The need to look for a little love
I made a comment at Jay Currie’s place and suggested the need for Israel to reach out to other countries with UN Security votes – specifically China and Russia. Now comes the NY Times running an article discussing the current state of China-Israel relations. It’s a good read with little conclusion other than Israel is just a small country but what it does make an important point. And a point I have been trying to emphasize to my readers for years. Namely that, for alleged benefits Israel receives from the American alliance; the Israelis pay a high price for this alliance and quite often the White House stifles Israel from effectively developing a truely made in Jerusalem foreign policy. NY Times:
When it comes to tangible goods, Israel sells China irrigation systems, high-tech products and telecommunications equipment. Trade between the two countries reached $4.5 billion last year, up from $3.8 billion in 2006, but three-fourths of that is Chinese exports to Israel. The imbalance would be less pronounced if not for the two-decade-old American-led embargo on arms sales to China that has stymied Israel’s most lucrative export. In private, Israeli officials express frustration over the ban but they acknowledge that their relationship with Washington trumps the desire to do more business with China.
Oddly enough, the close ties between Israel and the United States have become something of an Achilles heal for the Jewish state. During the 1990s, when Beijing was diplomatically isolated after the violent crackdown on demonstrators in Tiananmen Square, the Chinese sought closer relations with Israel because they thought it might bring them closer to the United States. “This was an illusory period during which China thought the Jewish and Israeli lobbies could open doors for them in Washington,” said Yoram Evron, a research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies.
Israel’s outsized allure also stemmed from China’s regard for the country’s military prowess and a deeply held affection for Karl Marx and Albert Einstein, cornerstones of a Chinese fascination with Jews.
How much they value the relationship with the United States was underscored in 2000, when under American pressure Israel canceled a $1 billion arms deal, years in the making, to sell China an advanced airborne tracking system. Even though Israel later agreed to pay a $350 million penalty, the diplomatic damage was immense — and then compounded in 2005, when Washington blocked another Israeli arms deal with Beijing involving drone aircraft.
The American-Israeli alliance has entered into a bit of a rough patch and I am deliberately understating this state of affairs but this current rough patch will be looked back upon fondly and nostalgia by Jerusalem – if the Obama Administration wins a second term. Jerusalem needs to look much further afield and act as if the Obama Administration has already won a second term.
I am not a big fan of the current Chinese government but Israel reaching out to China makes good sense. Not only does Israel have a lot of items that the Chinese want but they share a common enemy – fundamental Islam. China has a substantial Islamic population and I know from reading other sources that they are watching them with a very close eye. Of course, I find Chinese treatment of those it considers dissidents very ironic, in light of the world’s criticism of Israel. If China decides that somebody, Muslim or otherwise, is an enemy of the state, they disappear and are never heard of again. But you don’t here much about that, except for those who protest Chinese treatment of Tibet. I don’t know how many Tibetans have been jailed, tortured or murdered by the Chinese but the protests against that are much lamer compared to the virulent attack on Israel from all quarters.
Furthermore, China is posed to take the No. 1 spot in the world in the coming decades. I’m not saying that I think this is a good thing but it’s always best to be pragmatic. America is looking more and more like a fair weather friend; better to have a more ruthless ally than our wishy-washy good wishes. Even if Obama wins a second term, and that’s not assured, any President would have a difficult time with a pro-Israeli policy. I DO think that the majority of Americans support Israel; they are not dumb, even if the media and Washington DC is — but that’s where the policies come, not from the man or woman on the street.
I mean, if NY City had asked the common person about putting up that Islamic (Cordoa) Center right next to the site of 9/11, do you think they would have agreed? I don’t know how that came to be a done deal but it’s obscene. Don’t any of those retards read Arab history? You know it’s the Arab equivalent of the old Indian custom of counting coup and they will get an extra thrill by plotting further subversion of our culture, right next to the site where they murdered 3,000 people.
Good grief, I am talkative, aren’t I? I’ve finally been getting my points across on various groups but I sure wish that the IDF had released the videos sooner. Once the real evidence was out there, those with eyes to see began to change their tune. But it was a little too little and a little too late.
@Nancy Ewart Realistically, I think the IDF actually did a fairly good job of getting things out. Stop and consider for a moment that Israel has real enemies and the potential intelligence value – identifying enemies of the state, tracking relationship etc., takes time. The intel value of every camera, every bit of film and every chip had to be watched, analyzed and processed so all things considered I think the IDF fairly well. Is there room to improve – absolutely, and while its great to have the visual proofs to make the case in the wider world quickly – the more important role was in analyzing and processing information. Unfortunately we live in the digital macdonald’s age where we all want answers and make conclusions so quickly that we often forget things can’t always be done to fit into a newscycle.
Re: China – there is only one real reason to court China or Russia – UN security council veto. A country like Israel, who has as many enemies as Israel, cannot afford to rest on the alleged goodwill of one.
You are right about the justified caution re: the videos. I hadn’t thought of it but of course, they want to make sure of what they put out to the public.
China- Oh, I agree with you. China will never be a “real” friend because the two countries have such radically different political systems, not to mention value systems.