In recent weeks, an air of crisis has enveloped the United States’ relationship with Israel—Washington’s closest ally and client state in the Middle East. When U.S. President Donald Trump made his first trip to the region in May,
he notably bypassed Jerusalem on his way to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. The snubbing of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was coupled with dramatic twists and turns in American regional diplomacy. Against Israel’s wishes,
Trump is negotiating directly with the Jewish state’s worst enemies: Iran and Hamas. His team reached out to the Yemeni Houthis,
who keep firing missiles deep into Israel and continue to block its marine traffic. He even met with Syria’s ex-jihadist leader, whom he praised as “tough” and “attractive.”
To Netanyahu’s critics at home and abroad, Trump’s behavior is a breath of fresh air. For years, the Israeli leader has boasted about his close relationship with this U.S. president, arguing that their bond is a reason to keep him in power. During Trump’s first term,
after all, the United States gave Israel and Netanyahu almost everything they asked for. But this time, Trump is bucking the prime minister, and Netanyahu and his supporters have had only feeble excuses as to why their efforts are failing.
Yet historically speaking, Trump’s diplomatic overtures to Israel’s adversaries are not new. Since Israel’s establishment, in 1948, U.S. administrations have generally followed Washington’s own geopolitical interests in the Middle East, even when those interests conflict with Israel’s.
Judged by these standards, Trump’s first term—with its near-unequivocal support for Israel’s regional ambitions—was an aberration. His second, by contrast, is more of a regression to the mean.
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