Israel's prime minister, Yitzhak Shamir, tried to fight it, but the Bush administration stood firm. Shamir lost, both in Congress and with the executive, because the Israeli position wasn't consistent with the US vision of a Western, democratic Israel. Beinart argues that Israel's ongoing occupation of the West Bank is already alienating younger and more secular Jews, and that AIPAC and other mainstream Jewish organizations risk losing their broad base of support unless they become more willing to criticize Israel on these points.
Barnett's conclusion only follows if you think "shared values" are the linchpin of US-Israel relations. Maybe the US would still think it's strategically useful to support Israel. Maybe Israel remains popular among certain Christians and the broader public regardless of its Palestinian policy. Maybe Israel comes to an agreement with the Palestinians and Barnett's point becomes moot.
For now, though, there's little evidence that American support for Israel is fundamentally breaking down — whether you think that's a good or bad thing. Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment: to empower through understanding.
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By choosing I Accept , you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Why the US has the most pro-Israel foreign policy in the world. Reddit Pocket Flipboard Email. Obama and Netanyahu walk. There's also a huge pro-Israel lobby — but how effective are they really? Could US support for Israel change? Next Up In The Latest. Delivered Fridays. Thanks for signing up! Check your inbox for a welcome email. Email required. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Notice and European users agree to the data transfer policy.
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Get the Insider App. Click here to learn more. A leading-edge research firm focused on digital transformation. Good Subscriber Account active since Shortcuts. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. It often indicates a user profile. Log out. US Markets Loading The February poll found that 25 percent of Americans sympathise more with Palestinians — a 2-percentage-point increase over the previous year and a full six percentage points higher than Favourable ratings for the Palestinian Authority also hit a new high of 30 percent — a 7-percentage-point improvement over That same Gallup poll found that 58 percent of Americans sympathise more with Israel, while 75 percent of Americans rate Israel favourably.
Members of the organisation wield influence through grassroots organising, advocacy and fundraising among American Jews in the US as well as Christian evangelical churches.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also a regular attendee. A smaller, pro-Israel group called J Street organised by Democrats has sought to build a constituency in US politics that is supportive of Israel and Palestinian rights.
Pro-Israel interest groups donate millions to US federal political candidates. That is about twice as much as they donated during the campaign, according to OpenSecrets. Former President Trump, driven by support for Israel from evangelical Christians and a like-minded leader in Netanyahu, was a staunch defender of Israel during his four years in office.
But pro-Palestinian groups are not nearly as active in US federal campaign spending. Within the US Democratic Party, a growing faction of progressives who support the Palestinians has gained prominence on the national stage. Lead among them are Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, both former contenders for the Democratic nomination for president in Sanders and Warren have called for conditioning US military aid to Israel on Palestinian human rights.
How can they credibly claim to stand for human rights? Israel has sought to influence U. In recent years, Israel and Arab Gulf states have discreetly cultivated closer relations with one another in efforts to counter Iran.
Israeli officials consider an indefinite Iranian presence in Syria to be a serious security threat exacerbating the threat already posed by Hezbollah in Lebanon, and have vowed to prevent it. As a result, Israel's relationship with Russia, which cooperates with Iran in Syria and hosts advanced air defense systems there, has become more important. Israel also remains threatened by Hamas and other terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip while considering ways to work on Gaza's difficult humanitarian and security situation with neighboring Egypt and a wide range of actors.
In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, political disputes persist over key issues including security parameters, Israel-West Bank borders, Jewish settlements, Palestinian refugees, and the status of Jerusalem. Polls suggest wide skepticism among the Israeli public about prospects for a negotiated end to the conflict. The Trump Administration may be contemplating a diplomatic proposal aimed at restarting Israeli-Palestinian negotiations with the support of the Arab states that Israel has been discreetly cooperating with against Iran.
Israelis debate how their leaders should prioritize options such as participating in diplomatic initiatives, preserving the current facts on the ground, and acting unilaterally to influence outcomes.
Israeli leaders and significant segments of Israeli civil society regularly emphasize the importance of closeness with the United States. Yet, a number of geopolitical factors distinguish Israel from other developed countries, including the regional threats it faces, its unique historical experience, and its population's relatively higher level of direct military service.
Figure 1. Israel: Map and Basic Facts. Sources: Graphic created by CRS. All numbers are estimates and as of unless specified. Notes: According to the Department of State: 1 The West Bank is Israeli occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement; permanent status to be determined through further negotiation.
Herzl was inspired by the concept of nationalism that had become popular among various European peoples in the 19 th century, and was also motivated by European anti-Semitism. The following year, Herzl described his vision at the first Zionist Congress, which encouraged Jewish settlement in Palestine, the territory that had included the Biblical home of the Jews and was then part of the Ottoman Empire.
During World War I, the British government issued the Balfour Declaration, supporting the "establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.
Jews immigrated to Palestine in ever greater numbers during the Mandate period, and tension between Arabs and Jews and between each group and the British increased, leading to periodic clashes. Following World War II, the plight of Jewish survivors of the Holocaust gave the demand for a Jewish home added urgency, while Arabs across the Middle East concurrently demanded self-determination and independence from European colonial powers.
