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Israel's Remarkable Diplomatic Achievements in 2017

(Jerusalem Institute for Strategic Studies) Col. (res.) Dr. Eran Lerman - During 2017, Israel secured a series of unprecedented diplomatic achievements, reflecting a growing global and regional recognition of a shared threat from totalitarian Islamism, as well as an appreciation of Israel's capacity to contribute in a variety of fields. President Trump's declaration on Dec. 6, 2017, that the American administration recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and is planning to move the American embassy there constitutes a significant landmark in the struggle, which has been ongoing since 1949, over the formulation of the U.S. position on Jerusalem. For the first time since Israel's founding, the president has recognized that Israel is the sovereign in Jerusalem. The willingness to present reality as it is, after two generations of succumbing to Arab and Islamic pressures and threats, constitutes a first-rate Israeli diplomatic achievement. The American move reflects the president's decision to abandon the patterns of appeasing Palestinians and deliberately creating a position gap with Israel. In May 2017, an American president chose Israel as one of the destinations for his first trip abroad. In his meeting with Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem, President Trump publicly demanded that the PA should end the extensive financing of families of Palestinian prisoners and "martyrs" (terrorists). In June, Prime Minister Netanyahu was the sole non-African speaker at the summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Liberia. Later that month was the tripartite Israel-Greece-Cyprus summit in Thessaloniki to discuss the production of energy in the eastern Mediterranean. In July, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi came for a three-day visit to Israel (and to Israel alone). Israel's relationship with India is rooted in both countries' self-image as democracies opposed by ruthless Islamist enemies. In September, Netanyahu met Egyptian President el-Sisi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, their first public meeting since Sisi came to power in 2013. The mere fact that a public meeting took place - let alone in a relaxed mood and garnering positive coverage - illustrated the vast transformation in Israel's standing in the region. The writer, former deputy for foreign policy and international affairs at Israel's National Security Council, is vice president of the JISS.
2018-01-26 00:00:00
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