Public sentiment regarding US military support for Israel is highly polarized and reflects strong emotional responses. A significant portion of commenters express unwavering support for Israel, viewing military aid as crucial for its defense against perceived threats. However, an equally vocal group raises ethical concerns, arguing that prioritizing foreign aid compromises the attention and resources needed for pressing domestic issues, such as healthcare and poverty. Many comments emphasize frustration with government spending priorities that overlook American citizens' needs.

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OrganizationLucky634

As non Jew, non Israeli living in Israel - I will tell you, I think we should not rely on anybody. They will all use Israel when it’s convenient for them and abandon Israel when it’s convenient for them. Just like during the Holocaust, they will use Jews as a scapegoat whenever fitting to them. That’s why there needs to be a Jewish state, because no other state will protect the Jews.

Plus_Bison_7091

It’s important to lay out first that US support will not collapse, no matter who gets elected president or to Congress.

The US has too much invested in the partnership and the DOD as well as intelligence agencies could not allow a country like China to step in and gain access to the tech we collectively roll out in Israel or Israeli microchip manufacturing.  American tech companies in Israel, like Intel, could also not allow this collapse to happen…

But if we’re living in Lala Land, China would immediately step in as a benefactor.  As I mentioned, gaining access to American tech and tech production in Israel would be well worth the switch up off the traditional Cold War “communist”/Arab alliance (which is largely dead anyway).  China is notoriously self interested in its international alliances and Palestine brings nothing to the table except for destabilizing the position of a US ally.

HeySkeksi

spaniel_rage

China probably. China doesn't care how your government is run, as long as it benefits them.

Lefaid

China has been siding against Israel for quite some time on the Palestine issue. 

SignorWinter

Well, Israel survived its first 30 years without America. Help from the soviets through Cezchosolvakia, a bit from the French.. and they turned their back. As much as I love America, I think it's a bearhug. We need all the help we can get when an opportunity arises and get as many allies as we can, and not just relay on them. Anyways, my guess is China. Russia is still very anti semitic at its core, not sure they would like to help us.

Jordilious

As a Jewish-American, I believe it's a mutually beneficial partnership and I just hate-hate-hate the idea of America ditching Israel and Israel going off and making friends with a different country.

I'd be particularly horrified if China seized the opportunity.

China particularly could use Israel's practical, combat-experience-tested, and innovative military engineering.  Contrast experts' praise for the Israeli-made Eitan APC (Armored Personnel Carrier) against the widespread mockery of the Chinese VN-20 APC.  In the latter, engineers made bad decisions like putting heavy guns next to the unloading ramp, so troops will emerge into combat scenarios with their ears already ringing.  China hasn't seen much battlefield experience and Israeli engineers have seen far too much and would have a lot to share.

In exchange, perhaps China would help "re-educate" the Palestinians like they did to the Uyghurs.

Pushing Israel away therefore would accomplish the polar opposite of what the "America First" and pro-Palestine crowds want.

And it's so damaging to the US to lose Israel as an ally, that the military brass would never allow it.

\---

A much likelier alliance with India, as India and Israel are natural allies, bulwarks against Islamic expansion.  India has land area and population in abundance, and with them untapped manufacturing capacity; all things Israel lacks.

XhazakXhazak

If US support collapsed, you can be sure that the UK or France would be even less supportive of Israel than they are now. So you could forget about support in the west.

My guess would be Russia or China. If the US wasn't supporting Israel, those countries wouldn't have to be as hostile, because Israel would not be part of the US axis. 

Of course that means that those countries would be even more dangerous to the west than they are now, because they would be the recipient of advanced Israeli armaments and technologies. But actions have consequences.

Fenroo

There isn't an alternative that's particularly viable.

thezerech

If you want to know what Chinese and Russian support looks like see how they helped their allies and former allies such as Iran or Armenia. Also the quality of their weapons is very lacking. Plus as others stated the other ME countries have oil and a bigger market.

