The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, expresses confidence in forming formal diplomatic relations with the United States in a meeting with Joe Biden. Some hope that relationships between the United States and Israel will be between Arab-Israeli conflicts. Yet many critics urge Biden to hold off on any relations with Iran due to rising violence against Palestinians in occupied territories. Some critics argue that this agreement can cause improved relations between the Palestinians and Israel. The Biden administration proposes a Visa waiver system, allowing Israelis to travel free of Visas in the United States; yet, this proposal raises concerns that Israelis will mistreat Palestinian Americans. US-Israeli relations have been marked by recent friction between Biden and Netanyahu. There has been criticism from US Republicans and speculation about tensions between President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu, as the former had not extended an official invitation for a visit to the White House. However, it was announced that during their recent meeting, President Biden invited Prime Minister Netanyahu to visit Washington, DC “before the end of the year to continue the direct collaboration” (Al Jazeera).
Relations between Israel and the United States, in hopes of improving links between Arab-Israeli and reconciling the Islamic world and the Jewish state, show key steps to a more peaceful relationship. Contrary, it is important to know that conflicting groups will not readily just accept peace. As the two leaders met, Jewish-American and Israeli demonstrators protested in New York. Although steps towards diplomacy and unity may seem flawless and something to strive for, some will continue to disagree and conflict. Historically, the American Jewish population has had vastly different views on the political leadership in Israel. One of the protestors in New York stated: “Many of the [demonstrators] that I spoke to say that they don’t think Biden should be even meeting with Netanyahu” (Al Jazeera). Furthermore, Christians, Jews, and Muslims have had tensions in Israel, for it holds a key location in their religion, Jerusalem.
Moving forward, NGOs (non-governmental organizations) may help in creating peace in a non-biased environment between these two groups. There could even be connections between RINGOs (Religious International Non-governmental organizations) to facilitate peace between religious groups. Individual actors could also play a key role, such as religious leaders by encouraging peace between these groups via utilizing non-political entities. Regardless, as these countries aim for peace through diplomatic relations, the goal to initiate peace can contradict the initiative and provoke increasing tensions. For peace to facilitate, these groups need to be in unified agreement or tensions will continue to rise between the groups, such as the protest in New York.
Work Cited
Al Jazeera Staff. “Israel-Saudi Arabia ‘normalisation’ deal in reach, Netanyahu tells Biden.” Al Jazeera, 20 September 2023, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/20/israel-saudi-arabia-normalisation-deal-in-reach-netanyahu-tells-biden. Accessed 20 September 2023.