# What is this U.S. - Israel thing? Why are they so important? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 25, 2019, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-u-s-israel-thing-why-are-they-so-important/831506 "2019-03-25T15:40:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![blood63](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@blood63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blood63)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2019, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-u-s-israel-thing-why-are-they-so-important/831506/1 "2019-03-25T15:40:12Z")
It seems to me that to get elected president in the U.S. you need to be a strong supporter of the state of Israel. Are there a lot of Jewish voters in the U.S.? Does it really make that much difference? Is American support for Israel more militarily strategic? Or more anti-Islam? It seems that with over 200 countries in the world, the pretty small country of Israel gets a disproportionate amount of attention. Why? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2019, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-u-s-israel-thing-why-are-they-so-important/831506/2 "2019-03-25T15:42:35Z")
How many democracies are there in the middle east? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2019, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-u-s-israel-thing-why-are-they-so-important/831506/3 "2019-03-25T15:44:34Z")
A lot of it has to do with religion; Christian support for Israel, either on the mandate of supporting God’s chosen nation/people and/or hopes that it will bring about the End Times. And yes, there is the democracy factor. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2019, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-u-s-israel-thing-why-are-they-so-important/831506/4 "2019-03-25T15:45:46Z")
It may sound a bit odd, but it’s not just Jews , a lot of evangelicals in the US are big supporters of Israel . ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2019, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-u-s-israel-thing-why-are-they-so-important/831506/5 "2019-03-25T15:46:48Z")
> [@blood63](#): > > It seems to me that to get elected president in the U.S. you need to be a strong supporter of the state of Israel. Are there a lot of Jewish voters in the U.S.? Does it really make that much difference? > Is American support for Israel more militarily strategic? Or more anti-Islam? > It seems that with over 200 countries in the world, the pretty small country of Israel gets a disproportionate amount of attention. > Why? There aren’t “over 200” countries in the world. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2019, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-u-s-israel-thing-why-are-they-so-important/831506/6 "2019-03-25T15:47:55Z")
> [@blood63](#): > > It seems to me that to get elected president in the U.S. you need to be a strong supporter of the state of Israel. Are there a lot of Jewish voters in the U.S.? Does it really make that much difference? > Is American support for Israel more militarily strategic? Or more anti-Islam? > It seems that with over 200 countries in the world, the pretty small country of Israel gets a disproportionate amount of attention. > Why? Why does it seem to you that to be elected you need to be ‘a strong supporter of the state of Israel’? What is your evidence for that? Was Obama considered ‘a strong supporter of the state of Israel’? Certainly Israel is an ally in the region, so it’s militarily and politically strategic because of that, though obviously that has downsides as well, as several countries in the region (and more importantly many people from the region) don’t particularly like Israel and are critical of the US’s relationship to them. Again, what is your evidence that they get ‘a disproportionate amount of attention’ from the US or from our Presidential candidates, which I presume is what you meant since that’s what your thread is about. The US doesn’t give them a disproportionate amount of foreign aide, for instance…IIRC, we give about the same the Egypt and more to other countries. We don’t sell an unusual amount of, say, military equipment to Israel either…mostly because they have their own industrial military complex. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2019, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-u-s-israel-thing-why-are-they-so-important/831506/7 "2019-03-25T15:51:52Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > There aren’t “over 200” countries in the world. Depends on your definition. There are over 200 UN members. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2019, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-u-s-israel-thing-why-are-they-so-important/831506/8 "2019-03-25T15:56:56Z")
> [@blood63](#): > > It seems to me that to get elected president in the U.S. you need to be a strong supporter of the state of Israel. Are there a lot of Jewish voters in the U.S.? Does it really make that much difference? … Aside from Israel itself, the US is the only country that has what I’d call a “significant” Jewish population ([source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_population_by_country#Table)). That being said, it’s not so many that they themselves have a huge cache of votes for politicians to go after, and they’re consistently strongly Dem. > [@blood63](#): > > … Is American support for Israel more militarily strategic? Or more anti-Islam? … My personal impression is that that American support for Israel preceded any widespread animosity towards Islam. I’m not sure I’d call it “militarily strategic” either. More like “cultural”. > [@blood63](#): > > … It seems that with over 200 countries in the world, the pretty small country of Israel gets a disproportionate amount of attention. > Why? Well, it depends on the attention you’re talking about. The US has a “large” Jewish population, which probably contributes to the outsized attention from us. They also seem to get a lot of attention from the UN, for “other” reasons. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2019, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-u-s-israel-thing-why-are-they-so-important/831506/9 "2019-03-25T15:58:42Z")
