Going to war with Iran was not a popular decision in the US. But in Israel the conflict commands overwhelming support — with over 80 per cent of the public backing the decision to attack. Nobody has done more to make the case that Iran poses an existential threat to Israel than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The day after the initial air strikes on Tehran, he exulted that the current “combination of forces” — for which read, US participation — “allows us to do what I have been hoping to do for 40 years”.
But the reality is that Netanyahu’s longed-for war with Iran has not made his country safer. In fact, it is putting Israel’s long-term security in peril.
There are two main reasons for this. The first is that, for decades, the single biggest guarantee of Israeli security has been strong bipartisan support in the US. But the Netanyahu government’s actions — first in Gaza and now in Iran — are draining that support away.