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Israel's Global Influence Unprecedented
(Project Syndicate) Shlomo Ben-Ami - Israel currently enjoys a degree of global influence unprecedented in its history. The leaders of China, now Israel's third-largest trading partner, don't bother to link their economic ties with Israel to the success of peace talks with the Palestinians. Israel is India's second-largest supplier of military technology. With Russia now setting the geostrategic tone in the Middle East, Israel has pursued an understanding with the Kremlin concerning the lines that must not be crossed in Syria. Last month Israel's ambassador to Moscow, Zvi Heifetz, told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that the bilateral relationship was "flourishing in an unprecedented manner." Saudi Arabia maintains discreet security links with Israel, while other Sunni Gulf monarchies and Egypt are also cooperating with Israel to contain Islamist terrorism and Iran's regional rise. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who was fiercely hostile to Israel while in opposition, has become a close ally. Hungary has come out against the EU's new labeling guidelines targeting Israeli goods produced in the territories. The writer is a former Israeli foreign minister.