JEM: Crisis In Israel-US Relations? Lessons From The 1956 Suez Canal Crisis

One of the most predictable facets of the Israel-US relationship is this: The United States will pressure Israel to do something that is against its vital security interests. It’s not necessarily coming from a bad place, it’s just a fact of life.

The 1956 Sinai Campaign by Israel, the UK and France to take the Sinai Desert – and control of the Suez Canal – was a huge military success, at the end of which, the victors had achieved all of their strategic aims.

However, before long, pressure from the United States caused the allies to retreat and hand back its hard-won gains. By early 1957, the UK, France and Israel had all retreated.

As is often the case, Israel had, by far, the most to lose, and new waves of anti-Jewish terror were launched by Egypt from the Sinai, as well as from the territories of Israel’s other neighbors.

In this talk from the summer of 1979, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, analyzes some of the underpinnings of US pressure on Israel, and how Israel ought to respond.