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Is It Wrong to Let Israel Make Decisions for Itself?

(JNS) Jonathan S. Tobin - The agreement on Israel's new coalition government allows for a Knesset vote in the upcoming months about extending Israeli sovereignty to parts of the West Bank, including settlement blocs and the Jordan Valley. As far as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is concerned, whether or not they do so is up to the Israelis. The current American government doesn't think that it is entitled to dictate policy to the Israelis. And it is this unwillingness to give orders to the Jewish state that really shocks critics of Israel and the foreign-policy establishment. These critics had sought to "save Israel from itself" since the policies adopted by its democratically elected government were not in accord with their own vision of how to achieve peace. They believed they had the right to override the will of the Israeli people as expressed at the ballot box. As Israel's sole superpower ally, the U.S. has always arrogated to itself the right to expect the Israelis to do as Washington instructed. Indeed, every U.S. ambassador prior to David Friedman acted like a pro-consul of the Roman or British empires, whose job it was to issue orders to a client state that held pretensions of sovereignty that were not to be treated with too much deference. The principle at stake here is Israel's right to decide its own fate. The problem is not only that the wisdom of the critics' policy prescriptions for Israel is questionable, it's also that they are rooted in a misguided belief that Israelis are too stupid or too driven by ideology or faith to do what's right. Israelis deserve more respect from Americans.
2020-04-24 00:00:00
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