The bonds that tie Israel-US together

In June, incumbent congressman Jamaal Bowman should have been a shoo-in as the democratic nominee for New York's 16th congressional district. There was one caveat though – he is a vocal Israel critic – and this eventually led to his defeat to George Latimer. Latimer's win was widely seen as a defeat for the progressive pro-Palestine movement.

What was unusual about his defeat was that the contest between Bowman and Latimer was by far the most expensive congressional primary in history. And why was that? Because AIPAC – America's largest pro-Israel lobby called the American Israel Public Affairs Committee – had spent over $20 million on the primary. AIPAC's Republican funders had effectively banded together to influence a Democratic party primary.

Geopolitical pundits and political analysts point to three factors, give or take and most are inter-connected, which have sustained and even expanded the US-Israel relationship, principal among which is the mighty AIPAC and its power to impact US internal politics.

The information available on OpenSecrets.org (a non-profit organisation based in Washington that tracks and publishes data on campaign finance and lobbying) is telling. For instance, "during the 2020 campaign, pro-Israel groups contributed over $30 billion (63% of which went to the Democrats and the rest to Republicans)," wrote Stanly Johny, the international affairs editor at The Hindu last year.

At the same time, AIPAC's annual conference sees about 20,000 attendees in Washington with special appearances from sitting presidents and top politicians from both the US and Israel, according to Aljazeera.

Then there's of course the "geopolitics" — the all-American interest to have a democratic ally in the Middle East region, which is sprawling with American military bases anyway.

It's not only that they "share common values" but America also saw its relationship with Israel as an antidote to the Russian influence in the region, especially during the Cold War years, when we called her the Soviet Union.

That slowly but surely evolved into a "protectionist" US foreign policy for Israel — which enjoyed an unprecedented $3.3 billion annual military aid prior to 7 October and collected "$158 in aid since the end of the Second World War." Mind you, Israel is a high-income country with a thriving tech sector.

And that policy became an antidote to Islamic "terrorists" and extremism in a Muslim-dominated region. Currently, Israel is bombing the so-called terrorists in Lebanon, Yemen, Syria and of course Gaza — at the same time in the name of self-defence.

Business is always important. "The US is also Israel's largest trading partner, with annual two-way trade hovering around $50 billion. Both Israel and the US also have a deep defence partnership, which involves joint research and development and weapons production," wrote Johny.

Religion is always a mighty force to wield influence. According to a 2014 Vox article, "American Jews and evangelical Christians are two of the most politically engaged groups in the United States. They're major constituencies, respectively, in the Democratic and Republican parties. And both are overwhelmingly pro-Israel."

There are also public opinion polls — the PR machine which Israel (sponsored and supported by the US, as all Israel things are) crafted and mastered over the decades has successfully sold the narrative to Americans that Israel is America, just in a region far away and surrounded by terrorists.

The "shared values" is a big selling point. So all these factors combined, we get the long-standing and deeply-rooted US support (in administration and from the public) for Israel.

"Is there a scenario under which the US and Israel drift apart?" asked the 10-year-old Vox article, which argued that the illegal occupation of the West Bank is a threat to the relationship.

Was it always this way?

In 1948, when the state of Israel was "declared" — the United States was the first country to recognise Israel. "The recognition came in 11 minutes after the proclamation," Johny pointed out in an "Understanding US-Israel relations" explainer.

11 minutes is historic. But lesser known, or remembered, is how American President Woodrow Wilson showed unwavering support to Israel in 1919, even before its birth. Johny also pointed out Wilson said, "The allied nations with the fullest concurrence of our government and people are agreed that in Palestine shall be laid the foundations of a Jewish Commonwealth."

This came two years after the Balfour Declaration of 1917. For the uninitiated, this was a public statement issued by the British government during the First World War announcing its support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine – then an Ottoman region with a small minority Jewish population.

While the support has always been unwavering — there were moments in the past when the US did voice their objection to Israel's goals and military action in Palestine. Johny terms it as "personality clashes" between the Israeli prime minister and the US president.

In the 1970s, President Jimmy Carter – perhaps the only sitting US president to speak up for Palestinians – pressured Israel to sign the Framework for Peace Agreement as part of the Camp David Accords – this subsequently led to the Oslo Accords.

A pivotal turning point, in terms of US support of Israel, pundits argue is the 1973 Yom Kippur war when Egypt and Syria surprised Israel. However, and surprisingly, with little to no support from the US, Israel managed success then. This further solidified Israel's need for "support" through the US lens.

In 1982, "The Israeli government, under intense pressure from the United States, called off the aerial bombardment of West Beirut" reads a Washington Post report from August that year.

It was the Republican President Ronald Raegan who got on the phone and threatened to call off the US special envoy which was working for a peaceful evacuation of Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) guerillas if Israel does not put an end to its bombs. It worked.

During the second intifada (2000), President George W Bush pressed Israel to show restraint in the occupied West Bank and again in 2002. In the 2010s, President Barack Obama "also clashed" over the Iran nuclear deal with the Israeli prime minister. And more recently, "The Biden administration had earlier criticised the Netanyahu government's plan to overhaul the country's judiciary," wrote Johny.

But all that changed one year ago.