This administration will struggle to preserve what Trump built if it continues undermining Israel’s interests.
This administration will struggle to preserve what Trump built if it continues undermining Israel’s interests.
N ext month, the United States plans to host a virtual summit called the I2U2 Summit with Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett as well as Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and UAE president Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to discuss Israel’s integration into the Arab region. But the Biden administration’s attempt to replicate the Trump-era coalition-building in the Middle East is likely to fall flat because of the president’s foreign-policy inconsistency.
Historically, the American–Israel alliance has been extremely strong and central to American influence in the region. The United States was the first nation to recognize Israel in 1948, and America has provided the country with billions in foreign aid for security and development, working together on various regional peace agreements. However, in the past two years, the Biden administration strategy for Israel has been muddled, which speaks to the future of this crucial relationship.
During Biden’s presidency, his administration has taken significant steps to undermine the security objectives of the Israeli government. In May, the Biden administration harshly criticized the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The State Department also recently confirmed that the Office of Palestinian Affairs would move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, undermining Israeli claims over Jerusalem; U.S. officials added that the administration intends to reopen a consulate to the Palestinians in Jerusalem as well. The special assistant to the former American ambassador to Israel stated that the purpose of this decision is to “erode Israel’s sovereignty over its capital city and signal support for dividing Israel.” The move indeed strengthens Palestinian claims over Jerusalem and weakens the American-Israeli alliance. In addition, the Biden administration has attempted to renew a diplomatic nuclear agreement with Iran, which has frustrated Israel and other Arab nations. Israeli and Arab officials have lambasted this process as emboldening the Iranian regime.
Specifically, Israeli critics argue that the nuclear agreement would increase Iranian state-sponsored terrorism of organizations such as Hezbollah, thereby threatening the security of Israel.
The contrast is startling: Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump overtly supported the Israeli government on numerous fronts. He recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, moved the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv, recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and cut off American financial support for corrupt and violent Palestinian organizations. In addition, the Trump administration helped achieve the unprecedented Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and several historically hostile Arab nations. The Trump administration explicitly supported Israel to create a stronger coalition in the Middle East in order to combat the primary antagonist in the region, Iran. Despite this success in forging a partnership between Israel and Sunni Arab nations, the Biden administration has refused to follow this formula.
Nonetheless, the president is attempting to uphold the Middle East coalition Trump helped assemble through initiatives like the I2U2 summit. The Biden administration is scurrying to preserve the partnership between Israelis and Arabs in order to appear as a guiding and beneficial global power. Yet the administration cannot effectively do so while criticizing Israeli settlements and committing to policy prerogatives such as the Iran deal. The Trump administration was successful in the Middle East because it supported the interests of select groups over the interests of other groups in the region. Meanwhile, the Biden administration strives to be a peacemaker by appeasing every group in the Middle East — from Israel to Iran.
Israel still strongly believes in its partnership with America. Speaking with National Review, Itay Milner, spokesperson and consul for media affairs at the Israeli consulate in New York, noted the role of America in its political and economic success as a nation. “Our alliance with the United States is our best international strategic asset,” he said. From his perspective, the pathway forward for the Israel-America relationship is through clear communication and a relative consensus with the U.S. on foreign-policy initiatives in the Middle East. The Biden administration and future administrations should strive to continue building a stronger coalition with Israel and its neighboring Arab nations in order to successfully achieve regional peace.