U.S. and Israel: 'Special relationship' owes much to history, shared values

Reflecting on the United States-Israel relationship, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and journalist Jon Meacham wrote: "No country is more emotionally connected to the United States, and no country's fate matters more to many Americans."

To a strong majority of Americans, Israel is a rock-solid American ally in a region of continual turbulence and a member in good standing of the democratic nations of the world. According to a Gallup Poll last month, "Roughly 7 in 10 Americans continue to view Israel favorably — making it by far the most positively reviewed Mideast country of those Gallup tested."

The reasons for American support for Israel are both historical and grounded in our mutual interests and values.

Critically, the Puritans who founded our nation explicitly rejected supercessionism, the then-predominant theology that Christianity had replaced Judaism and that Jews were a relic of history deserving of contempt, if not worse.

In 1863, the year of the Emancipation Proclamation, Abraham Lincoln wrote: "Restoring the Jews to their national home in Palestine is a noble dream shared by many Americans." Lincoln's assessment predates the First Zionist Congress by 34 years.

In 1919, at the time of the post-World War I Paris Peace Conference, the Minnesota House of Representatives made our state the ninth to pass a resolution favoring the establishment of a Jewish commonwealth in Palestine.

Moving forward to the mid-20th century, President Harry Truman — motivated by strong humanitarian, historical, personal and political impulses — recognized Israel a few minutes after it proclaimed its independence on May 14, 1948.

On the battlefield, Israel's demonstration of electronic mastery over the USSR's missile batteries supplied to Syria in June 1982 led to a worldwide downgrading of the reputation of Russian military technology vis-à-vis the United States'. Some historians believe this was a critical juncture in the ultimate disintegration of the USSR.

No doubt, American recognition of Israel's scientific, medical and technological contributions to the world result in our country's repudiation of the boycott, divestment and sanctions effort against Israel. The academic boycott of Israel initiated by the American Studies Association has been rejected by more than 250 colleges and universities in the United States, including seven in Minnesota, South Dakota and North Dakota.

The "special relationship" between the United States and Israel does not insulate it from tensions arising from time to time between Washington and Jerusalem. Significant disagreements have included the 1981 sale of the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) to Saudi Arabia; Israel's settlement policies in the West Bank, and — more recently — the most effective way to thwart the nuclear weapons ambitions of Iran.

The occasional difference of opinion between the two countries does not undermine the fundamental set of core values the United States and Israel share. Robust and sometimes fractious democracy characterizes both countries, as does the salient importance of a free press. Freedom of religion, belief, sexual orientation and association are also prized, as is a tradition of political dissent. Striking the balance between national security and individual rights is a national conversation in both countries.

The strength of the U.S.-Israel relationship is a foundation for assertive American diplomacy between Israel and the Arab nations.

Assertive U.S. diplomacy has been less successful in resolving the "final status" issues between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, as seen most notably in the Camp David negotiations in the summer of 2000. Secretary of State John Kerry's "framework" likely will remind some of the Clinton-era's proposed compromises on borders, refugees and Jerusalem.

That American presidents continue to try is an affirmation that a safe and secure Israel living in peace with a Palestinian nation and the rest of the Arab world is an anchor of U.S. foreign policy and a reflection of American sentiment.