ABSTRACT
As we have witnessed in the preceding chapters, the origins of the American-Israeli alliance were not inherent – as is widely believed – in the institutional manifestations of the special relationship paradigm. Nor did the partnership originate in the basic premises of this paradigm, which underscore the fundamental similarity – in terms of certain cultural, ideological, historical and social attributes – between the two societies and political systems. Thus, while factors that were closely patterned on this orientation (whether institutional or amorphous) did help to further solidify and strengthen the bond between Washington and Jerusalem, particularly after 1967, they merely reinforced, or accelerated, a process which had been initially predicated upon a cluster of quintessential strategic premises and components. Not only did the alliance reflect the growing strategic convergence between the US and Israel – which became evident in the late 1950s – but its original roots lay outside the dyadic parameters of this relationship.
