Why Do We Support Israel?
I've never been able to understand the level of US support for Israel. Can anyone give me a decent reason why our government does so so unquestioningly? What possible consequence can rational criticism of the clearly flawed behaviors of a tiny country have on one of the most powerful nations on the planet?
I'm not talking about historical support, the nation's founding. That makes sense. The Holocaust was awful and a whole lot of Jewish people wanted a new place to live other than central and eastern Europe, and honestly, much of the world wasn't particularly keen on a lot of Jewish immigrants. The Zionist movement got them installed in the Middle East and thus was born modern Israel.
I know that Jewish people in the US make up a significant constituency in Florida and a few other states, and I'm also aware of a small group of religious fundamentalists who want Israel to rise again so that the end of the world can come. Beyond these groups, I can't figure out why we've hitched our train to Israel so securely. In spite of Israel's actions, we have far better relations with them than a country like France, who did nothing more than say, "Hey, I don't think it's such a good idea to go attacking Iraq." It just doesn't make sense to me.
I'll use a parallel situation as comparison. 100 years in the future, the US government has been toppled after joining the losing side of a major war. The Lenni-Lenape natives, spread across North America by past aggression from foreign governments, band together and push to be returned to their historical homeland. Through political pressure, and because nobody really wanted them around, they were granted their wish and were installed in New Jersey. Once the Lenni-Lenape nation is founded, its government (strongly supported, financially and militarily, by foreign powers) crushes the resident population, takes their possessions, and forces them into camps. If you lived in Trenton and this happened to you, can you not imagine fighting back? Moreover, if you were the foreign power that had helped create the Lenni-Lenape nation, would you continue supporting them? Following this, a series of border disputes and quick wars creates a nation despised by its neighbors (rightly or otherwise) that becomes more and more insular and dependant on foreign aid (particularly military aid.) Small groups of militants from Atlantic City begin blowing up Lenni-Lenape buses and in response, the government bulldozes neighborhoods. The problem goes on and on and on, with no clear resolution in sight. Aggression, begetting aggression, begetting aggression. Why would anyone continue to support the Lenni-Lenape without question?
I'm not talking about historical support, the nation's founding. That makes sense. The Holocaust was awful and a whole lot of Jewish people wanted a new place to live other than central and eastern Europe, and honestly, much of the world wasn't particularly keen on a lot of Jewish immigrants. The Zionist movement got them installed in the Middle East and thus was born modern Israel.
I know that Jewish people in the US make up a significant constituency in Florida and a few other states, and I'm also aware of a small group of religious fundamentalists who want Israel to rise again so that the end of the world can come. Beyond these groups, I can't figure out why we've hitched our train to Israel so securely. In spite of Israel's actions, we have far better relations with them than a country like France, who did nothing more than say, "Hey, I don't think it's such a good idea to go attacking Iraq." It just doesn't make sense to me.
I'll use a parallel situation as comparison. 100 years in the future, the US government has been toppled after joining the losing side of a major war. The Lenni-Lenape natives, spread across North America by past aggression from foreign governments, band together and push to be returned to their historical homeland. Through political pressure, and because nobody really wanted them around, they were granted their wish and were installed in New Jersey. Once the Lenni-Lenape nation is founded, its government (strongly supported, financially and militarily, by foreign powers) crushes the resident population, takes their possessions, and forces them into camps. If you lived in Trenton and this happened to you, can you not imagine fighting back? Moreover, if you were the foreign power that had helped create the Lenni-Lenape nation, would you continue supporting them? Following this, a series of border disputes and quick wars creates a nation despised by its neighbors (rightly or otherwise) that becomes more and more insular and dependant on foreign aid (particularly military aid.) Small groups of militants from Atlantic City begin blowing up Lenni-Lenape buses and in response, the government bulldozes neighborhoods. The problem goes on and on and on, with no clear resolution in sight. Aggression, begetting aggression, begetting aggression. Why would anyone continue to support the Lenni-Lenape without question?
