How israel benefits america

The two governments work together to develop sophisticated military technology, such as the David's Sling counter-rocket and Arrow missile defense systems, which may soon be ready for export to other U.

Israel has also emerged as an important niche defense supplier to the U. Israel's military research and development complex has pioneered many cutting-edge technologies that are transforming the face of modern war, including cyberweapons, unmanned vehicles such as land robots and aerial drones , sensors and electronic warfare systems, and advanced defenses for military vehicles.

In part because of the long-standing political and security relationship between the United States and Israel, most Israelis know the United States and harbor positive feelings toward it. Israeli companies looking for a global market for their products have often viewed their American counterparts as partners of choice. So today, Israeli civilian technological innovations are helping the United States maintain its economic competitiveness, promote sustainable development, and address a range of non-military security challenges.

Dozens of leading U. And although Israelis make up just three percent of the population of the Middle East, in Israel was the destination of 25 percent of all U. At Intel's research and development centers in Israel, engineers have designed many of the company's most successful microprocessors, accounting for some 40 percent of the firm's revenues last year. If you've made a secure financial transaction on the Internet, sent an instant message, or bought something using PayPal, you can thank Israeli IT researchers.

Israeli innovators have also come up with novel solutions to the water and food security challenges posed by population growth, climate change, and economic development. By necessity, given the geography of the Middle East, Israel is a world leader in water conservation and management and high-tech agriculture. Israel recycles more than eighty percent of its wastewater -- the highest level in the world -- and has pioneered widely used techniques of conserving or purifying water, including drip irrigation and reverse osmosis desalination.

And a number of Israeli companies are leaders in the development of renewable energy sources; BrightSource Industries, for example, is building a solar power plant in California using Israeli technology that will double the amount of solar thermal electricity produced in America.

These innovations, bolstered by the substantial American investment in Israel, contribute to long-term U. To be sure, the alliance with Israel has not been without risks or costs for Washington. We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from.

To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. Everyone knows the United States is Israel's best friend. The US gives Israel billions of dollars in aid annually , consistently blocks UN Security Council resolutions condemning Israel, and backs its military offensives publicly. But why? What's the thinking behind America going above-and-beyond for Israel? The short version: it's complicated. Here's a guide to the different factors shaping America's Israel policy — and how they relate to each other.

The US wasn't always so close with Israel. For instance, when Israel along with France and Britain invaded Egypt in , the United States sided against Israel, pushing the invaders to leave. And the US for years opposed, and worked actively against, Israel's clandestine nuclear program. Even when the US did come to support Israel, it was more about cold strategic calculation than the domestic political support you see today.

The US-Israel relationship grew "by leaps and bounds" after , a ccording to Barnett, owing largely to "a changing US containment and strategic posture. This strategic justification came down with the Berlin Wall. What kept it going? The US became increasingly involved in managing disputes and problems inside the Middle East during the Cold War, and it maintained that role as the world's sole super-power in the 90s.

Stability in the Middle East continued to be a major American interest, for a number of reasons that included the global oil market, and the US took on the role as guarantor of regional stability. That meant the US saw it as strategically worthwhile to support states like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Israel, which saw themselves as benefitting from an essentially conservative US approach to Middle Eastern regional politics. The US also supported the status quo, so it supported them accordingly.

This view of Israel as a "force for stability" helps maintain US support, according to Brent Sasley, a political scientist at the University of Texas, "in the sense that Israel can stabilize what's going on in the Middle East. If there's fear of Jordan being undermined by an internal or external enemy, the United States sometimes turns to Israel to pose a threat to that threat. America's self-appointed role as manager of the Middle East also landed it the job of Israeli-Palestinian peace broker.

There's no other party that's capable, and no other party that's interested. American policymakers have seen US support for Israel as a way of showing Israel that the US is still taking its interests into account during negotiations, and thus convincing Israel that they can safely engage in peace talks. It's meant to draw the Israelis to the negotiating table, and keep them there. Together, these strategic factors explain why America's approach to Israel has been broadly consistent for at least the past three administrations.

Despite the vast disagreements between the George W. Bush—or, in some cases, are even further to the right—on the issue of Israel and Palestine. Therefore, while the perceived strategic imperative is at the root of U. These include the following:. While U. Despite these obstacles, the need to challenge U. Not only has it led to enormous suffering among the Palestinians and other Arabs, ultimately it hurts the long-term interests of both Israel and the United States, as increasingly militant and extremist elements arise out of the Arab and Islamic world in reaction.

Ultimately, there is no contradiction between support for Israel and support for Palestine, for Israeli security and Palestinian rights are not mutually exclusive but mutually dependent on each other. This is the challenge for those who take seriously such basic values as freedom, democracy, and the rule of law.

Get more news like this, directly in your inbox. Subscribe to our newsletter. Strategic Reasons for Continuing U. Support There is a broad bipartisan consensus among policymakers that Israel has advanced U. Israel has successfully prevented victories by radical nationalist movements in Lebanon and Jordan, as well as in Palestine.

Israel has kept Syria, for many years an ally of the Soviet Union, in check. It has served as a conduit for U. Israeli military advisers have assisted the Contras, the Salvadoran junta, and foreign occupation forces in Namibia and Western Sahara.

Israel has missiles capable of reaching as far as the former Soviet Union, it possesses a nuclear arsenal of hundreds of weapons, and it has cooperated with the U. These include the following: The sentimental attachment many liberals—particularly among the post-war generation in leadership positions in government and the media—have for Israel.

It also turns a deaf ear to growing cries from progressive Democrats in Congress to take a harder line with Israel over its military assault on Gaza. This latest escalation in violence has killed at least Palestinians, including 61 children, while ten Israelis have died, including two children,. From the beginning. In part because of personal ties. But there were also strategic considerations driving the decision. The Middle East, with its oil reserves and strategic waterways think the Suez Canal was a key battleground for superpower hegemonic influence.

The US was taking over from severely weakened European powers as the primary western power broker in the Middle East. That is partly rooted in the aftermath war in which Israel defeated the poorly led armies of Egypt, Syria and Jordan and occupied the rest of historical Palestine — as well as some territory from Syria and Egypt. Partly to drive a wedge between Egypt and Syria and thwart Soviet influence, the US used the aftermath of the war to lay the groundwork for a peace deal between Israel and Egypt that was eventually cemented in You bet.

Bear in mind, Israel is not exactly in need of aid. It is a high-income country with a thriving high-tech sector. Like all things foreign policy-related, public opinion, money — and the influence money buys in politics — have also played a role in US policy towards Israel and the Palestinians.