ISRAEL’S TIP-TOE APPROACH

ISRAEL’S TIP-TOE APPROACH

Israel is a tiny, largely unknown country most Indians don’t even know of. Israel is the genie at the service of the Indian defence industry. How long will this business of friendship last?

 

by Neeraj Mahajan with inputs from Anil Tyagi

 

‘What gives Israel bargaining power in the international arena is the support of the United States… If Israel were to stand alone, its enemies would swallow it up. Without US support… we would be like a lone tree in the desert’

– Israeli President Shimon Peres in New York Times (January 9, 2013)

 

The two most important lessons that you cannot ignore in international geopolitics are that there are no permanent friends or enemies and that when a country’s own strategic or economic interests are at stake, it can do an about-turn. Israel, till recently the US’s closest ally in Asia, today not only has to make do with waning US support but also finds itself isolated. President Barack Obama refused to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington when he threatened military action in Iran. The chemistry between Netanyahu and Obama, or more importantly between Israel and the US, has changed...Read More