Correct-Effective289

India or perhaps Germany I could also see Argentina

No-Preference8168

As it has always been already in History - Iran, if it can free itself from the power of the Mahdist-Khomeinists.

oy-the-vey

Obviously China. Large, the only other superpower with UNSC veto, and totally indifferent about anything relating to human rights or concerns from NGOs.

zapreon

Not going to happen.

  
Despite what some politicians say, the American MIC and military, a beast with the budget of several trillions, absolutely love us. We're a damn good investment for them.

artificer-nine

This is a serious concern mainly because the Heritage Foundation (the think tank that creates policies for the Republican party) is calling for winding down aid to Israel by the 2040's.

[Heritage Foundation report calls to wind down military aid to Israel ](https://thehill.com/policy/international/5190943-heritage-foundation-military-aid-israel/)

&gt;The Heritage report calls for the U.S. to wind down military aid to the Jewish state by 2047 as it increases spending on “cooperative programs,” and for Israel to start buying U.S. arms starting in 2039.

The fact that this is already being talked about in the Republican party means it's serious.

The Democratic party still supports aid to Israel but that could change if the far left ever takes over the party.

The-M0untain

I believe Israel will be striving for as much military independence as possible in the future. We got lucky that Trump got elected. If it were Kamala we would've been f\*\*\*ed. At the very least the goal would be to be able to be capable of another war in Gaza and/or Lebanon without any outside support.

As for outside support -

* Germany - Probably our biggest ally in the west after the US. We're bound by history and it's virtually the only country in West Europe where you don't hear anti-Semitic  comments from left wing politicians.
* East and central Europe - These countries have been part of the USSR and are under constant threat of Russia, so they pretty much know who's on their side and who's not. Besides, the woke madness has not reached that part of Europe, and hopefully never will.
* Sunni countries - Egypt, Jordan, UAE, Saudi Arabia etc. - While on paper they support the Palestinian cause, in reality they hate Iran more than they hate Israel. In the middle east, the enemy of my enemy is not necessarily my friend, but in this specific case it is.
* China - Last resort. It's not that it supports the Israeli cause, it's just that they sell weapons to whoever pays.

TwilightX1

Russia might be interested. Would provide leverage against Turkey on many issues. But would ruin its partnership with Iran in the process... could argue Russia would benefit from Iranian regime change in that regard. Maybe that's the plan? Drive a wedge between Israel and the west, have a hand in Iranian regime change, partner with both and dictate regional events.

SoBrrrrrrr

Russia and China would both be competing for the opportunity. Israel is just too valuable to not have as a pet of a superpower.

esreveReverse

China, absolutely. 

China has been anti-Israel only as a means of weakening the U.S.' position as the dominant global power. If they had the opportunity to usurp the U.S.' allyship with Israel as a strategic outpost in the Middle-East, they would jump on it immediately. Their government is not ran by ideologues, but rather pragmatists, interested only in their own gain. Plus, Israel has a lot of advanced tech that they currently only share with the U.S., that China would love to get in on.

tnsmith90

Hopefully it doesn’t come to that, but I think China and Russia would be eager to take that relationship from a geopolitical perspective. They are both very against terrorism and would benefit greatly from Israel’s technology and counter intelligence.

Hot_Minute_9249

Dvckmann

I think Israel would be in trouble if that were to happen. Luckily, a lot of the "I don't care about Israel" sentiment in America is largely a sentiment from those not holding high office (except the brother f*cker Ilhan Omar). Certainly anti-Israel sentiment has grown in Congress, but I think every President since JFK has recognized the massive benefit the US gets from being a close ally with Israel.

Israel helps the US keep close tabs on our age old rivals in Russia and has been indispensable as an ally since 9/11.

music_crawler

Ironically probably many Middle Eastern countries

ouchwtfomg

A really hard question
I think we'll have to reinvent our strategy, maybe replace the US, with more partnerships that are less intense

Daabbo5

As much as I would hate it, China is the only one that could replace the US. While most things could be replaced (at least in bulk) by other alliances, Israel could be facing (unfairly so) sanctions that would break the country without the US. Because of antisemitism and corruption, Israel needs a backer with veto rights on sanctions, which limits the options considerably. 

