US and Israel's 'special relationship' not always rock solid

+ Kissinger's profound legacy; free speech and social media trial US Edition - Today's top story: A brief history of the US-Israel 'special relationship' shows how connections have shifted since long before the 1948 founding of the Jewish state [View in browser]( US Edition | 30 November 2023 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( President Joe Biden, soon after the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas that killed 1,200 Israelis, publicly vowed his administration’s “rock solid and unwavering” support to Israel, “just as we have from the moment the United States became the first nation to recognize Israel, 11 minutes after its founding, 75 years ago.” Since Oct. 7, Israel has aimed to eliminate Hamas by undertaking a punishing bombing campaign in Gaza that has killed 14,000 civilians, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza. And Biden has faced mounting public pressure to find a way to support Israel that does not ignore the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza. The Biden administration “appears to have played a key role in negotiating a temporary truce and an exchange of hostages and prisoners between Israel and Hamas,” writes USC Dornsife scholar Fayez Hammad. And that [balancing of interests in its Israel policy]( is not something new for American presidents, Hammad says in his story that charts the US-Israel relationship from before Israel was founded. Yet, while the U.S. has traditionally supported Israel, that support has not been solely altruistic. Standing with Israel’s interests has often been a means to achieve American goals and purposes, rather than solely an end in itself. And, writes Hammad, a review of U.S. presidents’ policies shows “that the U.S.-Israel relationship has not always been ‘rock solid.’” Naomi Schalit Senior Editor, Politics + Democracy U.S. President Harry Truman holds a Torah given to him by Chaim Weizmann, the first president of Israel, in May 1948. Bettmann via Getty Images [A brief history of the US-Israel ‘special relationship’ shows how connections have shifted since long before the 1948 founding of the Jewish state]( Fayez Hammad, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences A historian of the Middle East examines the decades-old ‘special relationship’ between Israel and the US. Citizens have sometimes been surprised to find public officials blocking people from viewing their social media feeds. alashi/DigitalVision Vectors via Getty Images [Supreme Court to consider giving First Amendment protections to social media posts]( Lynn Greenky, Syracuse University The Supreme Court will hear five cases this term that will examine the nature of online discussion spaces run by social media platforms. President Richard Nixon, left, speaks with national security adviser Henry Kissinger at the White House in September 1972. 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