Thomas Friedman: This Israeli government isn’t our ally

The New York Times published an article by Thomas Friedman, titled “This Israeli Government Is Not Our Ally”.

Friedman begins by discussing US President Donald Trump’s upcoming visit to the Middle East next week, during which he will visit Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar, but not Israel.

He then addresses the relationship between the United States and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, which he believes is no longer an ally of Washington.

He wrote, “Your travel there next week and your meeting with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar—and your lack of plans to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel—suggests to me that you are beginning to realize a fundamental truth: This Israeli government is acting in ways that threaten core American interests in the region… Netanyahu isn’t our friend”.

Friedman asserts that the Israeli people, in general, still consider themselves a steadfast ally of the American people, and vice versa.

“But this ultranationalist Israeli government isn’t an ally of the United States… It’s the first government in Israel’s history that doesn’t prioritize peace with its more Arab neighbors, nor the benefits that enhanced security and coexistence would bring”.

Friedman points out that the Netanyahu government’s main priority is annexing the West Bank, expelling Palestinians from Gaza, and rebuilding Israeli settlements there.

“The idea that Israel has a government that no longer acts as an ally of the United States—and shouldn’t be considered one—is shocking and bitter for Israel’s friends in Washington and difficult for them to accept, but they must accept it”.

“The Netanyahu government, in pursuing its extremist agenda, is undermining our interests,” Friedman wrote.

“The fact that you haven’t allowed Netanyahu to overrule you, as he has done with other US presidents, is to your credit”.

Friedman called on Trump to defend what he called “the American security architecture” embodied in the current American-Arab-Israeli alliance, which was established by the late US President Richard Nixon and his Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, after the October 1973 War, with the goal of excluding Russia and making the United States the dominant global power in the region.

Friedman believes that this entire security structure relied largely on a US-Israeli commitment to a two-state solution – a Palestinian state alongside Israel – a commitment that Trump himself tried to promote during his first term.

“For nearly a year, the Joe Biden administration begged Netanyahu to do one thing for the United States and Israel: agree to open a dialogue with the Palestinian Authority about a two-state solution one day… in exchange for Saudi Arabia normalizing relations with Israel,” which would pave the way for the approval of a US-Saudi security treaty in Congress, to counterbalance Iran’s influence and curb China’s influence, according to Friedman.

Friedman continued, “Netanyahu refused to do so because the Jewish extremists in his government said that if he did, they would bring down his government… And with Netanyahu on trial on multiple corruption charges, he couldn’t abandon the self-protection of remaining in office as prime minister to prolong his trial and avoid a possible prison sentence”.

Friedman believes that Netanyahu has thus placed his personal interests above those of Israel and the United States.

As a result, there are reports that the US and Saudis have decided to abandon Israel’s participation in the deal (the normalization deal), a real loss for both Israelis and the Jewish people, he believes.

Friedman wrote, “Reuters reported on Thursday that the United States is no longer demanding that Saudi Arabia normalize relations with Israel as a condition for progress in civilian nuclear cooperation talks between Washington and Riyadh.”

Friedman went on to criticize the Israeli government’s policies, most notably Netanyahu’s plans to re-invade the Gaza Strip, confining its population to a narrow area overlooking the Mediterranean Sea on one side and the Egyptian border on the other, as well as proceeding with the de facto annexation of the West Bank.

“In doing so, he will expose Israel—and especially its new Chief of Staff, Eyal Zamir—to further war crimes charges, from which your administration (the Trump administration) is expected to protect him”.

Friedman also criticized statements by right-wing Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, in which he spoke of a “permanent Israeli occupation” of the Gaza Strip.

He warned that the Netanyahu government’s plans for the Strip—if implemented—wouldn’t only lead to further war crimes accusations against Israel, but would also threaten the stability of Jordan and Egypt, which he said are the two main pillars of the US alliance structure in the Middle East.