WI: Israeli-American Split

What if Israel and the United States never become best buddies as they did OTL? Or Israel does something that turns the American public against Israel, such as a worse USS Liberty coupled with discovering an Isreali spy ring, or some such? Is this plausible? How would Israel fair without US support? Who could Israel turn to for help?
 
I remember reading on AH that Israel captured a strategically important hill full of mosques in a war once. The pod was that before Israel retreats they blow the mosques sky high.

Who to turn to help? Britain, if the USA pressures them
France, if not
South Africa and Pakistan and Taiwan OR Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia and Poland.
 
In 1967 at the close of the Six-Day War the chief Rabbi of the Israeli Army plotted to blow up the Al-Aqsa mosque but failed to pursuade the Israeli general in charge of capturing the mosque to go along with his plot. So had this plot succeeded maybe it creates such a backlash from the Arab world the US ends up cutting official support(i.e no military aid, support at the UN).
 
In 1967 at the close of the Six-Day War the chief Rabbi of the Israeli Army plotted to blow up the Al-Aqsa mosque but failed to pursuade the Israeli general in charge of capturing the mosque to go along with his plot. So had this plot succeeded maybe it creates such a backlash from the Arab world the US ends up cutting official support(i.e no military aid, support at the UN).
Yeah that was what i was talking about.
 
What if Israel and the United States never become best buddies as they did OTL? Or Israel does something that turns the American public against Israel, such as a worse USS Liberty coupled with discovering an Isreali spy ring, or some such? Is this plausible? How would Israel fair without US support? Who could Israel turn to for help?

AFAIK Israel only turned to US after 1967, after being pretty much abandoned by France. Before, the ties between France and Israel were FAR closer than with USA - in fact, the nuclear reactor near Eilat is a French design and it is said that the French and Israeli nuclear program share so much that they may be considered the same program.
So, if France doesn't decide in 1967 that there is more to gain by supporting Arab countries (which might have been correct decision from commercial standpoint, treaties aside), Israel and France might continue being BFF until now.
 
What if Israel and the United States never become best buddies as they did OTL? Or Israel does something that turns the American public against Israel, such as a worse USS Liberty coupled with discovering an Isreali spy ring, or some such? Is this plausible? How would Israel fair without US support? Who could Israel turn to for help?

Israel ITTL is either going to move closer to various European states (depending on the POD, France and Britain, and possibly Germany, would seem options), or align itself a bit closer with the eastern bloc. Ripples from this will have interesting effects on middle eastern politics (for instance, the US may support Nasser to a greater degree, with a host of resulting butterflies).
 
In 1967 at the close of the Six-Day War the chief Rabbi of the Israeli Army plotted to blow up the Al-Aqsa mosque but failed to pursuade the Israeli general in charge of capturing the mosque to go along with his plot. So had this plot succeeded maybe it creates such a backlash from the Arab world the US ends up cutting official support(i.e no military aid, support at the UN).

This would be an excellent POD.


AFAIK Israel only turned to US after 1967, after being pretty much abandoned by France. Before, the ties between France and Israel were FAR closer than with USA - in fact, the nuclear reactor near Eilat is a French design and it is said that the French and Israeli nuclear program share so much that they may be considered the same program.
So, if France doesn't decide in 1967 that there is more to gain by supporting Arab countries (which might have been correct decision from commercial standpoint, treaties aside), Israel and France might continue being BFF until now.


Do you know why France did this? Either way, I doubt the above POD would cause the French to support the Israelis.
 
Do you know why France did this?

My guess, because the Arab countries had a lot of cheap oil to sell and were (with rising oil profits) a big market for French exports, while Israel had no oil and was a tiny market? Don't forget that Israel was by far not the richest country in the region back in the 1960s and 1970s.

Realpolitik at it's best.
 
Perhaps a different ending to Suez might produce an Anglo-Franco-Israeli block in the Middle East, pulling in Lebanon as a French client.
 
Do you know why France did this? Either way, I doubt the above POD would cause the French to support the Israelis.


My main guess is that France was losing their ability to project force as a colonial power, and was trying to gradually cut back on their interference with foreign nations rather than have it all collapse around them. Israel was an okay-ish ally, with good position but poor everything else. It's not a hard decision to cut them out, especially because better relations with Arab nations helps in Algeria (independent now, but still close in geography and politics).

Also, to echo the above: a US-Israel split is hard to pull...Israel is probably the closest or second closest ally, right up their with Canada. It's far easier to simply have no close relationship to start with. I predict this drives Israel - which already has strong socialist, and even communist, tendencies - further into the Soviet camp. Whether the Soviets are willing to help Israel out of ideology instead of the Arabs out of realpolitik is anyone's guess.
 
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