According to Foreign Policy magazine, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has achieved what his predecessors could scarcely have imagined. American fighter jets flying alongside Israeli warplanes over Tehran, Israeli officers stationed at US Central Command headquarters in Florida, and an unprecedented level of military coordination seemingly designed to guarantee Israel’s long term security.
Yet appearances, the magazine argues, may be deceptive.
While relations between Washington and Israel may appear stronger than ever on the surface, the deeper political, ideological and social foundations that sustained what was long described as a “special relationship” have already entered a period of sharp decline.
Foreign Policy argues that the pillars underpinning this alliance for much of the past half century are beginning to crumble.
Shifting Public Opinion in the United States
For decades, lobbying networks such as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, commonly known as AIPAC, Jewish organisations such as the Anti Defamation League, and Christian Zionist groups including Christians United for Israel wielded enormous influence in Congress.
However, in today’s highly polarised political environment, that influence is beginning to weaken.
The magazine noted that American public opinion has changed dramatically. Fewer than half of Americans now believe that US support for Israel serves the national interest.
For the first time, Americans also express greater sympathy for Palestinians than for Israelis.
The assumption that Americans and Israelis naturally share a common set of cultural and religious values can no longer be taken for granted.
Gaza Accelerated Existing Trends
Foreign Policy stressed that these changes were already underway before 7 October.
However, Israel’s subsequent destruction of Gaza, together with its siege and the resulting humanitarian catastrophe, all documented extensively across social media for more than two years, has significantly accelerated the process.
According to the magazine, these events have fuelled a growing backlash against Israel that has become a defining feature of contemporary American politics.
Diverging Values
The end of the Cold War initially brought the United States and Israel closer together.
The relationship was no longer constrained by broader American strategic calculations linked to global superpower rivalry.
But as democratic norms have eroded within Israel, and as the occupation of the West Bank and the blockade of Gaza have deepened, American liberals increasingly find themselves at odds with their Israeli counterparts.
Foreign Policy argues that the sense of shared values which once underpinned the alliance has become increasingly fragile.
Netanyahu’s Vision for a Post Alliance Era
The magazine noted that Netanyahu has already begun promoting the gradual reduction of American military aid as his own initiative.
He has pledged that Israel will become fully independent of US military assistance within the next decade.
Yet Foreign Policy suggests Netanyahu may be overly optimistic about Israel’s future after the end of this special relationship.
Having long treated the alliance as permanent, he may now be more responsible than anyone else for its rapid deterioration.
And when he eventually leaves the political stage, the magazine concludes, he may leave Israel in a weaker position than the one he inherited.
