Why is Isreal such a big deal to US Politicians?

[Rainsford]

The US and western nations have just one country in the region thats not going to attack their embassies and thats Israel. Besides a few alternate reality people, we realize that Israel is surrounded by nations not friendly or at best ambivalent about western democracies. For example Israel is the only safe place for gays.

That explains the reasoning behind viewing Israel as a solid ally, which is definitely is, but it does NOT explain the incredibly intense way some people view the relationship.

Israel may be our closest ally in the region, but the bar is set ridiculously low by the rest of the countries there. It's hard to compare them super favorably when taken on a global scale and compared to countries like the UK, for instance. Yet among all our allies, Israel enjoys, by far, the strongest support in the US for backing any Israeli interests, policies or actions. The suggestion that the US may have divergent interests, even a little bit, earns pretty significant political backlash in the US.

Which isn't to say that Israel isn't a valuable ally in the region that we should certainly support, especially considering their neighbors. But I doubt I'm alone in thinking that the way our friendship is portrayed goes a bit too far sometimes.

 

[zanejohnson]

because the israeli's have a weapon, that even uncle sam is too afraid to just tell them to fuck right off like we can the rest of the world..

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Florida is a swing state with many electoral votes.
Florida has a large jewish population.

/thread.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Which isn't to say that Israel isn't a valuable ally in the region that we should certainly support, especially considering their neighbors. But I doubt I'm alone in thinking that the way our friendship is portrayed goes a bit too far sometimes.

It goes back to the end of WWII. It was our soldiers who liberated the Jews from many death camps. That's when the public came to be aware of the true horrors which had been done. That left a lasting mark on the US and we were favorably disposed towards an Israeli state. Then Israel was attacked more than once over time and seeing them wiped off the earth again didn't sit well. We also see an Israel which is by no means perfect, but the contrasting society condones killing because their holy book was innocently burned by those who acted in good faith on advice of a mullah. I don't see anywhere that those who killed innocents were held accountable. If it's a few extremists doing the act, the society as a whole gives tacit approval when this happens.

Leaving Israel to such people's "tender mercies" doesn't sit well.

It's a combination of religious, historical and cultural factors which when added together creates support of Israel. Generally it's been warranted, although there are excesses I'd like to see curtailed. I can see why those happen. It doesn't justify it, but considering that in the US on these boards we have those who claim to want a peaceful coexistence want the means of defense removed so they deal with the happy, caring folk who just killed our ambassador and others.

The overwhelming majority of muslims don't wish slaughter. I've dismissed those who claim otherwise often enough, however others who say that attacks are done by a few are missing something, or perhaps they get it but for contrariness sake ignore the fact that these actions are tacitly approved. What would it say about us as a society if the Klan went around attacking blacks and nothing is done? What if the general sentiment was "well that's abhorrent, but we can see why they would do that" and let it continue? I'd say we would be guilty parties. That gets a pass for ME behavior, and that again is why there is support that goes beyond the pragmatic.