US Foreign Policy and Israel

Vyshakh. P. Nair
II EPH
1534013
IsraelUnited States relations are a very important factor in
the United States government's overall policy in the Middle
East, and Congress has placed considerable importance on
the maintenance of a close and supportive relationship.

The main expression of Congressional support for Israel has been foreign aid. Since 1985, The United States
has invested Billions of Dollars in grants annually, with Israel being the largest recipient of aid since WWII.

Israel's founding was preceded by more than 50 years of efforts to establish a sovereign state as a homeland for
the Jewish people. It began with the Zionist Organization, whose goal was to establish a sovereign Jewish
Homeland in the Canaan region which was occupied by the Ottoman Empire. The1917 Balfour Declaration
proclaimed the British Government's support for the creation of Palestine, a national home for the Jewish
people. Following the end of WW1, the League of Nations entrusted Great Britain with the Mandate for
Palestine. Immediately after the end of British mandate on May 14, 1948, the State of Israel was declared, and
the U.S. recognized Israel that same day. Arabs in the Mandatory and neighboring Arab states rejected a 1947
UN partition plan that would have divided the Mandatory into separate Jewish and Arab states, and the area has
seen periods of invasions and armed conflict since 1948.

The Bilateral economic relations of Israel and the United States is a strong one since 1985. The United
States is Israel's largest single trading partner. The top five U.S. exports to Israel are: diamonds, machinery,
agricultural products, aircraft, and optic and medical instruments. The top five U.S. imports from Israel are:
diamonds, pharmaceutical products, machinery, optic and medical instruments, and agricultural products. U.S.

direct investment in Israel is primarily in the manufacturing sector, and vice versa. The United States and Israel
have had a free trade agreement since 1985, serving as the foundation for expanding trade and investment
between the two countries by reducing barriers and promoting regulatory transparency. To facilitate economic
cooperation, the two countries convene a Joint Economic Development Group each year to discuss economic
conditions in both countries and possible economic reforms for the coming year.
Since the 1970s, Israel has been one of the top recipients of US foreign aid. In the past, a portion was
dedicated to economic assistance, but all economic aid to Israel ended in 2007 due to Israel's growing economy.
However, currently, Israel receives $3 billion annually in US assistance through Foreign Military Financing and
74% of those funds must be sent on military equipment and training. According to Kenneth M. Pollack, in his
book Unthinkable: Iran, The Bomb and American Strategy, "United States military aid to Israel is seen by
many as a subsidy for U.S. industries". Though, the concept of foreign military funding received heavy critique
by Republican Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, where he states that aid hampers Israel's ability to make its own
decisions as it sees fit.
The US and Israel are also engaged in extensive strategic, political and military cooperation. This cooperation
is broad and includes American aid, intelligence sharing, and joint military exercises. American military aid to
Israel comes in different forms, including grants, special project allocations, and loans. The signing of the
Memorandum of Understanding between the two governments in order to address the security threats in the
Middle East, co operation in defense trade and maintenance facilities.
One facet of the USIsrael strategic relationship is the joint development of the Arrow Anti-Ballistic Missile
Program, designed to intercept and destroy ballistic missiles. This development is funded by both Israel and the
United States. The Arrow has also provided the US with the research and experience necessary to develop
additional weapons systems. President Clinton offered $100 million in aid for Israel's anti-terror activities,
another $200 million for Arrow anti-missile deployment, and about $50 million for an anti-missile laser
weapon. Also, at the federal, state and local levels there is close IsraeliAmerican cooperation on homeland
security. In this context, there are many areas of partnership, including preparedness and protection of travel
and trade. American and Israeli law enforcement officers and Homeland Security officials regularly meet in
both countries to study counter-terrorism techniques and new ideas regarding intelligence gathering and threat
prevention. The United States maintains six war reserve stocks inside Israel, where its military equipment may
be used by Israel in case of national crisis, however, it is owned by America. According to the American
military journalist and commentator William Arkin in his book Code Names, The US has prepositioned in at
least six sites in Israel, munitions, vehicles, and military equipment, and even a 500-bed hospital, for use by US
Marines, Special Forces, and Air Force fighter and bomber aircraft in a wartime contingency in the Middle
East. According to Arkin, site 51 holds ammunition and equipment in underground depots. Site 53 is munitions

storage and war reserve vehicles at Israeli Air Force bases, site 54 is an emergency military hospital near Tel
Aviv. The Dimona Radar Facility is an American radar facility in the Negev desert of Israel, located near
Dimona. The facility has two 400-foot radar towers designed to track ballistic missiles through space and
provide ground-based missiles with the targeting data needed to stop them. The facility is owned and operated
by the US military, and provides only second-hand intelligence to Israel.
The United States and Israel have also cooperated on intelligence matters ever since the 1950s. Throughout the
Cold War, Israel provided the US with information on Soviet-built weapons systems captured from the Arabs.
Israel also provides the US with much of its Middle Eastern human intelligence. The CIA became more reliant
on Israeli intelligence following the Iranian Revolution and the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing. Despite intense
intelligence cooperation, both countries have been heavily engaged in undercover operations against one
another. The United States has mainly tried to penetrate Israel's political, military and intelligence circles and
gather information on Israel's alleged nuclear and non-conventional capabilities, while Israel has also penetrated
the US government, and has engaged in industrial espionage in the United States in an attempt to boost its
military and apparent nuclear capabilities. For instance, Jonathan Pollard, a civilian analyst for US Naval
Intelligence was arrested in 1985 and charged with passing on highly classified documents to Israeli agents. He
pleaded guilty to conspiracy to deliver national defense information to a foreign government, and was sentenced
to life imprisonment. Israel later granted him citizenship, and has periodically requested his release.

We could notably understand the close ties of the United States and Israel till now, however, it has been
critiqued by many analysts that US- Israeli relations are highly unstable. For Instance, the mention about the
espionages against each other could be a major factor of its unstable nature if continued. Also, according to
Camille Mansours article Beyond Alliance: Israel and U.S. Foreign Policy in Foreign Affairs, she questions
the remarkable level of American support for Israel over the years and also argued that the United States has
supported Israel as part of a grand design for extending its influence into the Middle East i.e. as strategic asset
and the United States has supported Israel because of domestic political factors such as the Israeli lobby, Jewish
vote etc. Mansour also surveys the record of the past 45 years and concludes that American support for Israel is
more rooted in culture and ideology more than in anything else. However, on a personal note, I disagree to this
conclusion because, firstly, many Arab intellectuals have defended the alternative explanations of grand
conspiracy. Secondly, the mentioning of strategic asset will not hamper US Israeli ties in actuality, thus, it
can be said that it is an invaluable implication.
In conclusion, the United States needs Israel more than Israel needs the United States. Israel can assist U.S.
efforts to enhance Gulf security and to counter threats from Iran and Iraq. Strengthening Israel-Jordan security
relations are a key element of this effort. Other options the United States should investigate include basing U.S.

equipment in Israel, such as bombers. This action would send a clear, potent signal to potential adversaries that
the United States is a guarantor of the security of Israel and of the peace process in general.