Recent years have seen gusts of dire winds blowing across the Middle East as the US and Israel exchanges verbal blows. The latest in this quarrel is Ilhan Omar’s criticism of US policy towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
On April 6, Ilhan Omar, US representative for Minnesota’s fifth district, took to Twitter to question the US administration’s decision to back the Israeli Prime Minister, calling his policies ‘ damaging’. This came after the US Senate unanimously passed a resolution affirming the US- Israeli relationship.
While the US has been a main supporter of Israel ever since its founding, its commitment to Israel has changed over as the years have gone by.
In particular, the US administration has moved from a passive advocate for Israel to one that has actively supported certain goals of the Netanyahu administration, including the Arab Peace Initiative.
However, according to Ilhan Omar, this new approach simply ‘doesn’t add up’. She believes that the current US policy towards Israel is damaging and does not align itself with the interests of the Palestinians.
Apart from Omar’s comments on the issue, other members of the US Congress have questioned the US policy towards Israel. Such opposing views are becoming increasingly common in the US and even some Democratic politicians have criticised US support for Netanyahu’s right-wing policies.
The US- Israel relationship has always been complex and Omar’s criticism has sparked debate about how the US should approach regional politics moving forward. The quarrelling has shown how complex and precarious the US’ alliance with Israel has become and it is uncertain how this conflict will end.
