As alluded to by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (“Austin Stresses U.S. Support for Israel in Call With Gallant,” August 1, 2024), Israel has generally had a strong relationship with the United States throughout most of its existence. However, there have also been bumps along the way. Today again, it seems like Israel and America are at loggerheads over the Gaza War and its spillover, which have also been exacerbated by political considerations in the midst of a crucial U.S. election.
This relationship is mutual but complex. Some Americans only see the aid and support that America gives Israel and assume it is all one-sided. They don’t appreciate the fact that America also gets a great deal in return. Others see only the demands America makes on Israel and overlook the fact that America has to look out for its own self-interest. I think that some elaboration of these complexities can provide a better understanding of the seemingly schizophrenic relationship.
As far as the “aid” America gives Israel, it is not in the form of simple handouts. It is mostly as a series of credits that are spent in America on weapons and armament and which are then shipped to Israel. In other words, this “aid” is spent inside America, providing jobs, profits and taxes within the American economy.
What America gets in return is an Israel that is the only stable democracy in the Middle East and is America’s best ally there. It provides America with a forward outpost for its armed forces in the region, safe ports for its navy and safe airports for its air force. Israel supplies extremely invaluable intelligence on its neighbors that America would not be able to get on its own and valuable mutual weapons developments like the Iron Dome. Former U.S. Secretary of State General Alexander Haig once described Israel as “the largest American aircraft carrier in the world that cannot be sunk.” An aircraft carrier task force along with its auxiliary ships costs America several billions of dollars a year.
The above views are on the positive side. However, they also carry with it some conditions which can be sources of friction. For example, along with its support for Israel, America sometimes asks for, or even demands a say in how it conducts its affairs. It can be in internal political or diplomatic arenas where America sometimes meddles in Israeli affairs, or in external military matters where America sometimes tries to influence Israel’s military conduct. In the past some of these had become major sources of friction. For example, during the Six-Day War, Israel sank the American spy ship USS Liberty, which it felt was spying on it. During the Yom Kippur War, when Israel desperately required armament and ammunition resupply, Henry Kissinger delayed, saying, “Let them bleed” first.
This brings us to the current Gaza War. On the one hand, America is significantly helping Israel’s war effort, but at the same time is trying to pressure Israel on issues like a ceasefire, the two-state solution, civilian casualties and retaliatory strikes. Even the same action can have conflicting purposes. For example, American deployment of an extra carrier group to the Mediterranean Sea can assist Israel in its missile defense while at the same time spying on its overall war conduct and possibly even deterring a major Israeli strike against Iran or Hezbollah, which America feels could expand the war.
In sum, the Israeli-United States relationship is very complex, being both mutually beneficial but also capable of causing areas of friction.
