External developments, including the Iranian revolution, the birth of Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the rise of Hamas, eventually forced Israel to rethink this strategy. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Israeli leaders—with the assistance of their neoconservative allies in the United States—sought to convince the US political leadership that it faced a larger-than-life enemy: Islamic fundamentalism. Their efforts were successful only after September 11, 2001; in the 1980s, despite the rise of Hezbollah and Hamas as threats to Israel, the United States continued to support Islamists against the USSR.

XREF: Connects to the broader narrative about how geopolitical framing of enemies shifts following major events. QUESTION: How directly did Israeli neoconservative pressure shape post-9/11 US policy toward Islamism?

Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politi…, loc. 264