Sad_Eagle8690

This is a good question and an important topic.

The way that Israel has become a political football in the US (and Bibi blowing off the White House at times), is not a good sign for long term alignment (of something that was bipartisan for decades).

The winds will change, and everyone should be thinking about what "plan B" might be.

scahones

I've wondered this, but I think it might be worth taking this question a step forward. What can Israelis (and its foreign supporters) do to position Israel so that other powerful nations would want to be its ally? 

I see a lot of discussion about China or Russia stepping in, and while I think it's possible, I think those countries would consider the possibility that aligning with Israel could have negative diplomatic repercussions. Is access to Israeli intelligence and technology worth losing another client state? Sure. Is it worth alienating a large number of wealthy, resource exporting countries? I don't think it's a given. 

So I think the government of Israel should make it a long-term project to minimizing the diplomatic blowback should a country like China start supplying Israel with weapons and diplomatic cover. That might mean continuing to expand the Abraham Accords to strengthen cooperation with the Arab world, neutralizing or at least decreasing the salience of the occupation, and deliberately strengthening relationships with other rich and/or resource-heavy countries (DRC, Zambia, Chile, etc.) so they're unlikely to distance themselves on any future Israeli ally. Figuring out effective ways to (further) nurture strategic industries like semiconductors would be helpful as well. 

On the level of civil society, deepening people-to-people partnerships would be a good long-term investment, perhaps by expanding partnerships with foreign universities and promoting tourism to Israel. Encouraging Israeli investment in those countries. 

Of course, this is all the sort of thing that governments and civil society do as a matter of course...there's nothing new or unique about it. But I think Israeli policymakers should consider this a strategic priority, specifically to address the risk of the US becoming an unreliable partner in a decade or so. And it should consider how to methodically go about strengthening diplomatic and people-to-people ties, not for its own sake, but to make sure Israel's diplomatic relationships can survive the withdrawal of US support.

rougeMBA

The security council veto will be lost forever, we'll not be able to rely on anyone for that. Regarding more mundane diplomatic and military backing I think India is the most realistic prospect.

ashTwinProjectt

Israeli can create weapons,  the USA has not always backed Israel and yet they survive, the US did not make those pagers nor Iron Beam nor Pegasus Israelis did. So if the US under trump wants to suck up to despots like Putin Israel will go without them.

woolybear14623

apenature

Probably Russia. They will jump at the opportunity to take in the US fallout. They also expressed a deep connection to israel due to the large Russian population

Browless87

Russia. Many Russian-ancestry citizens already; history of communist ideology (kibbutz system, socialist governments), and strategic alignment with Russian geopolitical goals, and close cooperation and communication during its conflict with Syria).

In fact, that lever has been pulled before.

iconocrastinaor

JewishSaddamHussein

SuperBethesda

Russia would be Israel's UN buddy almost immediately. They almost did this during the Obama admin. This would be annoying, as USA is a better ally.

c9joe

I think India they have a problem with radical Muslims

EditorPrize6818

If the US refuses to sell arms and ammo to Israel, that seems far more serious than a UNSC resolution, even a binding one. What would be a short term solution to handle that? Especially if it happens during a conflict.

ferfichkin_

Morthedubi

sumostuff

Probably China. And that's not just true for Israel, either. It's probably the case for most countries in the world at this point, including my country. Everybody is wondering... Is the US over? If it is, people will run for China.

mikiencolor

My guess? Russia, China &amp; India...

Israel has a lot to offer in term of technology which is something China, Russia &amp; India would appriciate.

Now that the Iranian influence over the middle east fades, China &amp; Russia would need a new way to influence the middle east.

Therefore being a close ally of a middle eastern country like Israel would be extremely useful for them.

Many allies of Israel already kind of play both sides by having relations with both axis, so such shift wouldn't be too problematic.

So assuming such situation will happen, I think China, India &amp; Russia would gladly take the place of the US.

