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PARTISAN REVIEW
shee t.
If
the United Sta tes sometimes took pos iti ons tha t Israel
resented , it also advanced proposals tha t proved li vable a nd
prac ti cal, if not ideal.
In
contras t to the res tra int o f the fifti e a nd ixti es, Ameri can
pres identi a l declara ti ons have now become fo rthri ght a nd , ofte n ,
extraordina ril y fri endl y. Whe n celebra tin g Israel's thirti eth
a nniversary a t the White H ouse on M ay 1, 1978, Pres ident Carte r
mad e the foll owin g sta tement: "For thirty years we have stood a t the
side o f thi s proud a nd indepe ndent na ti on of Israe l. I can say
without rese rva ti on , as the Pres ide nt o f the United Sta tes, tha t we
will continue to do so not just fo r a nothe r thirty years, but fo rever. "
The use of the word "foreve r" is unpa ralleled . H ere a U.S .
pres ident commits hi s country to pursue a poli cy o f spec ia l
fri endship with Israe l in perpe tuity . Pres ide nt Carter's sta temen t
mu st be taken se ri ously. It is evide nce tha t relati ons betwee n Israel
a nd the United Sta tes have undergone a tra nsforma ti on tha t
Pres ident R eagan will proba bl y no t question . Indeed , the recent
signa ture of a memora ndum on stra tegic coope ra tion betwee n the
two countries is a n importa nt good ome n . H oweve r , whil e the
clima te of the relati ons has indeed radi call y cha nged , the cautions
a nd constra ints inhe rent in inte rna ti onal rel a ti ons have no t been
thrown to the wind .
A simple guidin g principle expla ins American behav io r: as long
as a problem conce rns onl y the United Sta tes a nd Israel, the
American a pproach will be influe nced by the des ire to be helpful a nd
fri endly. However , where it is pa rt of a wider context , be it strategic
(o il , milita ry bases) or tril a tera l (the United Sta tes, Israel, a nd the
Arab countries ), the United Sta tes will be considerabl y less
forthcoming towa rd Israel a nd may even adopt poli cies o f the kind
mentioned earli er. Small wonder ifI srael, reac ting to such dec isions,
con tinues to be deeply troubled. Fears tha t a re a lway close to the
surface will be rev ived . The healing eRec t tha t time has had on the
Israeli collective psyche will be greatl y weakened if this ha ppens.
Des pite the solid achi evements, there may come a se ri ous se tback in
U .S .-Israeli rel a tions.
