2026-03-27
41 分钟The Economist.
Benjamin Netanyahu slipped a note into one of the cracks of Jerusalem's Western Wall.
Scrawled on the paper in Hebrew was part of a Bible verse about a triumphant future for Israel,
loosely translated as, "the people will rise up like a lion."
It was a clue to what Netanyahu was about to do.
The Israeli Prime Minister made that visit to the holy site in June last year.
The next day, Israel and America bombed Iran in what would become known as the Twelve-Day War.
Netanyahu named Israel's mission after the Bible verse, Operation Rising Lion.
Whereas America calls the current war with Iran Operation Epic Fury.
Israel has continued the lion theme.
It's waging Operation Roaring Lion.
But as the conflict drags on, not just the names,
but the goals of those two missions may be diverging.
I'm John Fasman, and this is Checks and Balance from The Economist.
Each week we take one big theme shaping American politics and explore it in depth.
Today, the growing divide between America and Israel.
The relationship between America and Israel has always been close, but seldom been easy.
Even before the joint attacks on Iran, many Americans were souring on the alliance.
Could the war do lasting damage to the US-Israeli bond?
What's the future for relations between the two?