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  • Why does the US support Israel? It’s a simple question, but simply stating it as a question

  • can elicit defensive or hostile reactions. Supporters of Israel find the question itself

  • offensive

  • because they see Israel as a democratic nation with a right to their own land and freedoms.

  • So, why wouldn’t the US support them? Supporters of Palestine find the question offensive

  • too, because they see Israel’s current policies as oppressive and an endangerment to both

  • Palestinians and their land. So, why would the US support them? Objectively, both questions

  • are valid, and we can’t know exactly why US leadership holds their stance on Israel,

  • but we

  • can explain how the US began sending billions of dollars in aid annually to Israel, and

  • why that

  • policy still stands.

  • First off, the US didn’t always support Israel. They sent some humanitarian aid right

  • after World War Two, but that wasn’t seen as preferential treatment, nor was it particularly

  • uncommon. This is important to note, because in the aftermath of World War Two, clear

  • alliances weren’t yet established, and the US wanted to be perceived by the Middle East

  • as fair

  • and impartial. A strategy that was working...until the generally anti-western Arab Nationalist

  • Movement gained momentum, and the USSR started courting Arab nations. This was during the

  • Cold War, a time period in which the USSR and the US were actively competing for ideological

  • influence over almost every region on Earth. To remain relevant in the Middle East, the

  • US set

  • out to establish closer ties with Israel, because Israel was already a democracy with

  • strong

  • anti-communist leanings. The US wanted to establish Israel as a bulwark against communist

  • influence and a partner for their intelligence and military operations. As such, it was in

  • the

  • United State’s best interest to make Israel as strong and stable as possible.

  • Since then, the threat has changed but not the arrangement. The US still supports a strong

  • and stable Israel, but the country is no longer a bulwark against the spread of communism.

  • It is

  • now seen as a bulwark against the spread of Muslim Extremist Ideals, like those shared

  • by Al

  • Qaeda and ISIS. Which Israel does do, but that is still not the reason for continued

  • attention to

  • Israel. The real reason is popular support.

  • Initially, foreign aid to Israel was seen as anti-communist, a hugely popular idea among

  • Americans. Now foreign aid to Israel is largely seen as protection for Israel from hostile

  • neighbors and the Muslim world in general. After 9/11, around 55% of all Americans supported

  • Israel, whereas only 15% supported Palestine, a trend that continues. According to a recent

  • gallup poll, 62% of Americans supported Israel in their recent conflict with Palestine, while

  • only

  • 18% supported Palestine. Anti-muslim sentiment did flare in the US after 9/11 and is potentially

  • on the rise again due to the current war with ISIS. It is likely that some of that support

  • comes out

  • of fear and a poor understanding of the Muslim world. This is the political climate that

  • makes it

  • convenient for Politicians to support Israel. But even that isn’t the whole story.

  • The United States government is slow to change, and significantly influenced by the religious

  • right. A movement that tends to stand staunchly behind the status quo and is more sympathetic

  • to Israel than the public at large. So even if popular support did shift closer to Palestine,

  • inertia

  • alone could keep the US allied with Israel for some time.

  • If you’d like to learn more about the middle east and what is happening there please check

  • out our video on Syria and the emerging refugee crises it is causing in the area. (sound up).

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Why does the US support Israel? It’s a simple question, but simply stating it as a question

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美國為什麼愛以色列? (Why Does The U.S. Love Israel?)

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    Jack 發佈於 2021 年 01 月 14 日
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