Thread: What does the USA get from it's relationship with Israel?

Originally Posted by Bluesman

Did I miss somebody pointing out the immense value of the INTELLIGENCE EXCHANGES?

I was waiting for someone to mention this.

Outside the British Commonwealth, the relationship between the US and Israel is as close as it comes to the "special relationship" with the English services. I have a former spook at my school who does nothing but praise the Israelis and he claims thousands of American lives have been saved through the intel we get from them.

Originally Posted by Bigfella

Zara,

I think you need to check your facts. There are only about 6 million jews in the US. Close to 130 million people voted in the 2008 election. I don't know how many of the 6 million vote, but lets go crazy & say 5 million (I'm betting it is closer to 4). That is somewhere around 4% of the vote. Granted, jews are concentrated in some key states (NY, Florida, Pennsylvania, California, Illinois), but be careful not to lapse into overstating things.

Without a set of facts to back it up I would suspect a higher educational & socioeconomic level than the average, but I would be very careful about generalizations about 'rich'. The pro-Israel lobby is extremely influential in its own area, but its issue of choice & tendency to back the Israeli right is actually out of step with the US Jewish community.

The attachment to the Democratic Party goes back over a century to an influx of 'liberal' & left wing jews from E.Europe. Thus the postwar period has seen support for the Dems range from the mid-60% range to 90% soon after the war. Indeed, at one time the term 'East Coast Liberal' sometimes functioned as code for 'jew' in less enlightened circles.

Again, without proof, I suspect that Jews are disproportionately active in public life in America. If you are searching for the reason that America is attached to Israel, however, electoral politics will only give you a part of the puzzle.

I think the point made in books like the Israeli Lobby and American Foreign Policy (which I own but have not read) is that Israel has a disproportionate impact on policy, just as the Cubans in South Florida do. In this light, the question what we "get" for supporting Israel seems valid to me, as we all know or can guess what we give up -- credibility, respect and objectivity (just to name a few) in the eyes of other nations. A huge part of why rank and file Muslims hate the US -- or suspect its motives -- is down to the seemingly blind support we give Israel (as well as the arms we send them). I think it would be difficult for the political establishment to effectively assess the current relationship, and if necessary, redefine it, given the power and prestige of the Israeli lobby and the fellow-travelers in the evangelical Christian community it can call on, if need be.