Introduction

This week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he’s invading the Palestinian city of Rafah despite strong opposition from the Biden administration. Why does Israel, a country that seems to rely on the U.S. for so much, increasingly ignore and defy its long time American patron? And at what point is a defiant ally not really an ally at all? This week on How We Got Here, Israel’s decades-long effort to break free of their military, economic, and diplomatic dependence on the United States—and what it means for the peace process.