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Israel Is Becoming America's Most Important Ally
(JTA) Amb. Ron Dermer interviewed by Ethan Bronner - Israel's emergence as a regional power has been accelerated by a perception among our Arab neighbors that the U.S. role in the region is being reduced. Therefore, Israel's role in the strategic calculations of countries in the region is becoming more important, and the need to work with Israel, in terms of dealing with common challenges, becomes more important. There is a concern not only from Iran's fanaticism and radical revolutionary policies, but also from Sunni radical movements like al-Qaeda and ISIS. You have a situation where you've got this Iranian tiger, and you've got this ISIS - or whatever comes next - leopard, and then you have an 800-pound American gorilla that's leaving the building. And so they look around and see, "well, there's this 250-pound gorilla wearing a kippah. Maybe we should work with them more closely." In 2014, I said that I believe Israel will be the most important ally of the United States in the 21st century because of security and technology. Israel has a military that can defend itself by itself. Israel has a formidable intelligence capability and the finest intelligence service in the world. Israel is renowned for its cyber capabilities. Great Britain and Israel are the two allies whom the U.S. can partner with on a global level in terms of cyber. Then you have offensive and defensive weapons-making capabilities. There is the Iron Dome system that we jointly developed with the U.S. We have the Trophy system which helps tanks to avoid incoming missiles. Israel, being the startup nation, is an emerging technology power and this affects its relations with other states. We are the second great center of innovation in the world after Silicon Valley. To the extent that leaders in the Arab world want to catapult their countries forward, Israel becomes a very good ally to do that with. I think Israeli and American interests are moving closer together, not further apart. If the U.S. is going to withdraw militarily from the region, then the importance of having a solid, reliable, democratic ally in the heart of this region grows. Israel is bringing a lot more to the table than it did years ago. The recipe for success is to confront Iran, embrace your allies in the region, and leave the door open for the Palestinians if they want to actually engage with us to reach peace. But don't give them veto power. The Palestinian Authority has poisoned an entire generation of Palestinians to hate Israel, to hate Jews, and has shown no willingness whatsoever to reach a historic compromise. If you want to focus on the chances of the Palestinians moving towards peace, don't focus on what diplomats in Europe or the U.S. are saying. Just turn on a television set; look at what the Palestinians are watching; look at what they're reading. And then you understand whether or not you have a force here that is willing to compromise. There are Palestinians who would really like to reach a compromise with Israel, but they are not the ascendant force today. Ron Dermer served as Israel's ambassador to the U.S. from 2013 to 2021.