President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tour the Iron Dome defense system in Tel Aviv on March 20, 2013. SOURCE: AP/Pablo Martinez Monsivais
Washington, D.C. —(ENEWSPF)–April 23, 2015. The Center for American Progress is releasing a pair of issue briefs that analyze the current state of relations between the United States and Israel in the aftermath of recent elections. CAP national security experts argue that the U.S.-Israeli partnership must evolve with changing geopolitical and regional factors and that the bilateral relationship should not be used as a partisan wedge issue at a time of change in the Middle East.
CAP is releasing these briefs ahead of a panel discussion was held on Wednesday morning on the future of the U.S.-Israeli relationship co-hosted by the Center for a New American Security and the Israel Institute.
“The United States and Israel have certainly had their differences over the past few years,” said Shlomo Brom, CAP Visiting Fellow. “But one key lesson leaders in both countries should learn from the recent experiences in bilateral relations is that the two countries need to invest together in more serious and focused efforts to respond to the major changes happening in the Middle East and the world.”
The first brief, “Strengthening the Foundations of U.S.-Israel Ties at a Time of Change in the Middle East,” by CAP Senior Fellow Brian Katulis and Brookings Nonresident Senior Fellow Dan Arbell, describes how despite past periods of turbulence in the relationship between Israel and the United States, the two countries have always managed to work closely toward greater alignment on shared security and diplomatic goals. The two countries need to move beyond the reactive and crisis management mode and try to strengthen the foundation for proactive, long-term strategic cooperation.
Katulis and Arbell offer five key steps that the two countries should take to get the most out of their cooperation, including enhancing joint strategic planning and elevating the bilateral strategic dialogue; advancing a more proactive regional strategy together; and keeping domestic politics and tactical disputes from interfering with the larger partnership.
In the second brief, “What’s Next in Israel,” former Israeli Brig. Gen. and current CAP Visiting Fellow Shlomo Brom analyzes the results from the recent Israeli election that will likely lead to the establishment of a narrow coalition between right-wing and religious parties. This scenario may complicate the relationship between the United States and Israel, but the United States will still be capable of influencing the new Israeli government’s policies, thus enabling the two sides to continue working jointly on issues that are essential to their security and Middle East stability.
Click here to read the brief on U.S.-Israel relations.
Click here to read the brief on the Israeli elections.
Source: www.americanprogress.org
