What does it mean to be an “ally?”
Americans should be wary of letting Netanyahu define what “ally” means for them
“We stand with Israel, our ally” is what many Americans have said in response to the April 13 Iranian drone strike on Israel. Sounds straightforward. But is it? As I wrote in October after the Hamas massacre, “we stand with Israel” takes on different meanings depending on who is saying it. And the meaning of “ally” is becoming increasingly twisted under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rule.
In Gaza, Netanyahu’s government is freely using U.S.-supplied weapons to conduct a war in a manner is increasingly at odds with how U.S. government officials and many Members of Congress think they should (or can legally) be used. He has
demanded the United States veto UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, threatening to withdraw a senior diplomatic delegation headed to the U.S. in retaliation;[1]
rejected President Biden’s request that “he must pay more attention to the innocent lives lost as a consequence of the actions taken” by saying “[Biden] is wrong;”
refused requests by the United States and international organizations to allow humanitarian aid deliveries into Gaza (although that softened in the wake of the World Central Kitchen attack); and
asked American taxpayers to send more weapons, even though a majority of Americans think the U.S. should halt weapons sales to Israel and a majority now disapprove of Israel’s military action in Gaza.[2]
With Iran, Netanyahu’s government launched a surprise strike, presumably using U.S.-supplied weapons, on an Iranian consulate in Damascus with only scant notice to allied governments. As Iran retaliated with drone strikes, Netanyahu’s government relied on U.S.-provided air defenses and U.S. naval anti-missile capabilities to shoot them down.
And despite defying numerous UN resolutions and ignoring numerous pleas from UN officials to follow international law on its conduct in Gaza, Netanyahu’s government conveniently found a use for the UN in demanding a special UN session on the Iranian attack.
In sum, the Israeli prime minister eagerly takes U.S. aid, asks for more, and expects the U.S. to defend them military and politically at the UN. But when the U.S., in return, asks that Israel act with even the slightest consideration of U.S. interests, Netanyahu says whatever, I do what I want. All take, no give.
Is this how an ally should act? Does being a U.S. ally come with an expectation that the U.S. will support whatever a country wants? Does it mean that a country has license to ignore anything the U.S. asks it to do?
The dictionary defines “ally” as “a sovereign or state associated with another by treaty or league and “one that is associated with another as a helper: a person or group that provides assistance and support in an ongoing effort, activity, or struggle.”
Legally, Israel is not a treaty ally bound by a mutual defense pact like NATO members, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand and many Western Hemisphere countries. But it is as close as you can get as a Major Non-NATO Ally, which gives certain benefits in defense and security cooperation.
A synonym for “ally” is “friend.” We all know what a bad friend looks like: the guy who never pays the tab, mooches food, borrows but doesn’t return, never organizes but freely criticizes the organizer. How long do they remain your friend? How soon do you drop them from the group chat?
Now think of Netanyahu’s behavior. At a basic level, isn’t he being a bad friend? Isn’t he getting all the benefits of friendship while not giving back or playing by the rules of the group?
Mooches don’t stay friends for long. They alienate themselves. People get tired their one-sided attitude. They get disinvited.
And that’s the risk that Netanyahu is creating for his country. At some point, Americans are going to start wondering what they are getting out of a one-way “alliance.” Of course, the bonds between the United States and Israel run deep. Lots of talk of shared values. But Netanyahu’s on the path to ruining that too. He is faces corruption charges and has overseen erosion on democratic governance in Israel though the discriminatory and supremacist Nation-State law, the bill to restrict judicial review of government decisions, and pressure against independent media (including a new law to shut down a foreign media outlet).
But these indeed ARE shared values for Netanyahu – values he shares with world leaders that he has created personal bonds with, including Donald Trump, Viktor Orbán, Narendra Modi, Aleksandar Vučić and other standard-bearers of the rise of global ethno-nationalist authoritarianism.
And here’s where we must realize that a Netanyahu-run Israel IS acting as a good ally. Not to the United States as a country, but to a favored political faction: Trump, Christian Zionists, and the party that has given them a home: the Republican party.
Don’t take my word for it. Netanyahu himself said “evangelical Christians are Israel’s best friends.”
In 2015, Netanyahu got the then-Republican Speaker to let him address a joint session of the Congress specifically to lobby against a Democratic president’s diplomacy for a nuclear deal with Iran. He has spoken to the Republican Jewish Coalition and the Senate GOP Conference, but not their Democratic counterparts. This grease-each-other’s-palms behavior is not new; a dozen years ago, it was reported that “nearly half of Benjamin Netanyahu's donors also gave money to Mitt Romney or the US Republican Party.”
To return the favor, President Trump unilaterally (and illegally according to international law) recognized Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights. In turn, Netanyahu named a settlement there (also illegal) Trump Heights.
To Netanyahu (and Trump and their strongman ilk), alliances are foremost personal and political. The tools and institutions of the state are there to serve their personal and political interests. There is no distinction between the national interest and the leader’s interest.
So when Netanyahu uses the word “ally,” we must understand how he construes the word. It’s rational for Americans to call Israel an ally. But it is neither reasonable, nor in the United States interest, for Americans to let Netanyahu define what “ally” means for them.
[1] The U.S. didn’t veto, and Netanyahu cancelled the visit.
[2] And yet the Biden Administration continues to provide Israel with more bombs and warplanes no strings attached.