In an address to the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies in Washington on May 1, 2014, Ron Dermer, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, spoke at length about a number of subjects on Israel’s national agenda, including the negotiations with Iran about its nuclear activity; the Israeli-Palestinian peace process; the Arab Spring; and US-Israel relations. Presumably his comments reflect not only his personal opinion, but also assessments and stances acceptable to senior Israeli leaders. This article considers primarily his positions on US-Israel relations, which by nature is an issue that involves much of the ambassador’s own input as well.

In his talk, Ambassador Dermer stated that Israel today is a leading power in science and technology, particularly in medicine, water, and agriculture. Given that science is a dominant component in the security and economic strength of nations, Israel’s status as a global power will likely grow stronger over the years. Ambassador Dermer elaborated specifically about Israel’s capability in cyber warfare, which not only poses a great threat to the security of many countries, but is also a huge developing market. The ambassador indicated that in this field Israel is a major superpower – a natural partner for the United States. Israel, Dermer emphatically concluded, will be the most important US ally in the twenty-first century.

Later in his comments, the ambassador assessed that US-Israel relations will grow stronger in the future, given the interests and values of the two countries. The United States, noted Dermer, will find it difficult to disengage from the Middle East, even if it wishes to, because the major threats to it will emerge from the region. For this reason, so Dermer implied, it will need an ally with proven military power and interests and a value system comparable to those of the United States. Only with Israel will the United States be able to avoid having to choose between its interests and its basic values and the accepted norms of the American people. On this basis, Dermer contended, that while during the twentieth century Great Britain was the most important US ally, in the twenty-first century, it would be Israel.

Although the ambassador did not state this explicitly, his implicit conclusion is that both Israel and the United States must now understand the new level of their relationship. Until now, the dominant perception has been that it is a relationship between a superpower and a small, relatively weak country, and therefore an asymmetric relationship. The implicit conclusion was naturally that Israel was frequently in need of the charity of the larger power. Israel was always on the receiving end and the United States was on the giving end. This image, according to Dermer, must undergo a dramatic change. The ambassador did not state that the relationship between the two countries is becoming symmetrical. Nevertheless, he stressed that Israel is no longer a country that only receives; it is a respected player with capabilities possessed only by world powers, and can contribute very valuable assets to the other party.

Read the article in full at INSS.