As if relations between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and U.S. President Barack Obama's administration were not strained enough, Israel has refused to join the United States and its other allies in condemning Russia's annexation of Crimea. But that decision, though risky, is not altogether surprising: The U.S., after all, lacks an effective policy toward Russia's presence in the Middle East, making it difficult for countries like Israel to stand up to the Kremlin.
The latest controversy emerged when a senior U.S. official complained to the influential Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz about Israel's refusal to condemn Russia's actions in Ukraine or to support Ukraine's territorial integrity in the United Nations General Assembly. It makes no sense, the official declared, for a country that relies so heavily on U.S. aid and diplomatic support to turn its back on its most important ally at such a critical moment.
Israel's government responded by trying to placate the U.S. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, in a meeting with U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice and others, explained that Israel could not antagonize Russia for fear that it would provide Syria with sophisticated weapons systems (primarily S-300 anti-aircraft missiles) — a move that would upend the status quo in Israel's strategic environment.