Israel must put restoring its global standing above domestic politics - opinion

Israel's next leader will sit at the head of a national table laden with critical challenges: the open fronts in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria; a vengeful Iran; the erosion of the rule of law in the West Bank; international sanctions; domestic polarization and crime in the Arab sector.Yet towering above them is the greatest threat of all: Israel's diplomatic collapse around the world, especially in the United States. There is a non-negligible probability that, two years from now, a president hostile to Israel will sit in the White House, and the consequences could be catastrophic.Israel needs leadership that will make restoring the country's standing in the world – especially in the United States – the top national priority for the next two years.Former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger is said to have remarked that “Israel has no foreign policy, only domestic politics.” Israel's next leader must take precisely the opposite approach: navigate domestic politics with a constant eye to how every decision will affect our foreign relations.Israelis do not fully grasp how deep a pit the country has fallen into and the severe consequences that might lie ahead.