Alon Pinkas
Consul General of
Israel to New York
from 2000-2004
Link:
“Is the ‘Special Relationship’ Diminishing in Scope, Scale and Substance?
The Interplay of Foreign Policy Interests and Domestic Determinants”
While Israel's dependence on its special relationship with the US is increasing and lacks any valid substitute, the role of this relationship in the broad framework of U.S. foreign policy may be slowly, but gradually eroding. For the U.S., the Cold War Patron-Client pattern changed when the Soviet Union disintegrated as a competing superpower and when the US took over the former Soviet sphere of influence in the greater Middle East. U.S. strategic interests in the region have been revisited again after 9/11. Thus, Israel's self-perception as a "Strategic Asset" needs a fresh definition, since these relations remain a basic pillar of Israeli national security.
Alon Pinkas is an Israeli diplomat who served as Consul General of Israel in the United States (2000-2004). He participated in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and has served as an Israeli delegate to Syrian and Lebanese peace talks. Pinkas was a foreign policy advisor for Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Chief of Staff to several Ministers of Foreign Affairs. He is currently the President of The U.S.-Israel Institute at the Rabin Center in Tel-Aviv and is a frequent contributor to print and television media.
