Abstract

When the Reagan administration first invited Israel to join the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) in 1985, Israel was only expected to play a relative minor role in the program and bid for non-sensitive research grants. However, starting in 1986, the focus of the endeavor began to shift. In time, the US was funding Israeli efforts to indigenously develop the Arrow, a missile defense system designed to use land-based interceptors to address regional ballistic missile threats. This was a sharp departure from the objectives of SDI and the imagined role that Israel was supposed to play within that initiative. This article addresses how and why this shift had occurred. I examine the existing narrative in the literature which maintains that Israel had initiated Arrow with the help of the Israel Lobby, and dispel it. I demonstrate that it was the Reagan administration, motivated by domestic political considerations, legal and diplomatic calculations, and strategic priorities, which pushed for Arrow’s initiation, despite reservations expressed by the Israeli government and the Israeli military.

摘要

当里根政府于 1985 年首次邀请以色列加入战略防御计划 (SDI) 时，预计以色列只会在该计划中扮演相对次要的角色，并竞标非敏感研究资助。然而，从 1986 年开始，努力的重点开始转移。随着时间的推移，美国正在资助以色列在本土开发箭的努力，这是一种导弹防御系统，旨在使用陆基拦截器来应对区域弹道导弹威胁。这与 SDI 的目标以及以色列应该在该倡议中发挥的想象作用大相径庭。本文介绍了这种转变发生的方式和原因。我检查了文献中现有的叙述，这些叙述认为以色列是在以色列游说团的帮助下发起了 Arrow，然后将其驱散。