Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Israel believes America’s special relationship is vital. It is, certainly, to Israel. But what about for the US? Israel has no oil, enemies in many places, and a tendency to defy Washington when it perceives its own interests to be threatened, which is not infrequently. In a zero sum Middle East, does America’s coziness with Israel cost us in good will with Muslim world, including those oil-rich Arab states whose dollar holdings come back to the US in the form of investments and loans, which the US economy needs – especially now? But there’s an important connection between the US and Israel – that goes deeper than finance or energy convenience. It’s a foundation of mutual loyalty and shared values – democracy being only the most obvious. There has also been a history of shared intelligence, military cooperation, and significant cross-fertilization of scientific knowledge. To sacrifice these connections to improve relations with the Arab world would be an act of betrayal — of an ally — and of what we say we stand for. Should the US consider putting some distance between itself and Israel? Would such a change in policy serve American interests, or is it a move we would come to regret?
For
Roger Cohen
Columnist for The New York Times
For
Rashid Khalidi
Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies at Columbia University
Against
Stuart Eizenstat
Deputy Secretary of the Treasury in the Clinton Administration
Against
Itamar Rabinovich
Former Chief Negotiator with Syria
Moderator
John Donvan
Author and correspondent for ABC News.
Listen to the edited radio broadcast
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Listen to the unedited radio broadcast
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Subscribe to the PodcastFor The Motion
Roger Cohen
Columnist for The New York Times
joined the New York Times in 1990. He was a foreign correspondent for more than a decade before becoming acting foreign editor on September 11, 2001, and foreign editor six months later. In 2009 he was named a columnist of the New York Times.
Learn moreFor The Motion
Rashid Khalidi
Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies at Columbia University
is the Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies at Columbia University. He was president of the Middle East Studies Association, and was an advisor to the Palestinian delegation to the 1991-1993 Arab-Israeli peace negotiations.
Learn moreAgainst The Motion
Stuart Eizenstat
Deputy Secretary of the Treasury in the Clinton Administration
has held a number of key senior positions in three US administrations, including chief White House domestic policy adviser to President Jimmy Carter; U.S. ambassador to the European Union, under secretary of commerce for International Trade, under secretary of state for Economic, Business and Agricultural Affairs, and deputy secretary of the Treasury in the Clinton Administration.
Learn moreAgainst The Motion
Itamar Rabinovich
Former Chief Negotiator with Syria
is Israel's former ambassador to the United States and former chief negotiator with Syria in the mid 1990s. He is the incumbent of the Ettinger Chair of Contemporary Middle Eastern History of Tel Aviv University and recently completed an eight year term as the president of the University.
Learn moreDeclared Winner: For The Motion
Online Voting
Research
Research For The Motion:
- Articles & Publications: Khalidi, Rashad
- Articles & Publications: Cohen, Roger
Research Against The Motion:
- Articles & Publications: Rabinovich, Itamar
- Articles & Publications: Eizenstat, Stuart
About This Event
Event Photos
http://intelligencesquaredus.org/debates/past-debates/item/580-the-us-should-step-back-from-its-special-relationship-with-israel?tab=2#sigProGalleriab832bf22fa
2 comments
- Comment Link
Friday, 01 February 2013 16:11 posted by David Mr. Rabinovich mentioned Al-Qaeda's first reason for attacking the World Trade Center was the United States's troop presence in Saudi Arabia, which is true. What he forgot to mention is that the second reason Al-Qadea gave for 9/11 was United States's support for Israel. (The third was the sanctions against Iraq).
- Comment Link
Saturday, 20 October 2012 21:09 posted by Loretta IIRC it was only in 1974 that the Arab states dcdieed that Arafat and the PLO were the sole, legitimate representatives of the Palestinian people and so came out in favor of a Palestinian Arab state. Before 1967 of course there was no sentiment among those Arab governments for such a state. What they had grabbed in 1948 they would keep. The change came in order to punish Jordan for not participating in any significant way in the 1973 War. Until then one might suppose that Judea and Samaria would eventually be returned to Jordanian rule, once a peace treaty had been signed. So in advocating such a state this Rabbi Wolf was being more pro-Palestinian Arab than their Arab Brothers were. Since the Palis have never made any real moves to actually set up a viable state in the territories they rule, but only terrorist bases and mob concessions, we might well wonder if the Palestinian Arabs themselves want a Palestinian state. I suspect the answer is no.
Leave a comment
Make sure you enter the (*) required information where indicated. HTML code is not allowed.