The leadership of the Jewish Yishuv or polity welcomed the plan because it appeared to confer legitimacy on the Jews' claims in Palestine despite their small numbers. The Palestinian Arab leadership and the League of Arab States Arab League rejected the plan, insisting both that the specific partition proposed and the entire concept of partition were unfair given Palestine's Arab majority.
Debate on this question prefigured current debate about whether it is possible to have a state that both provides a secure Jewish homeland and is governed in accordance with democratic values and the principle of self-determination.
After several months of civil conflict between Jews and Arabs, Britain officially ended its Mandate on May 14, , at which point the state of Israel proclaimed its independence and was immediately invaded by Arab armies.
During and after the conflict, roughly , Palestinians were driven or fled from their homes, an occurrence Palestinians call the nakba "catastrophe". Palestinians who remained in Israel became Israeli citizens. The conflict ended with armistice agreements between Israel and its neighboring Arab states: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. The territory controlled by Israel within these armistice lines is roughly the size of New Jersey.
Israel has engaged in further armed conflict with neighbors on a number of occasions since then—most notably in , , , and Since the s, Israel also has dealt with the threat of Palestinian guerrilla or terrorist attacks.
In , Israel concluded a peace treaty with Egypt, followed in by a peace treaty with Jordan, thus making another multi-front war less likely.
Nevertheless, as discussed throughout the report, security challenges persist from Iran and groups allied with it, and from other developments in the Arab world.
Israel is a parliamentary democracy in which the prime minister is head of government see textbox below for more information and the president is a largely ceremonial head of state. The unicameral parliament the Knesset elects a president for a seven-year term. The current president, Reuven Rivlin, took office in July Israel does not have a written constitution. Instead, Basic Laws lay down the rules of government and enumerate fundamental rights. Israel has an independent judiciary, with a system of magistrates' courts and district courts headed by a Supreme Court.
The political spectrum is highly fragmented, with small parties exercising disproportionate power due to the relatively low vote threshold for entry into the Knesset 3. Since Israel's founding, the average lifespan of an Israeli government has been about 23 months. In , however, the Knesset somewhat tightened the conditions for bringing down a government.
Elections to Israel's seat Knesset are direct, secret, and proportional based on a party list system, with the entire country constituting a single electoral district. All Israeli citizens age 18 and older may vote. Elections must be held at least every four years, but are often held earlier due to difficulties in holding coalitions together. A Central Elections Committee is responsible for conducting and supervising the elections.
The committee includes representatives from parties in the current Knesset and is headed by a Supreme Court justice. National laws provide parameters for candidate eligibility, general elections, and party primaries—including specific conditions and limitations on campaign contributions and public financing for parties. Following elections, the task of forming a government is given by Israel's president to the Knesset member the president believes has the best chance to form a government as prime minister.
The would-be prime minister has 28 days to assemble a majority coalition, and the president can extend this period for an additional 14 days. The government and its ministers are installed following a vote of confidence by at least 61 Knesset members. Thereafter, the ministers determine the government's course of action on domestic issues, while military and national security actions are largely directed through a "security cabinet" formally known as the Ministerial Committee on Defense consisting of a group of key ministers—some whose membership is set by law, others who are appointed by the prime minister—who number no more than half of all cabinet ministers.
Table 1. Israeli Security Cabinet Members. Israeli society and politics have evolved. In the first decades following its founding, Israeli society was dominated by secular Ashkenazi Eastern European Jews who constituted the large majority of 19 th - and early 20 th -century Zionist immigrants. Many leaders from these immigrant communities sought to build a country dedicated to Western liberal and communitarian values.
The electoral victory of Menachem Begin's more nationalistic Likud party helped boost the influence of previously marginalized groups, particularly Mizrahi Eastern Jews who had immigrated to Israel from Arab countries and Iran. This electoral result came at a time when debate in Israel was intensifying over settlement in the territories occupied during the Arab-Israeli War. Begin and his successor in Likud, Yitzhak Shamir, helped drive the political agenda over the following 15 years.
Although Labor under Yitzhak Rabin later initiated the Oslo peace process with the Palestinians, its political momentum slowed and reversed after Rabin's assassination in Despite Labor's setbacks, its warnings that high Arab birth rates could eventually make it difficult for Israel to remain both a Jewish and a democratic state while ruling over the Palestinians gained traction among many Israelis.
In this context, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, a longtime champion of the Israeli right and the settlement movement, split from Likud and established Kadima as a more centrist alternative in He was succeeded as Kadima's leader and prime minister by Ehud Olmert in Likud returned to power in with Netanyahu as prime minister he had previously served in the position from to Since then Netanyahu has led two additional coalitions following elections in and The enduring appeal of Netanyahu and right-of-center parties to Israeli voters in recent years may stem from a number of factors, including.
Given the fragmentation of Israeli political parties under its electoral system, compromise among diverse groups is a necessity for forming and maintaining a governing coalition. As mentioned above, the system generally gives smaller parties disproportionate influence on key positions they espouse. For example, Netanyahu relies on support from two Haredi ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties that are generally aligned with the other right-of-center parties on national security issues, but make specific demands i.
