Why Does the US Consistently Support Israel?
The Pro—Israeli View
Introduction
My first article explained some fundamental facts about US aid to Israel. This article will discuss the reasons cited by pro-Israeli groups and why their justifications for the billions of dollars in aid, provided to Israel from its inception to the present day, are simply not valid.
Israel as an Extension of the USA in the Middle East
One of the main reasons for the ongoing US support for Israel is that Israel serves US interests in the Middle East.
Having been formed into a nation-state in the middle of the Muslim world, Israel is the only US ally the US can depend on without much worry, since all other US allies (Muslim-majority countries and Arab monarchies) in the region may turn into the enemy in the future — that is, should some of them turn into democracies and actually serve the interests of their own populations.
In contrast to the Arabic nations, Israel is the civilizational ally of the US and the West. Their essential ideology is the same. Turkiye might be a NATO country and a US ally, yet we know that Turkiye has been an annoying guy in the group for the West but they can’t get rid of Turkiye since it might turn into a real enemy and significantly strengthen the other side. Among other US allies, Egypt and Saudi Arabia might be the strongest after Turkiye and Israel. However, Egypt’s political history is very volatile. If a democratically elected leader comes into power in the future (which the West consistently seeks to block) Egypt may switch sides as well.
The Saudis differ somewhat. The totalitarian regime of Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) is suffocating the civilian institutions (which were not very well-established in the first place), and so in the long run, they cannot be trusted as well. So, the only US ally that will never turn into an enemy is Israel. It is one of the main reasons why the US supports Israel all the time.
But both the Hasbara trolls and pro-Israel think-tanks located in the US, spread a lot of propaganda as to why Israel deserves US aid. Here are their most frequently-cited claims:
- Israel is weak and surrounded by enemies;
- Israel is a fellow democracy;
- Jewish people suffered a lot in history and therefore, they deserve special treatment;
- Israel’s conduct is morally superior to its enemies.
I will examine the first two claims in this article, and the remaining two will be addressed in a later article.
Israel is weak and surrounded by enemies.
“Israel is often portrayed as weak and besieged, a Jewish David surrounded by a hostile Arab Goliath. This image has been carefully nurtured by Israeli leaders and sympathetic writers, but the opposite image is closer to the truth.”
The quote above is a direct excerpt from the research paper “The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy” by John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt.
Contrary to all the propaganda, Zionist forces were larger and better equipped during the 1947–49 War of “Independence”. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) also secured quick and decisive victories against Egypt in 1956, and against Egypt, Jordan, and Syria in 1967 — long before substantial U.S. aid began reaching Israel. These successes not only showcase the organizational capability, and military expertise but also indicate that Israel was far from vulnerable, even in its earlier, formative years.
Today, Israel is the dominant military power in the Middle East. Its conventional forces surpass those of its neighbors. It is also significant that Israel is the only state in the region with nuclear weapons.
Egypt and Jordan have signed peace treaties with Israel, and Saudi Arabia until recent events, was essentially willing to do the same. Syria has been totally destroyed, the Assad government that killed much of its own population cannot control the whole country. Meanwhile, three devastating invasions and occupations by the Western powers, have weakened Iraq.
If we consider Iran, it is geographically distant and its socioeconomic conditions cannot support a full-scale war with Israel. Lebanon is another besieged state. Hezbollah does not have the widespread Lebanese support and largely depends on Iran.
A 2005 assessment by Tel Aviv University’s Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies states that “the strategic balance decisively favors Israel, which has continued to widen the qualitative gap between its military capabilities and those of its neighbors.”
Accordingly, if the notion of supporting the underdog were a valid reason, the United States on such grounds, should be backing Israel’s opponents!
Furthermore, Israel’s conduct is itself, the main reason the Arabic peoples are opposed to Israel. Given that Israel was established on ethno-religious supremacist ideologies — which are now clearly manifesting themselves as the legacy of Nazi Germany — it should hardly be surprising that, if you are dehumanizing people, they are unlikely to want to befriend you!