The reason I don't think it would be the UK or France is that Europe over time becomes less and less loyal to allies by caring more and more about public opinion that is highly influenced by Arab countries. So while they might consider themselves allies of Israel, I don't see any of them caring enough about the benefits &amp; loyalty to allies to actually take the US place...

YuvalAlmog

India and most of the former eastern bloc. They know what it’s like to have a hostile neighbor. 

mongooser

I don't think the usa's support for israel will ever collapse. I can talk for an hour about strategic location, business partnerships and Jews running majority businesses in the usa etc etc.

I see a concern over a lot of big mouths protesting on the streets, which I wouldn't worry about at all. There is a silent majority that's watching too and does the right thing.

amogh12

nnooaa_lev

OkGo_Go_Guy

India. Definitely India.
They are a good friend, They have a large military **but they are not a permanent member of the security council and unless they have a UN security council vote because they are a non-permanent member exactly at the moment they are needed**


So if it happens, that the US abandons Israel, 
then Israel is in very serious trouble.




Unless....


Israel suddenly becomes best friends with one country that doesn't like the US at that moment.
Aka Russia or China. 
Because that way Russia and China would help Israel in favor of showing the US the middle finger and get more influence in the region. Probably in exchange for a military base and some intelligence sharing.


But IF China (or Russia) are more interested in pleasing the Arab world.
Or if Trump becomes best friends with China AND Russia, then Israel is totally screwed....




Because **THIS** are the permanent members of the security council:




China (is only interested in itself, will drop Israel if this benefits them)


France (will always help the Jews haters, to please the large number of their Jew hating citizens and get better trade deals with the Arab world. Just look at their demographics, they will have million Jew haters more in the future, then add the Jew hating radical left to it....)




Russia (is only interested in itself, will drop Israel if this benefits them)


United Kingdom 
(will always help the Jews haters, to please the large number of their Jew hating citizens and get better trade deals with the Arab world. Just look at their demographics, they will have million Jew haters more in the future, then add the Jew hating radical left to it....)


United States (is excluded in your idea, because they hate Israel in your hypothetical idea)

DiligentCredit9222

The US is a modern empire and it benefits from having allies who act as outposts for them all over the world, including some hell hole 3rd countries, let alone a successful modern western country which if actually shares common values and interests with. 

But to hypothetically answer this question, you first need to look at the past: The US and Israel weren't close allies before the 1967 war. Until then, Israel scrapped it's weapons from all over the place, and when it was established, it was eyed by the USSR until it realized it's not gonna be a communist state and was getting closer to the US so it launched a propoganda war against it that is being parrotrf to this day. 

Still, Israel now has 2 million Russian speaking citizens, so I think Russia would still be the main country to fill that void, if it wasn’t for the war in Ukraine.  

It would have to be one of the security council members, and the UK was so bitter it abstained from recognizing Israels indeoendende, France sucks, so most likely, the void would have been filled by China, who's seen more neautral globally.

SoulForTrade

Literally anyone and everyone Israel thinks would bring strategic benefit without limiting itself to US interests.

Folks like to call Israel a pariah state but the truth is anyone and everyone wants to work with Israel on a less restricted level.

US partnership is called 'the bear hug' because it's protective **and** restrictive.

The UN isn't relevant. Israel has been giving the UN the middle finger for decades. Why stop now?

Agreeable_Recipe3075

sillygoooos

If Israel us relation become very sour and israel is sanctioned by us then russia could step in.

ReporterSouthern7712

If the US stopped supporting Israel, I think Israel just leaves the UN. Terrible scenario, but yea, thats what I think makes the most sense.

rajuabju

It started as a post-WWII moral obligation and strategic alliance, understandable in its early context, but over time, U.S. support for Israel has yielded steadily diminishing returns on almost every front except intelligence.

