US must not let its Mideast policy ‘be subservient to Israel,’ Vance declares

Vice President Vance warns US must not allow its foreign policy choices to be “subservient” to Israel or NATO, calling for “rational foreign policy.”

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

US Vice President JD Vance said Washington must disentangle its interests from those of the State of Israel, warning that American foreign policy must not become “subservient” to the Jewish state.

Speaking during a conference hosted by the “All-In Podcast” on Tuesday,  Vance defended President Donald Trump’s approach to Israel as one grounded in what the administration considers US national interests rather than automatic agreement with the Israeli government.

The comments came after host Jason Calacanis asked Vance about concerns among parts of the American far-right that US foreign policy is overly influenced by Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Vance acknowledged Israel’s value to the United States as a partner in areas including intelligence and military technology, but stressed that cooperation does not require Washington and Jerusalem to take identical positions.

Drawing a comparison with America’s relationships with NATO members, Vance said the United States should maintain close partnerships without surrendering control of its own strategic decisions.

“[We have] a lot of important relationships, a lot of important partnerships in NATO, but that doesn’t mean we are going to completely make our European foreign policy subservient to NATO, in the same way that we cannot let our Middle Eastern foreign policy be subservient to the State of Israel,” said Vance.

“We are going to work with people when we work with them, we are going to disagree when we disagree. And we are going to pursue America’s interests. That’s the only way to have a rational foreign policy.”

Vance said Trump has demonstrated a greater willingness than recent presidents to disagree openly with Netanyahu when the administration concludes that Israeli and American interests point in different directions.

He argued that Netanyahu is expected to pursue what he believes is best for Israel, just as an American administration should pursue what it believes is best for the United States.

This is not the first time Vance has highlighted disagreements between the two countries.

In June, Vance said that close allies can sometimes have aligned interests and sometimes have interests that are “misaligned,” while defending the administration’s decision to pursue its own approach toward Tehran despite Israeli objections.

He described Netanyahu at the time as a good partner while insisting that Washington ultimately had to make decisions according to US interests.

At a Republican Jewish Coalition gathering in Las Vegas on August 31, however, Vance sought to emphasize the strategic value of the relationship.

During the closed-door appearance, he described Israel as “certainly one of our most important alliances in the world” and cited intelligence gathering and technology cooperation among the benefits the United States receives from the partnership.

Vance also told the gathering that younger Americans have become increasingly skeptical of the relationship, arguing that supporters of close US-Israel ties need to explain why the partnership benefits the United States rather than relying on longstanding assumptions about the alliance.

JD VanceNATOUS-Irael relations