So in order to make nice with the Arab world, to help prevent a repeat of 9/11 we have to solve the Arab/Israeli conflict. Gee… telling the American public that is a sure way to place even further doubt on the benefits of a United States relationship with Israel.

Israel and Jews have to understand that the US is concerned about the US. There are no friends amongst countries. There are only self-interests. Indeed israel has cancelled many deals with China in the past due to the american ‘monopoly’- ie america says if you do business there you can’t do business with us.

We better start weaning off the aid which we get and come to need the way druggies need drugs. Its hard but it must be done. We will then be able to make decisions in our best interest without being told what to do by some other master.

I specifically remember attending a talk given by Barry Rubin, a respected and well connected Israeli political historian and writer, speaking in a public forum before the war saying that the Israelis don’t want the war but the Americans have probably decided to go ahead anyway and the Israeli leadership would be wise to show some support.

The faster Israel can figure out a way to stop relying on the US, the better. I hope Israel’s burgeoning relationship with India could go to warp speed. The US treats Israel like a batlan and it’s humiliating. (The idea that Turkey should get to partitipate in the development of a new fighter and Israel should not is just, well, insane and an example of the US cutting off its nose to spite its face. Once Israel gets its hands on US technology, it improves on it like nobody’s business. The US gets at least as much out of the relationship as Israel does if not more. You think Turkey is going to be able to bring that kind of value-added to the relationship? Not bloody likely). This AIPAC “spy scandal” is just one example. It’s a shot across Israel’s bow to tell it to behave and toe the US line.

This has State’s fingerprints all over it. State is lousy with Arabists who see Israel as an impediment to cozier relations with the Arabs. They’ll do anything to weaken it. There has always been an argument in the government between the “let’s sacrifice the Jews to the Arabs to ensure the oil supply” “realpolitic” types and the people on the other side who see clearly that supporting Israel is not only the right and moral thing to do but in the long run is better for the US.

The position of the Jewish community in the US depends absolutely on the powers-that-be in the US continuing to see Israel as a lackey….I mean, an “ally” of the US. If and when the US ceases to see Israel in that light, the dual loyalty, fifth column drumbeat will start in earnest. I expect that at some point there may be a real break between the US Jewish community and Israel over the direction Israel should take, with the US Jews arguing for Israel to what the US says so as not to come under suspicion.

Oh, yeah, the US is a bully. Always has been, always will be.

“The Defense Ministry is holding discrete and pertinent talks with the United States to solve the misunderstandings, which it does not believe need to make public,” said a statement issued by ministry spokeswoman Rachel Naidek-Ashkenazi.

Oy!

I suspect this is a dilemma without a solution, save, perhaps, for Israel weaning its way off dependence upon America. A prospect that seems well off in the distant future….

As to your other comments, I do think there is some singling out in that the leverage the US has over Israel is far greater than, say, over Western Europe. Also, the impact upon Israel is far deeper. The pharmaceutical and patent problem, for example, can truly undermine Israel’s strong high tech sector, and Teva as a company has become a vital part of the Israeli economy (for better or worse). When China violates IP laws, the US does little and in fact does not discourage significant American companies from setting up joint ventures with Chinese counterparts who then steal the production and technology know-how. The US doesn’t do anything because it is in this deadly dance with the Chinese right now where neither party can break away. Israel is so small that if trade between the two nations ended tomorrow, the US wouldn’t feel very much (by the way, excluding oil, Israel’s trade with the US is greater than that of virtually all of the Arab countries combined with the US).

Finally, if you must know, I do wonder about the US and its relationship with Canada sometimes. It seems very aggressive at times, in favor of interest groups that can influence the politicians and not necessarily in favor of goodwill and good trade relations. So I wasn’t singling out Israel, it’s just that we’re Jewlicious.com not mooselicious.com (quick, somebody buy that domain).

In fact, we’re engaged in trade disputes with all manner of allies/other nations all the time: with the Canadians regarding beef, the Chinese regarding textile imports, the EU over steel imports, the French over genetically-modified foods, the EU over US tax breaks for exporting businesses.

And Israel is hardly the only state to have attracted US ire with arms sales to China. The EU contemplates ending its 15-year embargo on such sales, and the US has retaliated with threats to impose trade sanctions.

In this context, the US is hardly singling out Israel. Or is your concern rather that the US is not cutting the Israelis a unique form of slack?

The merits of these discrete issues can be argued, of course. You may contend that Israel should stroke the leadership clique in Beijing, for example (hmm), or that Israel is right on trade and the US, wrong. But why do these matters cause you to question whether the US still sees Israel as a stategic asset? There is a war on terror going on, you know. In any event, the evidence you present is unconvincing.

Some day, I hope (a hope you may or may not share), Israel will have an ordinary, workaday relationship with the US– an ally treated no differently that, say, Belgium or Holland. A trade dispute in such a setting is merely business as usual. File it under globalism and its discontents. In the meantime, grab yourself a Guiness, stay out of the hot sun, and relax, pal.

As for the Larry Franklin/AIPAC situation – it looks like one big set up, especially reading Haaretz article. Steven Rosen was under surveillance for 4 years prior to 2004, and all they could get him for is passing along information given to him during an FBI operation? Please. There may have been a technical violation because the information was indeed classified, but Geraldo Rivera did more damage to the US with his sand art stunt.

Your comment about the economic aid is not completely on the mark. Israel has a $70- $75 billion government budget. The $2 billion in grants and $600 million in loans are important but do not have the type of impact everyone ascribes to them.

In any case, I don’t see a connection between the US selling its own advanced weapons to the Arabs and Israel selling sophisticated arms to a country that is potentially a powerful adversary to the US. If the technology is of US origin and is proprietary, then Israel doesn’t have the right or moral right to resell it. If it is Israeli technology, then it probably has the legal right, but it is morally questionable if the weapons system was developed with US money. If elements of the technology are American and sophisticated enough not to be sold to the Chinese, that should also be a red line.

The Israelis have to make sure they take the high road here. Trade is important and relations with a power like China are important, but Israel has to make sure they don’t violate contracts or ethics with respect to the US, a country that has been a patron and supporter for more than 3 decades. Also, ultimately, there is a price to pay here and Israel cannot afford it.

And Evan, I apologize for the bad news. If we were functioning properly, ck would have posted some pics of Jewlicious people to balance things out.