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Does Israel Need America?
Summary ... Most people believe that Israel, as a nation, will collapse without the aid of the United States. The truth, however, is quite the opposite. Israel can survive on its own without the aid of the United States or any other country. But what people, including Israel, must realize is that Israel's best ally is not America, nor potentially China, India, or Russia. It is the God of Israel, the God who directs the affairs of men — and it would do Israel well to satisfy Him first.
Ask the average Jew on the street and he'll tell you: Israel needs America in order to survive. Indeed, this view is so entrenched in the Jewish community that few dare question it. Just as a baby needs his mother and an injured person needs his crutches, it seems obvious to many that Israel needs America.
But is this widely-held view true? What would happen if, as a result of Israel's refusal to acquiesce in American demands for a Palestinian [sic] state and West Bank settlement freeze, America terminated its special relationship with Israel and cut off all monetary aid?
To be sure, this scenario is highly unlikely as America would be loath to end its friendship with the only democracy, and the most powerful country, in the Middle East. In addition to being America's sole dependable ally in the region, Israel also provides the US with vital and reliable intelligence information as well as the expertise of its advanced technology sector, among other benefits.
Supposing, however, America disregarded these concerns and "dropped" Israel — what would happen then?
Let's review the facts: America provides approximately three billion dollars to Israel annually while Israeli government revenues amount to roughly 60 billion dollars. In other words, American aid to Israel represents five percent of its revenue. That's it — just five percent [5%]. Why most Jews assume Israel would collapse with a five percent loss in revenue is beyond me.
Next fact: Believe it or not, Israel actually survived its first 25 years of independence and won its two greatest wars — the War of Independence and [the] Six-Day War — without America's help. Israel only started receiving significant American funding after the [1973] Yom Kippur War. If a fledgling Israel survived from 1948-1973 without American aid, it can surely do so in 2009 with a military that ranks among the world's best.
Next fact: Contrary to what some people assume, countries can and do survive without American aid, or even friendship. Iran carries on. So does North Korea. It's hard to imagine that the Jewish state — home to a people that has won 25 percent of all Nobel Prizes ever awarded — could not survive without America's assistance.
Even if one argues that Israel requires powerful allies in these dangerous times, America is not the only formidable global player. China is an emerging military world power, India contains one of the fastest growing economies, and Russia still retains some of its Cold War prowess.
Alliances with China, India, and Russia would arguably be just as advantageous, if not more so, to Israel's strategic needs as its alliance with America. (Incidentally, the very possibility of Israeli cooperation with countries like China and Russia would worry America sufficiently enough to cause it to think twice before cutting its ties with Israel.)
To be sure, China and Russia are not the "nicest" or most enlightened countries, but allies needn't be best friends; history records more than one instance where strange bedfellows found common cause.
For example, in 1948, as Israel fought for its survival, the state that came to its aid and helped it prevail over attacking Arab armies was the Soviet Union under the leadership of that great humanitarian Joseph Stalin. Yes, for reasons of his own, Stalin allowed Israel to purchase vital weaponry from Czechoslovakia, which was a Soviet satellite state. Many years later Yitzhak Rabin said, "Without the arms from Czechoslovakia it is very doubtful whether we would have been able to conduct the war."
Last fact: As anyone who takes the Bible seriously knows, the fates of peoples and countries do not ultimately rest on political realities alone. Rather they rest on God Himself, who rewards countries that do his will and punishes those that don't. Countries may place much stock in alliances, but God has a master plan of His own and it behooves people — especially the nation of Israel — to keep this basic religious concept in mind.
I love America. I love American ideals, I love American history. But if America demands that Israel relinquish biblical territory, refrain from responding to the murder of its citizens, or cease building in the West Bank, Israel's reply should be "No." And if aid is thereby cut off (unlikely but possible), so be it. Protecting its people and borders is Israel's moral obligation. Maintaining close relations with America is not.
Israel will not collapse without America as an ally. It can survive on its own or form alliances with other countries. But at the end of the day people must realize Israel's best ally is not America, nor potentially China, India, or Russia. It is the God of Israel, the God who directs the affairs of men — and it would do Israel well to satisfy Him first.