Americans fell in love with Israel after the 6 Day War because they kicked ass and took names and that’s the way we saw our country at the time. Over time Israel’s enemies kept making themselves the bad guys with terrorism, warfare, and the oil economy. In the mean time Israel has steadily been a strong economic and military ally. Religion comes up in US and Israeli politics, but there are plenty of other motivations for a strong relationship betwixt us and them. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2019, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-u-s-israel-thing-why-are-they-so-important/831506/10 "2019-03-25T16:06:50Z")
> [@blood63](#): > > Are there a lot of Jewish voters in the U.S.? There aren’t many, and even among those who are, many are secular Jews who don’t care much for Israel. The bulk of American support for Israel stems from American Christians, and especially, American evangelicals. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2019, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-u-s-israel-thing-why-are-they-so-important/831506/11 "2019-03-25T16:13:56Z")
Interesting to note that Israel has about 7 million Jews and there are about 6 million Jews in the US. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2019, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-u-s-israel-thing-why-are-they-so-important/831506/12 "2019-03-25T16:14:07Z")
Mostly it’s the religious right who think it’s necessary for Jews to be in Israel for the End Times to occur. Personally, I think their love for the Jewish people is a little hypocritical if they also believe that Jews are denied entry into heaven due to not accepting Jesus. But there are enough right wingers who are convinced that the Jews HAVE to live in Israel that they have made this one of the most important parts of their foreign policy doctrine and many are cocksure that Israel is incapable of doing wrong, even when led by a fathead like Bibi. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2019, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-u-s-israel-thing-why-are-they-so-important/831506/13 "2019-03-25T16:18:58Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > The US has a “large” Jewish population, which probably contributes to the outsized attention from us. They also seem to get a lot of attention from the UN, for “other” reasons. “other”? ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2019, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-u-s-israel-thing-why-are-they-so-important/831506/14 "2019-03-25T16:27:21Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > “other”? IMHO a lot of the Israeli focus / obsession at the UN is driven by antisemitism. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2019, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-u-s-israel-thing-why-are-they-so-important/831506/15 "2019-03-25T16:40:43Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Depends on your definition. There are over 200 UN members. 193, plus two non-members, the Holy See and Palestine. > **[Member states of the United Nations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_states_of_the_United_Nations)** > > The member states of the United Nations comprise 193 sovereign states. The United Nations (UN) is the world's largest intergovernmental organization. All members have equal representation in the UN General Assembly. > The Charter of the United Nations defines the rules for admission of member states. Membership is open to all peace-loving states which accept certain terms of the charter and are able to carry them out. New members must be recommended by the United Nations Security Council. In ... ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2019, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-u-s-israel-thing-why-are-they-so-important/831506/16 "2019-03-25T16:48:06Z")
Lots of reasons. Lots of Jews in the US so politicians want their support. Jews are also over represented among those who give large amounts of money to political campaigns. Evangelicals like Israel because the Bible is full of blessings for people who are good to Israel and Jews. Strategically they have been are allies since the Cold War and it makes no sense to not support your allies. Culturally Israel is a prosperous democracy in a area of the world filled with murderous tyrants. When people see one side blowing up buses and teaching children to throw rocks at soldiers, it is easy for most americans to pick a side. Economically they are a good trading partner and buy alot of our weaponry. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2019, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-u-s-israel-thing-why-are-they-so-important/831506/17 "2019-03-25T16:48:17Z")
And a lot of the American support for Israel is also driven by antisemitism. There’s a large minority of Americans who think Isreal’s purpose for existence is to get nuked during Armageddon, and so it has to continue to exist until the proper time. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2019, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-u-s-israel-thing-why-are-they-so-important/831506/18 "2019-03-25T16:53:41Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And a lot of the American support for Israel is also driven by antisemitism. There’s a large minority of Americans who think Isreal’s purpose for existence is to get nuked during Armageddon, and so it has to continue to exist until the proper time. Well, AIUI, eventually, according to Scriptural eschatology, the whole \*planet \*will be destroyed. So Israel being “nuked” or not is irrelevant given that the entire planet is going to be gone. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2019, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-u-s-israel-thing-why-are-they-so-important/831506/19 "2019-03-25T16:56:17Z")
Re. American support of Israel- whom exactly is America supporting? There are around 7 parties in the current governing coalition and 16-17 parties in parliament, and elections are coming right up! ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2019, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-u-s-israel-thing-why-are-they-so-important/831506/20 "2019-03-25T16:56:22Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Well, AIUI, eventually, according to Scriptural eschatology, the whole \*planet \*will be destroyed. So Israel being “nuked” or not is irrelevant given that the entire planet is going to be gone. Pretty much was going to reply with the same. It’s kind of silly to say this is ‘antisemitism’ based, since essentially it’s the signal for everyone to die and only the elect/select or whatever get to go home to Jesus. The rest of us (Jews included, to be sure) are headed down town… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-u-s-israel-thing-why-are-they-so-important/831506.md?page=2)