Such support is largely anathema to secular Israeli middle class voters, many of whom would prefer that government resources be used to benefit a broader cross-section of Israelis. Arab Israeli citizens generally identify more closely with left-of-center parties. However, left-of-center parties face increased difficulty in forming governing coalitions because no Arab party has ever been part of a one.
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu presides over a coalition government that includes six parties generally characterized as right of center see Appendix A.
The varying interests of the coalition's members and some intra-party rifts contribute to difficulties in building consensus on several issues, including. The recommendations cover two specific cases.
One Israeli media source has summarized them as follows:. In return, Netanyahu is alleged by police to have intervened on Milchan's behalf in matters relating to legislation, business dealings, and visa arrangements. Case involves a suspected illicit quid pro quo deal between Netanyahu and Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon Mozes that would have seen the prime minister weaken a rival daily, the Sheldon Adelson-backed Israel Hayom, in return for more favorable coverage from Yedioth.
Later in February, developments in ongoing investigations appeared to implicate Netanyahu or his close associates in additional instances of alleged corruption. One case deals with possible overtures made to a judge about quashing an investigation of Netanyahu's wife Sara in exchange for the judge's appointment as attorney general, and another deals with possible actions to enrich a telecom magnate in expectation of favorable media coverage.
Legally, Netanyahu could continue in office if indicted, but he could face public pressure to resign, and his coalition partners could face public pressure to withdraw their support for the government.
Israel's previous prime minister, Ehud Olmert, announced his decision to resign in July amid corruption-related allegations, two months before the police recommended charges against him. The Knesset has recently passed some notable legislation. Additionally, controversial legislation has passed to apply some aspects of Israeli law to settlements in the West Bank, 21 and is pending to limit the Supreme Court's power of judicial review over legislation.
Some government policies in the domestic sphere are the subject of contention. For example, in , the government suspended a decision it had previously made to allow for a mixed-gender prayer space in the Western Wall plaza in Jerusalem's Old City. According to Netanyahu, the government is reviewing the issue and plans to suggest another approach. The policy has fluctuated, partly based on rulings from Israel's Supreme Court.
Considerable international criticism had centered on government proposals—which have since been scrapped—to forcibly deport some migrants to third countries Rwanda and Uganda. Early elections could happen legally, elections are required in the second half of if the governing coalition splits over the cases against Prime Minister Netanyahu or some other issue. If early elections take place, Netanyahu if he runs could face challenges from figures on the right of the political spectrum including Education Minister Naftali Bennett and Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman , or nearer the center or left former finance minister Yair Lapid, Labor Party leader Avi Gabbay, and retired generals Gabi Ashkenazi and Benny Gantz.
Reportedly, Netanyahu may call for elections before the attorney general decides on whether to bring criminal charges against him, in hopes of claiming a popular mandate to continue in office even if he is indicted. Israel has an advanced industrial, market economy in which the government plays a substantial role.
Despite limited natural resources, the agricultural and industrial sectors are well developed. The engine of the economy is an advanced high-tech sector, including aviation, communications, computer-aided design and manufactures, medical electronics, and fiber optics. Israel still benefits from loans, contributions, and capital investments from the Jewish diaspora, but economic strength has lessened its dependence on external financing.
Israel's economy is experiencing a period of moderate growth between 2. Although Israel's overall macroeconomic profile and fiscal position appears positive, the country has the highest relative poverty level and the sixth-highest income inequality level within the country Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development OECD. Israel relies on a number of strengths, along with discreet coordination with Arab states, to manage potential threats to its security and existence.
Israel maintains conventional military superiority relative to its neighbors and the Palestinians. Shifts in regional order and evolving asymmetric threats have led Israel to update its efforts to project military strength, deter attack, and defend its population and borders. According to estimates from IHS Jane's , Israel's military features total active duty manpower across the army, navy, and air force of approximately ,, plus , in reserve—numbers aided by mandatory conscription for most young Jewish Israeli men and women, followed by extended reserve duty.
Israel has a robust homeland security system featuring sophisticated early warning practices, thorough border and airport security controls, and reinforced rooms or shelters that are engineered to withstand explosions in most of the country's buildings.
Israel also has proposed and partially constructed a national border fence network of steel barricades accompanied at various points by watch towers, patrol roads, intelligence centers, and military brigades designed to minimize militant infiltration, illegal immigration, and smuggling from Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and the Gaza Strip.
Israel is not a party to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty NPT and maintains a policy of "nuclear opacity" or amimut. A report estimated that Israel possesses a nuclear arsenal of around warheads. President Richard Nixon reportedly reached an accord whereby both sides agreed never to acknowledge Israel's nuclear arsenal in public. Israeli officials closely consult with U.
Israel's leaders and supporters routinely make the case to U. They also argue that Israel has multifaceted worth as a U. The United States and Israel do not have a mutual defense treaty or agreement that provides formal U. Iran remains of primary concern to Israeli officials largely because of 1 Iran's antipathy toward Israel, 2 Iran's broad regional influence, and 3 the possibility that Iran will be free of nuclear program constraints in the future.
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