[ Published: October 21, 2009 ]
» Click to Leave a Comment ...
Very interesting article. I definitely agree that in some respects, Israel would be liberated by ending the close relationship with America. America - at least now with Obama in charge - is demanding that Israel makes compromises that are effectively suicidal for the Jewish state.
I've read comments from several people stating that India might well prove a good ally of Israel. As you mention, China is another option. Anything that reduces Israel's reliance on America would be good.
As for the US aid to Israel - Israel has to then spend 75% of it on US technologies/products. No other country which gets US aid has this condition attached.
Sever Plocker wrote a great commentary over on YNET: http://emetnews.org/r/4n
You dont see the whole picture. The 3 billion dollars that America grants Israel anually is, for my view, just the tip of the iceberg. Much more important than that is the American veto in the UN Security Council. If you count down all the UN anti-Israel resolutions in the past few years you will come to the conclusion that without the American veto Israel today would probably be under tough sanctions. What do you think stop the Palestinians from declaring thier independence one sidedly? What do you think stops all the accusations of Israel commiting war crimes(that have been supported by both Russia and China btw) to reach the vote on the Security Council? The American veto has never let down Israel in all the resolutions that were against it(and trust me there were enough). Beside this glodmine(aka American veto), I am sure that there are much more important things that the alliance with the U.S benefiet Israel(and the U.S itself) that you and I dont know. Among them is probably high intellegence sharing. I do believe that Israel is one of the countries that the U.S sharing its intellegnce with the most. One of the reason is that they are both fighting the same enemy called Radical Islam more than any other countries in the world, and they both posses the highest knowledge about it.
p.s
It is true that Israel survived from 1948 to 1973 without America, but there was another powerful country that Israel relied on, France. France built the Israel nuclear reactor in Dimona, and France intensively supllied Israel with military equipment(Including the France Mirage aircraft that formed the entire Israeli air force in those days).
I believe that Israel would survive just nicely even if the UN placed sanctions against it. Besides, it is Yahweh wbleepedkeeps Israel, not any other nation. In fact, the US worked with Britain in trying to keep the Jews out of pre-state Palestine. (I know, the US was the first to recognize Israel, but that was for political reasons only.) As for the Security Council, what the US does there is not because of its "friendship;" rather, it's done for the most part in order to keep Israel "on its side," as far as intelligence goes. There are many resolutions on which the US abstained over the years to the harm of Israel.
Actually, as far as the US sharing intelligence with Israel, that's not really true. The US withholds quite a bit of intelligence from Israel, much of it which the US is required to turn over to Israel in accordance with signed agreements (e.g., Jonathan Pollard showed how the US was withholding intelligence that was required to be turned over to Israel.) In addition. it was Israel that suppled the US with most of its intelligence regarding Russia during the Cold War. Israel has also supplied most of the intelligence to the US regarding the Middle East. Now that the US has set-up itself in the Middle East, and has made friends with terrorists such as the PLO and Fatah, it feels it doesn't need Israel.
By the way, the US and Israel are really fighting different enemies. Israel fights terrorism, plain and simple, except when it's pressured by the US and other nations to make "piece" agreements with them. The US only does it when its a threat to them. A good example is the US' training and funding of the Fatah terrorist organization (of which one of its sub-groups, the al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, is a US-designated foreign terrorist organization). The US also provides funding for the PLO (which has still never changed its charter), the same organization that has murdered many US citizens and hijacked planes back in the 70s.
I can assure you that Israel never "relied" on France; it merely dealt with it as it does today with many nations around the world, purchasing goods from it. By the way, the reason many nations like to sell military equipment to Israel is because Israel usually ends up making the equipment much better than it was, and they give the info back to the nation they purchased it from without charging for it the upgrades. The IDF is considered one of the most formidable, powerful armies in the entire world and it did that, i.e., the creation and training, all by itself. The US, in fact, sends many of its elite forces to train with the IDF for advanced training in desert warfare. Israel fought -- and won -- all of its wars by itself, even though many nations -- the US included -- attempted to impede its efforts.
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