Israel sent a message about how it views the US campaign against IS without using words at all. On the same day that American forces were attacking IS bases in Syria, Israel shot down a MiG-21 from Assad’s Alawite forces over the Golan Heights. Quite a moment in Middle Eastern military history: While the US was intervening to attack the Sunni jihadis, the IDF underlined its view of the real enemy by knocking down one of Assad’s antique fighters out of the sky.
That ancient MiG wasn’t downed because it was a threat to Israel, or because it was over the line. It was downed as a gesture. Bibi and his Likud allies are sulking, because the way they see it, we’re bombing the wrong Syrians. The Israeli elite has always wanted the US to intervene in the Syrian Civil War—but not against the Sunni jihadists, as we’re doing now. They want American planes and drones to obliterate the other side–the Alawites’ Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its Hezbollah allies.
I've noticed a nasty tendency in the US to understand regional conflicts in terms of "us" and "them", in terms of "good" vs. "bad." As explained here, Syria isn't even "bad" "worse" "worst" it's "worst" "worst" "worst." I think this analysis highlights something you don't see highlighted much in US media: "our" needs in the middle east aren't always Israel's needs in the middle east. Syria is a former Soviet-aligned frontline military power run by a Muslim splinter-faction; ISIS is a cartoonish bunch of pirates that don't understand how much you have to step up your game when you go from "political faction" to "geopolitical entity." Al qaeda would never be stupid enough to seize oil wells because The Great Game don't give a fuck about guerillas. And Israel has to know this - they've been boots-on-ground against most every military around them since 1947.
I think israel is a useful tool in the hands of the US for a few reasons: - A military local power that can be used to keep everyone around at bay. For Israelis this has nothing to do with the US but its more about "everyone wants to kill use so we have to fight/defend ourselves" - A place to fuel the american military industrial complex. AIPAC and the general US public want the US to help israel against the bad guys. The US sends tax dollars (128mil in the last deal) to help out. Israel get US arms for the money they got. The military industrial complex is fed more money, saving jobs and keeping it alive. So overall its dax dollars --> military inducstrial complex.
Everything else is used as an excuse, that is my opinion. To make this whole story work, Israel has a specific image that needs to be kept. "We fight those that want to destroy us", which are usually the so called terrorist groups. Usually islamic, fundamentalist, crazy. They have to be a direct threat to israel for this to happen, if they don't threaten israel directly, then they are not interesting. Look at ISIS (or Daesh how we call them). To my knowledge, they never stood up and said "our aim is to destroy israel". First reason for israel not to do anything. Second (and more important), Israel (the Netanyahu government more specifically) can't afford going into another war. The general public saw the gaza story as a failure. Even though the media had been pounding the war drum pretty hard against ISIS lately, the resonance from the public was not the same as the one for the gaza story. So acting on it wouldn't be wise for Netanyahu, as he might lose more supporters.