Friends in few places: Parallels between Russian and Israeli isolation

Russia and Israel have been dominating the headlines for the past three years. Both countries are routinely condemned as militaristic aggressors against their smaller neighbors. Interestingly, when you talk to a Russian turbo-patriot or a hawkish Israeli, they both use the same line of reasoning to justify their respective countries' actions. Russians view the war as not just a war against Ukraine, but against NATO and the West more generally. Pro-war Russians will go on ad nauseam about how unjust it was that NATO expanded and that NATO exists solely to keep Russia down (or some variation of this). Israelis will say that international law is applied selectively and that international bodies like the UN are biased against Israel. These narratives may not be entirely factual, but they serve as frameworks for Russian and Israeli policymakers. While both countries are radically different from each other and have different threat environments, their underlying mentality is a siege mentality mixed with generational trauma. However, Israel's pro-Western alignment and greater global economic integration give Jerusalem more long-term strategic resilience than Russia.  

Jerusalem and Moscow's similarities

After February 2022, the Russian Federation was effectively disconnected from the global economy. For starters, there are still no direct flights to Russia from the EU and vice versa. There is also no direct trade between the EU (along with other Western countries) and Russia. Russia has had to look elsewhere, such as the Global South, for friends and trade partners. Since 2022, Moscow has developed deeper ties with countries like Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (the latter has been a magnet for Russian investment and migration). Additionally, countries that have traditionally relied on Russian/Soviet-made weaponry to equip their militaries, such as India, are beginning to diversify their sources for arms. The "special military operation" in Ukraine is widely viewed as an unprovoked war of aggression and has undermined Moscow's international standing.

Russian President Vladimir Putin with Emirati
President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in 2022

In a similar fashion to Russia, Israel's war in Gaza has turned international opinion against it. Public support for Israel in Western countries has been continually eroded by Israel's conduct of the war. Jerusalem has even been brought on a collision course with Washington over the conflict in Gaza. Israeli defense contractors like Elbit Systems have even been barred from participating in international arms expos. During the Cold War and even today, Israel has provided and still provides military aid to states in the Global South with less-than-stellar human rights records. In Latin America, the Israelis armed Argentina's brutal military junta, the Somoza dictatorship in Nicaragua, and the bloodthirsty military regimes in El Salvador, just to name a few places. Israel also aided the apartheid regime in South Africa and the white minority government in Rhodesia (both of which were isolated themselves).* 

Jerusalem and Moscow both claim to be waging defensive wars out of necessity, but both wars have actually damaged their image and undermined their security. In the case of the former, Hamas and Hezbollah pose an existential threat. In the case of the latter, NATO expansion is a direct encroachment on Russia itself. Israel and Russia place a heavy emphasis on hard power within their foreign policy strategies. Both Russia and Israel have had to look far and wide for friends in the international arena. If need be, both countries are willing to rub shoulders with oppressive, undemocratic states in the Global South, but for different reasons. 

Russian mercenaries providing security 
for the Central African Republic's president

Jerusalem and Moscow's differences

There are notable differences between Moscow and Jerusalem's foreign policy strategies, as well. Israel has the support of the United States and most of its allies, despite their condemnations of Israeli actions in Gaza. At the UN, the United States shields Israel from more substantive action being taken against it by the international community. There are no international sanctions against Israel. Israeli citizens are still permitted to travel to the EU and the United States. Israel is still well-integrated within the global economic and financial system. Israeli high-tech firms still maintain a significant global market share. EU member states like Germany and Romania, as well as countries like South Korea and India, have either purchased or expressed interest in purchasing Israeli arms. In contrast to Russia, Jerusalem is an integral part of the American-led international order, being an OECD member state and a member of the Paris Club. Israel is insulated from the consequences of economic and political isolation in ways that Russia is not.

Moscow, on the other hand, must recreate its own global network from scratch. Russia has almost no friends in the West. Since 2022, Russia has grown even closer to other pariah states like Iran and North Korea. Unlike Israel, Russia does not have a booming tech sector. Russia also has no access to Western technology. The Russian economy is still heavily dependent upon oil and gas revenues. Russia's "alliances" with China, Iran, and North Korea are little more than surface deep. These states are united only by a desire to counter American global hegemony; even then, this convergence is tenuous. There is no Russian-led NATO, no matter how much the CSTO and SCO want to play the part. There is no Russian-led equivalent of the IMF or World Bank. Simply put, Moscow does not carry as much clout as the United States and its allies. 

Straddling East and West

Interestingly enough, there is another commonality between Jerusalem and Moscow. Russia and Israel sit between the West and East culturally and geopolitically. Israel is the sole "Western-style" democracy in the Middle East, and its politics is still Ashkenazi-centric. Still, Israel can maintain warm relations with non-Western states like Azerbaijan and India, despite its pro-Western alignment. Russia, on the other hand, is a majority-Christian country with Slavic and Norse roots, but is still estranged from the West. The "East/West" limbo that these countries occupy presents opportunities and challenges. Russia is able to use its Eurasian heritage and anti-Western geopolitical alignment to win greater cachet in the Global South. This means, though, that Moscow is aligning itself with other pariah states. Israel can cash in on its status as a beneficiary of Western support and can provide military/economic aid to countries in the Global South without the lectures on democracy and human rights that come with Western aid. Israel's "in-between" identity gives Jerusalem flexibility, but Russia's only isolates Moscow.

Conclusion

The Russian Federation and the state of Israel both see themselves as fortresses under siege. Both place a greater reliance on armed force to achieve their strategic goals compared to other states. They both occupy the crossroads between the East and the West. However, Israel's integration within the US-led world order has given it political and economic lifelines that Russia can no longer benefit from. Both Moscow and Jerusalem are discovering that self-reliance in such an interconnected world has its limits. The future stability of Eurasia and the Middle East may not be solely dependent upon how these countries fight their wars, but also how they make and keep their friends.

*Source: The Israeli Connection: Who Israel Arms and Why by Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi (PURCHASE IT HERE: https://amzn.to/42QiNEm).