The Desire to Belong Syndrome: Israel and Middle-Eastern Defense, 1948-1954

Abstract

BECOMING A RECOGNIZED MEMBER OF the Middle-Eastern state system has been a permanent target of Israel since its foundation. Ostracized, however, by most Middle-Eastern countries, Israel has been compelled to leapfrog over the Arab circle and establish friendly relations with Western and Eastern states alike. Naturally, the question of foreign policy orientation was a major consideration for the newly-born state. Following a short period of oscillation between East and West (1948-1950)--a policy called non-identification'Israel's orientation gradually tilted toward the West.I As a result, it became more involved in world affairs, and its desire to play a part in Western defense plans proportionally increased. Thus, the question of Israel's participation in Western schemes for the defense of the Middle East became acute in the early 1950s. This article analyzes the Israeli attitude toward strategic cooperation with the West in the Middle East in the early 195os, and attempts to shed new light on a rather neglected topic, as well as to offer a new framework for understanding Israel's behavior.) The underlying assumption is that Israel's keen desire to associate itself with Western defense plans should be analyzed within the context of what I term--the desire to belong syndrome. Suffering from a growing sense of insecurity and isolation in the face of Arab animosity, Israel aimed to secure Western support in order to consolidate its position in the Middle East. Israel's immediate concerns were to obtain arms, to secure a guarantee of its boundaries as fixed in the armistice agreements (1949), and to be recognized as a major regional player. All these targets could be attained by Israel's association with Western regional defense schemes directed against the Soviet Union in the early I950s.