Israel Deals with an Openly Hostile U.S.
How is the Relationship Between Israel and the U.S.
“Never before has Israel had to deal with such an openly hostile US administration.” -Caroline Glick, The Jerusalem Post
The decline in the diplomatic relationship between Israel and the United States has been characterized as a “rift,” a “falling-out,” “icy,” “strained,” a “nosedive,” “plunging to an all-time low,” and “bristling and ever-escalating hostility.”
Last Friday, former U.S. Energy Secretary and Ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson called upon the U.S. and Israel to do “whatever it takes” to repair the damage to their relationship. “We have to come back together,” he said, because “they’re our anchor in the Mideast.”
Even as diplomatic ties between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the White House had seemed to have reached an all-time low, President Obama had upheld his commitment to Israel as he spoke to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee on March 2nd. He had insisted then that the rift with Israel was nothing personal, that the relationship between Israel and the United States was, in fact, “stronger than ever.” As we recall, when he visited Israel in 2013, President Obama had characterized the U.S.-Israeli alliance as “unshakable.”
Nevertheless, we still have to be aware that President Obama has declared that the United States plans to “‘reassess” aspects of its relationship with Israel after Prime Minister Netanyahu’s “new positions and comments” regarding the two-state solution. The Obama administration may even reconsider the use of its veto power to defend Israel at the United Nations.
When God made His promise to Abraham, He also made a promise to the entire world that He would bless anyone that blesses Israel. Conversely, whoever treats this covenant lightly will be ensnared and confounded by the Lord. We are contemporary witnesses to God’s faithfulness to regather Israel to their ancient homeland after nearly 2000 years in dispersion. It should alarm us that the Lord might abandon the United States as a sovereign nation if we abandon Israel in the time of their greatest need.
By Rick Brinegar