It hasn’t:  
  
A) Improved U.S. standing in the Middle East  
B) Made Jewish communities around the world significantly safer  
C) Advanced democracy in the region  
D) Helped the global reputation of the West, in fact, arguably the opposite

The only clear strategic benefit is the intelligence-sharing relationship. Mossad, Shin Bet, and the IDF are total badasses and undeniably among the best in the world at counter-terrorism, psychological ops, and surveillance. While I strongly oppose many of their actions in Gaza, from an intelligence standpoint, they’re elite, and that relationship does provide the U.S. with valuable capabilities.

But when it comes to broader strategic or moral wins? Hard to name any that still hold up.

(And to be clear, none of this questions Israel’s right to exist, the safety and dignity of Jewish people, or their right to self-defense. This is a critique of policy outcomes, not of people or identity.)

No-Baker-2864

I love the downvotes by the zionists here but every single reason they have is trash

ItemPuzzled342

You are welcome to read and learn instead of talking nonsense.

The close alliance stems from economic, strategic and military aspects - on both sides.

If it seems to you that the US gains nothing from the alliance with Israel, you clearly don't understand anything about your life.

Do you think the US will gain any advantage from "Plasticine"? I don't think so.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel%E2%80%93United\_States\_relations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel%E2%80%93United_States_relations)

Wonderful_House_4048

Well, for one, and this is just off the top of my head, the IDF killed Nasrallah who was responsible for hundreds of American deaths as the leader of Hezbollah. They killed all of the HAMAS leadership, who are responsible for at least 40+ American deaths just from 10/7 alone.

Tricky-Anything8009

Such an amusing post, OP begins with a benign complaint about the U.S. spending whopping 0.5% of the federal budget to help with Israel’s defense, and then in the comments it quickly deteriorates to a [call to kill all “Zionists”](https://www.reddit.com/r/IsraelPalestine/s/yFDEyAi6sL) 🤨

knign

&gt;Why is $3.8 billion sent to Israel every year

Subsidies for US corporations, most of that money is credits that need to be used on US corporations.. aside from that Weapons testing which has a massive value added, IP agreements (MOU) that limit who Israel works with, and is able to share data with,  there's plenty of US owned or invested money in Israel  the US is protecting their investments and keeping a monopoly on the tech etc.. Israel is by far the best ROI for the US in the Area, and there's plenty of example of how the US benefits..  

Now the real question is what is all this money getting the USA?


Jordan ($1.7B), Egypt ($1.5B), Somalia ($1.2B), Afghanistan ($886.5M), Iraq ($430), Lebanon ($535.9M), Yemen ($733.3M)

Diet-Bebsi

israel is a tech and military super power SO it is better to ally with them then palestine lmao.

it is a country that you want on your side or otherwise you will find them with china and russia

Alone_Test_2711

jews helped invent the nuke which boomed japan.

hope this helped

FreedomEnjoyer69420

The 3.8 billion is for self defense against terrorists that steal Qatari funded aid to support an anti American jihadists in Gaza.

BizzareRep

Israel provides the US with a roadmap of how to provide healthcare and college education to all its citizens...that's a true friend.

Also, they share nuclear technology.  And by share, I mean Israel got nuclear weapon technology from the US.

hiphopesq

What wars has Israel dragged America into? I remember Iraq attacking Israel because America attacked them. 

Mercuryink

You know nothing. 

Israel has successfully created in the Middle East some long term enemies of the west - meaning that the western governments can keep themselves in perpetual wars, keeping the military industrial complex afloat, and meaning that the ultra wealthy can keep getting richer as we focus our attention on these pointless conflicts and so we don’t ask questions about what actually matters such as health care, education, environment, workers rights, prisoner rehabilitation etc etc. 

Don’t be a fool!

HugoSuperDog

Israel has never done anything? This is just ignorance.

Do you have any clue about the amount of military tech exchanged between the two?

nomoretired

they're just a parasitic proxy by which Americans are enslaved. It doesn't matter what we want because opposing Israel by wielding your own economic choice is largely illegal anyways. resistance is futile, just get used to the USI

Sweaty-Spring700

Israel is like the Gondor of our world to the Middle East's Mordor. Islamic countries are constantly plotting terror attacks trying to take over the world and Israel is fighting on the front lines in the best position to intercept them.

