AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Newsweek, in a report, revealed deep concern among Israeli officials regarding political changes in the United States and the decline of traditional support for Tel Aviv.
Tom O'Connor, the Deputy Editor of Newsweek for National Security and Foreign Policy, in a report referring to recent developments in the United States and the Iran war, wrote that the main concern of some Israeli officials is no longer merely the outcome of the war with Iran or the current crises in the Middle East; rather, the future of the historic U.S.-Israel relationship has become one of their main concerns.
Ofir Akunis, Israel's Consul General in New York, in an interview with Newsweek, pointed to political changes within the United States as what concerns him most.
He referred to the recent victories of progressive Democratic candidates who hold critical positions toward Israel and U.S. foreign interventions, and warned that a segment of American society may no longer maintain traditional support for Israel.
According to Newsweek, Akunis's remarks reflect Israel's deeper concern about the changing political and social structure of the United States.
This Israeli official emphasized that criticizing the U.S. President or attempting to change the administration is a natural part of democratic competition; but according to him, that some Americans prefer America's enemies over their own domestic political rivals is a new phenomenon.
From the report's perspective, the significance of these remarks lies in the fact that Israel has been one of America's most important allies in the Middle East for decades, and a significant portion of Israel's military and security power has been based on strategic cooperation with Washington. But now some Israeli officials are considering the possibility that this relationship may no longer be guaranteed in the future as it has been in the past.
Akunis has emphasized that he still hopes the United States will always remain alongside Israel, but at the same time, he has said that Israel must prepare to become "more independent than in the past," given the existing political trends in the United States.
This statement is, in a way, the core of this report: Israel still seeks U.S. support, but no longer wants to tie its security future entirely to the continuation of Washington's support. From this perspective, the term "post-American Middle East" does not necessarily mean the immediate withdrawal of the United States from the region; rather, it refers to a scenario in which Israel and other regional actors must assume that U.S. influence and commitment in the Middle East may decline or no longer be reliable in the future.
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