports and by nearly killing the head of their terrorist army.
Israel has great resolve and willingness to absorb hits from these terrorist organizations, because Israelis intuitively understand that appeasement only endangers us long term.
Just today - as of writing - the Houthis are threatening to attack America for wiping out the nuclear project and it’s clearly in America’s interest that Israel take on the Houthis instead of America doing so, both to maximize lethality and effectiveness, to minimize American costs and to free America to focus on other areas.
It’s vital for America and its economy to keep the waterways safe while maintaining western dominance in the Middle East, but it is impossible and nonsensical for the United States to fight every relevant battle here on its own. America can usually just hand the ball off to Israel and focus its strength elsewhere.
The case for strengthening our partnership should be made now, when the evidence for its effectiveness is impossible to ignore. If not now, when?
The author is an MD-PhD candidate at Ben Gurion University and a reservist currently serving in Rafah. He lives with his wife and two children in Tel Aviv, where they fly Israeli, American, and MAGA flags from their apartment window.