Why does the United States protect Israel?

Answer 1

Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East. Israel is an open, progressive, multicultural society which does not through governmental policies oppress women, gays or religious minorities. Israel has many Arab citizens who vote, are represented in Parliament (Knesset) and are business owners or otherwise productive members of the socioeconomic fabric of the country. It is also a society which has been in the forefront of technological advancement, medical breakthroughs and humanitarian efforts including refugee absorption and the provision of medical/surgical care not only to indigeneous Bedouin populations but also globally in places like Haiti. Israel has been a partner with the US in protecting American lives through the sharing of intelligence.

Answer 2

Actually, this is a complicated question. American Jews love Israel because it is part of their religious heritage; it is the Holy Land mentioned so many times in The Bible. But some American Jews today are divided; while nearly all believe that Israel has a right to exist and a right to defend herself, some American Jews believe the current government in Israel is much too hawkish and extreme, as opposed to other American Jews who support the current government completely, no matter what it does.

Many American Christians, especially those who are Evangelical, love Israel for religious reasons. They believe Israel was promised to the Jewish people, because that is what the Bible said. But there is another reason why these Christians are so strong in their support for Israel-- they believe in the final days, Jesus will return to rule in glory, and Israel must exist for that second coming to occur.

There are some Americans who question U.S. support for Israel or disagree with current Israeli policies; but it is safe to say (and surveys bear this out) that the majority of Americans regard Israel favorably and respect it as a democracy. And while it is not accurate to say America "loves" Israel, it is a fact that a majority of Americans see Israel an ally in an often hostile region of the world.

Answer 3

Answer 1

The United States supports both Israel, Egypt, and Palestine. The United States is also prepared to support and aide any Arab country (like Egypt) that is willing to trade violence and antagonism for peace. The reason that people talk more about support for Israel than Egypt or Palestine is that Israel has stronger military capabilities and Israel is held to a much higher standard than any other country in the region. (This is even when you realize that Egypt is the second-largest recipient of US AID in the world.)

Bi-National Cooperation: Israel has cooperated with the United States on diplomatic issues, military and intelligence exchanges, large amounts of trade, and significant technological investment. Israel is second to Jordan in the region for the number of diplomatic cables that they process, first in the bilateral exchange of military technology, first in the amount of non-petroleum related trade and investment, and Israel has the highest per capita number of start-ups and patents. The AID given to Israel is usually required to be used with US Defense Contractors, making the AID to Israel a mechanism to subsidize the US Defense Industry without running afoul of WTO regulations.

Voter Capital: The Jews in the United States are not a very large population but they are strategically placed in the battleground state of Florida. Additionally, many American Evangelicals (roughly 80 million votes) express a strong support of Israel since they believe that this will lead to Armageddon and the Rapture, for which they are very excited. As a result, candidates will do their best to Support the State of Israel and court those votes.. Pro-Arab voters are not typically swing votes since the Republican Party has thoroughly disgusted most Arab Americans with its hateful rhetoric towards them and are therefore not courted by the Republicans and not seen as needing courtship by Democrats.

Foreign Capital: There are numerous states whose human rights abuses the United States does not discuss or condemn. The most obvious is Saudi Arabia with its horrific treatment of women, the incarcerated and the stifling of dissent. China's repression of the Muslims in Xinjiang Province is almost never discussed by the administration. Pakistan's violent engagement with the Baloch is also off-limits. There are other examples as well of this trend. The thing unifying these countries with Israel is that the United States wishes to retain strategic relationships with these countries and one way to do that is to refrain from criticizing undesirable behavior.

Right to Defense: American recognize that every state has the right to protect its people, even states that the US believes are illegitimate or bellicose (such as Iran or Venezuela). Therefore, Israel has the legitimate right to defend its people. Whether or not that defense is disproportionate to the need may be questioned, but there is no way to avoid civilian casualties when a state is constantly required to put down insurrections and insurgencies.

Answer 2

Because it's the right thing to do. The United States, at least part of the time, makes an effort to follow the dictates of morality. The U.S. (which has much less anti-Semitism than Europe) sees that Israel, much of whose population rose from the ashes of the Holocaust, is beset by terrorists and enemy regimes. And the U.S. also sees that Israel, a Western-style democracy, has more human rights than any country in the Middle East (see attached Link).