Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
big party and then give their Knesset ballot to a smaller one. The law was repealed before the
2003 elections.
Israelis often speak about the weaknesses that they perceive in the party system. The in-
ability of any party to achieve a majority in its own right and the need to recruit and sat-
isfy multiple coalition partners dilutes the government's effectiveness and favors patronage
politics. Some believe that electing MKs from local districts rather than at the national level
might make the government more responsive to citizens' needs and gain more resources for
neglected regions. But there is little impetus to make changes. People have become used to the
system, have seen the problems that reforms can bring, and are more concerned with more
immediate problems.
FOREIGN POLICY
Israel has several distinct disadvantages in international dealings. Most notably, it is a country
small in territory and population, lacking considerable natural resources and facing enemies
who are big, strong, and naturally endowed. Making its situation more diffi cult is the hostil-
ity of almost all Muslim-majority, Communist, and radical Third World countries and the
frequently less-than-full support of Western countries. Among Israel's opponents have been
countries with massive fi nancial surpluses based on oil and natural gas exports. This wealth
enables them to be attractive trading partners. They can also buy a certain amount of infl uence
in other countries.
Israel tries to counter its disadvantages by developing good relations with countries that
have the same enemies or face similar threats. In addition, it carries out an energetic, though
small-scale, aid program, especially in Africa, and is active in humanitarian projects and relief
efforts.
Other Israeli assets include the backing of Jewish communities around the world, the re-
spect that other countries' armed forces and intelligence services have for their Israeli counter-
parts, and a strong economy. Many countries fi nd Israel to be a useful trading partner for their
imports and exports, as well as a source of innovative technology.
Also ameliorating its handicaps is the sympathy that Israel received after World War II
in the reaction against the Holocaust. The European left also identifi ed with Israel's socialist
agenda during the country's earlier years. In the 1950s and most of the 1960s, France was also
Israel's patron, for it saw Arab nationalism as subverting its empire in North Africa. This pa-
tronage ended in 1967, when President Charles de Gaulle jettisoned the alliance with Israel to
build relations with Arab states.
The overarching international framework during Israel's fi rst four decades was the Cold
War. As early as 1950, Israel cast its lot with the West by supporting the Korean War against the
Soviet Union and its allies. With the turn of several Arab regimes toward Moscow during the
1950s and 1960s, the Cold War context of Israel's own confl ict intensifi ed.
The United States took its fi rst steps toward supplying Israel with arms covertly in the mid-
1960s. Israel's victory in the 1967 war, when it infl icted a humiliating defeat on Soviet-supplied
Soviet allies, and its secret successful intervention with Syria in 1970, warning it not to invade
