“If I Forget Thee O Jerusalem”

Abstract

Unlike proponents of the so-called “centralist” approach, which make the resolution of the Israel–Palestine conflict a core US foreign policy objective, Trump seems to adhere to the “marginality” approach according to which the Israeli–Palestinian predicament prevents Washington from focusing on other strategic designs in the region, such as weakening Iran. Israeli–Iranian relations will without a doubt play a crucial role in the evolution of the Middle East. Although weakened by sanctions and a policy of isolation, Iran now finds itself in Syria, at the door of the Jewish State. This in turn raises new issues: despite obvious divergences from Barack Obama’s policies, not only has Donald Trump pursued his predecessor’s relative US retreat from the Middle East, he has accelerated it just as Russia consolidates its foothold in the wake of the Syrian civil war.