Psykofreac

The US gives money to tonnes of countries around the world for all sorts of reasons. Egypt gets lots, for example. It's all geopolitics and pushing interests. There is definitely corruption mixed in there as well, but that's always been the case.

Ionic_liquids

Israel is probably the best strategic partner the USA has today, both in the ME and perhaps even in the world.

The "Aid" people keep complaining about going into Israel is almost all reinvested back into the US, by agreement. It also includes the sharing of intelligence key to the US' strategic goals, and technological advances that keep the US ahead of the world when, especially when it comes to ISTAR capabilities.

In comparison, the aid the US sends to Palestine (over [100 million dollars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_aid_to_Palestinians) per year) does not come with any benefits in the form of reinvestment, or intelligence, or strategy, or technology.

Conscious_Spray_5331

One answer to this question is AIPAC. There are other answers as well, but then we will be stepping into conspiracy theory area.

MangaDub

First of all, you're describing a very different world than the one we live in now. So it's hard to answer your question seriously, without knowing what sort of future is that where the US restricts Israel from buying F35 aircraft. 

In general, such a break with the US will harm Israel in the short term. Israel will have to increase its cooperation with other countries with a big military industry, such as India, in order to develop its own systems. It may well get closer with China. A temporary lack of stealth technology will make some missions harder but not impossible. The thing is, in Israel's victories over the years, the equipment used is only one part of a complex equation that also includes parameters such as professionalism, motivation, education levels, initiative taking and social cohesion. These things will continue to affect Israeli performance in war, US equipment or no US equipment.

Wide_Syrup_1208

First of all, “ US funding Israeli military” it’s not entirely true

It’s not like the US gives Israel cash and tells it “here you go, knock yourself out”

It’s more like a coupon system – we give you this X amount in aid, you reinvested in our military industries and buy our stuff. 

I don’t think that Israel would have to scale back too much if there is no US military aid anymore

It would actually allow Israel to diversify its sources of weapons and military equipment, as well as develop hardware themselves on a larger scale in order to compensate for the lack of US military aid

BigDanny92

It already happened to Israel once, when its patron was France. It ended up developing its own version of the Mirage, the Kfir. And a decade or so later, going all-in on America, leading it to cancel its completely new fighter jet, Lavi. I'd note that during the period between France and the US, Israel successfully repelled the massive Egyptian-Syrian surprise invasion in 1973, with their top-of-the-line Soviet military equipment, and superior manpower, and ended up conquering more territory, and taking the fight to Egyptian and Syrian territory. More or less putting the final nail in the idea that Arab states could defeat Israel militarily. And that was when Israel was objectively far weaker, and the Arab states were much stronger.

nidarus

I saw you making that thread in askmiddleeast. Note that is an extremely antisemitic place and you will only get nonsense there.

If you are asking about aid specifically, US aid to Israel is around 3BN$ a year, which amounts to 1% of Israel's yearly budgets. That's all.

The majority of weapons Israel gets, from the US or otherwise, is paid for by Israel. Including fighter Jets.

Cannot-Forget

I am truly no expert (and for full disclosure/decency: I am a dual citizen of Israel and the US), but my understanding is that:
1. Economically, the vast vast majority of "American aid to Israel" is in fact American aid to America.  A 2000 pound bomb is produced in an American factory by American workers, then shipped by American transport to Israel. Upon arrival, it is transported/managed/deployed without American aid, and its existence has little economic impact on Israel. On the other hand, the American communities of workers who make the stuff that becomes "military aid to Israel" are both completely and utterly dependent on that -- the way that wheat farmers are dependent on wheat to make a living, with the difference that people actually NEED wheat, while the "size of the market demand" for bombs is determined entirely by votes of Congress. My understanding is that one could have an interesting argument about whether American farmers could survive the end of American govt farm subsidies, or whether Alaskans would have phone service without so-called "universal service fees" -- But everyone understands that some large places in the US would just dry up and die, were military aid "to Israel" suddenly cut.
2. The value of Israel as a "dev partner" and "field tester" for American weapons development is considered an unmatchable strategic advantage for  US military industry.   
    