The Zio-Nazis had long planned to steal land, kill, and terrorize the indigenous people to force them to flee and seek refuge elsewhere. It is by such means that the plan to expand to build Greater Israel is being implemented to this day. Accordingly, resistance against such violations is natural. In short, it is the Israeli ideology and actions that have inspired resistance from the Arabic populations.
Israel is a fellow democracy.
American support for Israel is often defended by the argument that Israel is a fellow democracy surrounded by hostile dictatorships. While this reasoning may seem persuasive, it doesn’t explain the extent of U.S. aid to Israel. Many democracies exist worldwide, yet none receives anywhere close to the level of support that Israel does.
The well-disguised truth is that the U.S. has a long history of fomenting military conflicts, assassinating democratically elected leaders, and installing military dictatorships — such for example, the Congo, in the 1960s, Chile in the early 1970s and more recently, Venezuela, Egypt, and Libya. The U.S. continues to maintain good relations with several dictatorships today. Continuing to address the notion that the US values democracy and the rule of law, it should be noted that Hamas was democratically elected in Gaza! Yet here we are, with ten months of mayhem funded by the US ostensibly to eradicate Hamas.
Given all these facts, it becomes clear that Israel’s democratic status neither justifies nor fully explains America’s support.
The “shared democracy” argument is further weakened by elements of Israeli “democracy” that clash with fundamental American values. The United States purports to be a liberal democracy where people of all races, religions, and ethnicities are meant to have equal rights. In contrast, Israel was explicitly established as a Jewish state, and citizenship is based on the principle of blood kinship.
As a result, Israel’s 1.3 million (according to 2006 data) Arab citizens are treated as second-class citizens, a fact highlighted by a recent Israeli government commission that found the state acts in a “neglectful and discriminatory” manner toward them.
Israel’s democratic status is further compromised by its refusal to grant Palestinians a viable state. Israel controls the lives of approximately 3.8 million (according to 2006 data) Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank while continuing to bulldoze homes and take over privately owned lands.
Therefore it is an incontestable fact that although Israel proclaims itself as a democracy, the millions of Palestinians under its control are denied full political rights, thus showing the fallacy of this claim.
References:
For three instructive pieces on the matter from the Israeli press, see Amiram Barkat, “Majority of Israelis Are Opposed to Intermarriage, Survey Finds,” Ha’aretz, September 15, 2003; Nicky Blackburn, “Better a Jew,” Ha’aretz, April 21, 2004; Lily Galili, “Hitting Below the Belt,” Ha’aretz, August 8, 2004.
See “The Official Summation of the Or Commission Report,” published in Ha’aretz, September 2, 2003. For evidence of how hostile many Israelis were to the report’s findings and recommendations, see “No Avoiding the Commission Recommendations,” Ha’aretz, September 4, 2003; Molly Moore, “Israeli Report Is Welcomed, Dismissed,” Washington Post, September 3, 2003. Also see Bernard Avishai, “Saving Israel from Itself: A Secular Future for the Jewish State,” Harper’s Magazine, January 2005. It is also worth noting that the Israel Democracy Institute reported in May 2003 that: 53 percent of Israeli Jews “are against full equality for the Arabs”; 77 percent of Israeli Jews believe that “there should be a Jewish majority on crucial political decisions”; only 31 percent “support having Arab political parties in the government”; 57 percent “think that the Arabs should be encouraged to emigrate.” See “The Democracy Index: Major Findings 2003.” Imagine the outcry that would occur if a majority of white Americans declared that blacks, Hispanics, and Asians “should be encouraged” to leave the United States. For more recent surveys, which show little change in Israeli attitudes, see Yulie Khromchenko, “Survey: Most Jewish Israelis Support Transfer of Arabs,” Ha’aretz, June 22, 2004; Yoav Stern, “Poll: Most Israeli Jews Say Israeli Arabs Should Emigrate,” Ha’aretz, April 4, 2005.
