Pro-Israel think tank urges Israel to weaponise US interdependence amid falling support

Pro-Israel think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) has urged Israel to deepen its “military, technological, intelligence and economic” integration with the US to sanction-proof itself against attempts to hold it accountable without also imposing costs on Washington.

The Washington-based think tank's proposal, laid out by FDD chief executive Mark Dubowitz earlier this month, effectively calls for Israel to weaponise its interdependence with the US as American support for the country continues to fall.

“For two decades, the United States built a formidable financial warfare machine designed to cripple Iran. Ironically, parts of that same machinery are now being assembled against Israel,” he said.

“The model used against Iran was devastating because it operated like a steadily tightening noose,” warned Dubowitz.

“Sanctions set the process in motion, but the real damage was inflicted by banks and investors who, fearful of incurring Washington’s wrath, went far beyond what US law actually required,” he added.

FDD began in 2001 as an organisation whose stated purpose was to “enhance Israel’s image in North America”.

Since the start of the Israeli genocide in Gaza in October 2023, public perceptions of Israel have plummeted around the world, nowhere more sharply than in the US.

Earlier this year, negative views of Israel deteriorated further as the country pushed the US into a war with Iran, driving up global energy costs and inflation and bringing the price of US support for Israel closer to home for ordinary Americans.

A Pew Research Center survey conducted weeks into the war on Iran found that six in 10 Americans now hold an unfavourable view of Israel, up from 53 percent last year and 42 percent in 2022.

Negative views have risen among both Democrats and Republicans. Among Republicans under 50, 57 percent now view Israel unfavourably.

Dubowitz acknowledged the political consequences of that shift, writing that “Israel’s political shield is also eroding”.

As public support falls, the political protection Israel has long enjoyed in Washington is also showing cracks.

Dubowitz wrote that US politicians increasingly “feel free” to take tougher positions on Israel.

“After decades in which Israel enjoyed a large advantage, polls now show more Americans sympathizing with the Palestinians than with Israelis,” he said, adding that “Those figures should concern Israel and its friends because, ultimately, public opinion shapes policy.”

Dubowitz then envisioned a future in which an American president “hostile to Israel enters the White House”, Washington stops shielding Israel at the UN, European sanctions expand and the US imposes its own measures.

“Wall Street would do the rest,” he said, adding that "Financial institutions’ overcompliance can sometimes be more destructive than the sanctions themselves.”

His answer is deeper integration. Dubowitz urged Israel and the US to bind their military, technological, intelligence and economic systems together so tightly that financially targeting Israel would carry a price for Washington itself.

FDD, which says it is committed to “strengthening US national security”, grew out of an organisation established by wealthy pro-Israel donors Leonard Abramson, Michael Steinhardt and Edgar Bronfman.

Its past major funders have included Bernard Marcus, Paul Singer and the late Sheldon Adelson, who collectively gave millions of dollars to the organisation.