US-Israeli Relations in a New Era

This book examines in depth the fundamental problems, factors and issues in current US-Israeli relations, which will have implications both for the Middle East and for world peace and prosperity. The US and Israel have established an exceptional relationship, which has significant effects on events and processes in the entire Middle East. Israel depends on the US for military hardware, for support against hostile international organizations, and for economic and financial aid. In turn, it is viewed by the US as a strong and reliable ally, and the US has adopted strategic concepts that for decades have governed Israel's national security, such as pre-emptive strikes and counter-terrorist strategies. However, politicians and scholars have accused Israel and pro-Israeli organizations of exerting too much influence on US policy in the Middle East. Here, a collection of international experts present original research and findings on a wide variety of critical bilateral and regional issues in American-Israeli relations, approaching the topics from both theoretical and practical angles.

"This volume presents a variety of views from American, Israeli (and other) policy makers and academics and is indispensable in understanding American-Israeli relations. It is fair minded, tough, and wide ranging. No one who wishes to understand American policy in the Middle East can afford to ignore it." - Steven David, Johns Hopkins University, author of Catastrophic Consequences: Civil Wars and American Interests, 2008"In contrast to recent treatments of the US-Israeli relationship which provides sweeping critiques based on superficial and impressionistic judgments, this book provides a welcome corrective in its exemplary and knowledgeable treatment of this important subject." - Robert J. Lieber, Georgetown University, author of The American Era: Power and Strategy for the 21st Century, 2005"This is the most comprehensive and up-to-date collection of works on US-Israel relations in the post 9/11 age. Gilboa and Inbar have furnished an essential resource for scholars, students, journalists, and decision-makers." - Michael Oren, The Shalem Center, author of Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East, 1776 to the Present, 2007"Everyone talks about US-Israel relations but few people research them thoroughly and analyze them carefully. This book provides a careful and useful view of this relationship in the post-Cold War, post-September 11 world, sinking many myths and focusing on the key questions. It is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand the reality of this important, complex alliance." - Barry Rubin, GLORIA Center, author of The Truth About Syria, 2008, and co-author with Walter Laqueur of The Israel-Arab Reader, 2008"This collection of essays is a useful compendium of perspectives on the controversial topic of the US-Israel ‘special relationship’ during the George W. Bush era. Developed as the result of a conference (convened at Bar-Ilan University on 20–21 May 2007) and underwritten by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the collection poses an interesting question for academics." - David Albert, Israeli Studies Review, Vol. 27, 1, Summer 2012

Eytan Gilboa is Professor of Political Science and International Communication at Bar-Ilan University. He is also a Senior Research Associate at the Begin-Sadat (BESA) Center for Strategic Studies and a Visiting Professor of Public Diplomacy at the University of Southern California.Efraim Inbar is Professor in Political Studies at Bar-Ilan University and the Director of its Begin-Sadat (BESA) Center for Strategic Studies.