Thesis Statement

While the common conception of the U.S-Israel relationship is that the United States supports Israel because of shared commitment to democracy and moral values, Israel and the United States actually have a symbiotic relationship in which each county benefits from the other strategically, financially, economically, and technologically.

The History

American support for the Jewish state has been in existence since the birth of America.

- Jon Adams wrote a letter to Thomas Jefferson, stating “I will insist that the Hebrews have done more to civilize man than any other nation”

- President Lincoln talked about the return of Jews to Palestine being “noble dream…one shared by many Americans”

In 1919, President Wilson expressed his support for the Balfour Declaration, leading his successors to continue similar support for Zionists

- Congressional resolutions of 1922 and 1944 unanimously passes endorsement of the Balfour Declaration, 85% of population at the time adopted resolutions favoring creation of a Jewish state in Palestine, and Governors of 37 states, 54 United States senators, and 250 congressmen signed petitions regarding this issue

1948: America was the first country to grant de facto recognition to the new Jewish state (11 minutes after proclamation)

Conflicts That Arose

- After WWII American policy toward a Jewish State became more active - The country started pressuring Great Britain to allow refugees into Palestine

- The Truman administration faced serious conflict during the Cold War:

- Alienating the Arab States could create economic turmoil in

addition to the opportunity for Soviet influence abroad

- Truman's decision to recognize the State of Israel faced serious

opposition in his administration, but he set a precedent for future

presidents regarding America's relationship with Israel

*American opinion was not always in favor of a Jewish State. Even before the rise of Anti-semitism, many Americans considered the alliance with Israel to be nothing but a nuisance

- Kennedy's administration's high involvement in the Middle East

helped strengthen Pro-Israel sentiment

The Special Nature of the Relationship Today

Whether it's phone calls between senior defense officials at the Pentagon and their counterparts in Tel Aviv, instant communication between American and Israeli commanders on duty, or joint training exercises between troops from both countries, not a day goes by without critical American-Israeli engagement.

Also, for more then 6 decades, the reality of life in Israel has forced it to defend itself against constant terrorist threats. This is why Israel has become leader in designing techniques and technologies in homeland security and counter-terrorism. Israel is working with the United States to develop technologies and equipment aimed at thwarting terrorism and safeguarding citizens from both nations.

"The Israelis, of course, remain a vital ally and a cornerstone of our regional security commitments."

- Admiral Mike Mullen,Chairman of the joint chief of staff

"It's a transfer of information. They tell us how to conduct operations and we tell them how we run our operations."

-Training officer, Chemical/Biological Incident Response Force

"Our relationship with Israel is a critical one that is stronger then ever. We greatly value this cooperation."

- General Craig Mckinily

"We went to the country that's been dealing with these issues for the past 30 years. We were there to learn from them."

- Boston Police Commissioner

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Since the creations of the Jewish State, the U.S. - Israel Relationship has been built on two primary components:

1) strategic cooperation

- Israel's willingness and ability to defend western interests

- sharing intelligence on Soviet weapons

- cooperation on anti-terrorism, ballistic missile defense, and anti-proliferation

- work to defeat spread of radical Islamist ideology, counter-fitting, and

cyberwarfare

2) shared values

- democratic countries

- Judeo-Christian heritage

- common values of morality, social Justice, and universal peace that are

embedded in heritage

- many similarities between the American Bill of Rights and Israel’s Basic Law

on Human Dignity and Liberty

Today, many Americans are aware of the immense contribution that America gives to Israel, but few really understand what Israel does for America:

- Israel had provided intelligence on the Soviets and other nations, help combat global terrorism, and have a high tech economy that contributes to all western nations.

The shared values between America and Israel cause them to be reliable allies, and with very few other countries in the world does America share the same high level of strategic cooperation.

The two countries have combined military planning and exercise, and they share intelligence and technological development; this strong cooperation has cause a deterrent among other nations in the Middle East who seek to harm either country

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

America's Partner: Israel

• Strategy
• High Level meetings
• Intelligence sharing
• medical cooperation
• misslie defense
• digital defense
• military exchanges
• aviation security
• police cooperation
• emergency management
• port security
• border security
• cyber defense
• bomb detection
• science and technology

Special example:

suicide attacks

since operation Iraqi Freedom which began in 2003, there have been more then 1,700 suicide attacks targeting American and allied forces as well as civilians.

-Israeli Innovation--> Israel developed the Coral-SD = a portable device that detects explosives and other weapons concealed under the clothing of an enemy from far distance

The Opposition:

Bias in the media

· Tom Friedman, the New York Times columnist, constantly crosses the line in the way he displays his lack of support for Israel and resentment towards the pro-Israel lobby. This opinion writer shows that there does exist negative bias in the media today in America regarding Israel

He wrote in a recent column that, "I sure hope that Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, understands that the standing ovation he got in Congress this year was not for his politics. That ovation was bought and paid for by the Israel lobby."

Opposition on campus and in the nation

· Israel Apartheid week

· Students for Justice in Palestine

· We should not focus on foreign spending in an economic crisis...

· Detractors of relationship insinuate that Israel seeks to get America to fight its wars for it. This is untrue: Israel has always insisted on defending itself by itself. If Israel today seeks "defensible borders," this is because it wants to deploy the Israel Defense Forces and not the U.S. Army.

Lobbying: How You Can Help

The important role that congress can play:

Congress has been the bedrock of support for the U.S Israel Relationship. By supporting aid to Israel, congress can help ensure that Israel maintains its qualitative military edge while providing Israel with the backing it needs to peruse peace. Congress can continue to provide an element of solidity and consistency in the U.S Israel relationship by helping guarantee that the relationship transcends occasional disagreements that might arise. Also, Congress can help thwart efforts around the globe to delegitimize Israel. Lobbying organizations such as AIPAC ensure that congress continues to support Israel.

The Importance of the Aid that is allocated by congress each year:

Israel spends about eight percent of its GDP on defense-significantly more then the U.S spends.

Israel's military must be flexible enough to fight three completely different kinds of threats:

-Deterring powerful militaries

-Fighting terrorism in civilian areas

-Portable missile bombardment

Such a high level of military reediness is expensive and U.S security assistance is critical in helping Israel meet these threats

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hot Topics for lobbyists right now

· upping sanctions on Iran to prevent their nuclear power program

· Back foreign assistance in Israel

· Opposing palestinian statehood in the United Nations