In other words: however immensely Israel might depend on this aid it "gets", the US is just as dependent. Without it, both the US economy and its military superiority would collapse very quickly.
That's what I've heard; perhaps someone can bring some data to confirm or debunk these "facts".

sbpetrack

Israel provides the USA with intelligence , joint training of soldiers , high tech equipment to enhance weapons … the list goes on.   It’s a very equal relationship.  
Israel , without the help of USA, would have their shackles off and the area would be very different.  They would not waste time to have conflicts be drawn out. They would deal with it swiftly.  Albeit more deadly.  
You’re talking about a people that have been taken to deaths door .. and the ones that have survived will do whatever it takes for it not to happen again.  I would never want to be facing that situation.  Clearly only stupid people do and have been doing the same thing for 70 years without learning.  The world needs the USA to always keep Israel in check.  The moment there is the slightest of distance of USA support … it won’t be good for anyone.  It’s why TRUMP is very dangerous.  He’s playing politics when Israel is fighting an existential war.

Tycir1

Assistance? Not so much.
Assistance also has it's downsides, traditionally there are a lot of objections to it.
But the prevailing view was to accept it, so we did.

LLFauntelroy

Most people doesn't really understand the relationship between the Israel military industry and the US military industry as basically Israel need us to produce everything today . But us need Israel military industry to . lot of weapons is a losing today most of them form us . it well look like it 
 Air force 100 prosnet 
Navy 0  percent , if you know some systems will buy from the US you can tell I cannot take for my mind one system will buy from us 
Army 60
Artillery 90
Air defense 70 
If speaking we basically very rely on the US in Air Force but in other branches a lot less but still a lot most of the tank production is in the US .

Stay-Responsible

In all honesty (American-Lebanese here), Israel would be severely degraded in physical military capabilities. Intelligence and tech would likely be fine, but the jets, air defense systems, and missile technology is all US made.

CedarComic7

The US would have a new competitor in the arms market, that would be like a sweden on steroids. That would cost them way more than the aid.

Fearless-Ad4531

I would also add the cultural dynamic of Israel being seen as a "Western democratic" country contrasted with the "Muslim dictatorships" in the rest of the Middle East. American civic religion pushes everyone to identify with any country that is/claims to be a democracy, and in the case of Israel, US racism and islamophobia makes Arab/Muslim democracies be ineligible for this. You see this a lot with the rhetoric of "Israel is an outpost of freedom/democracy/human rights/Western values" in a sea of oriental despotism. The Christian connection with Judaism, as you mentioned, reinforces this: Judaism is accepted as a precursor religion by American Christians (even if that acceptance is masking typical antisemitism underneath), while Islam is seen almost universally by these Christians as an alien religion, paganism, or even devil-worship. Add on to that the solidarity between the US and Israel in having both been the victims of Islamist terrorism, a factor which is also behind support for Israel by countries like India and Russia.

FoldAdventurous2022

I'm glad to see people here be so clear eyed about it as opposed to the "America is occupied by AIPAC" nonesense

korach1921

Good write up - it's a complex and compound relationship the left need to highlight this rather than just go "AIPAC money" every damn time. It's reductive and makes the left look conspiratorial. Take AIPAC out of the equation and things would look very similar imo.

thedybbuk_

I said this in another thread but do not underestimate the religious fervor of the true believers. Growing up my church fired a pastor because he was insufficiently pro Israel

Ea61e

Israel has very significant dirt on many politicians, heads of media corporations and other figures of interest. Given that most of these people don't give a rat's ass for anyone one else and have no ideals the only thing they care about is preserving their reputation and possible their liberty.

IllHandle3536

Also because Iran getting a Nuclear Weapon is just objectively bad

Hayden3112

I thought the US supported israel was because americans vote for politicians that are pro israel

Acrobatic-Skill6350

US lawmakers are proposing a bill to give President Trump authority to transfer military resources to Israel to bolster its defense against Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

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