Why the United States Should Support Israel

This is part two of a two part series on the US and Israel. This article gives reasons why the US should support Israel. Part one can be found here:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1519709/why_the_united_states_should_not_support.html?cat=2

The USA has supported Israel more than any other nation and it should continue to do so. "Support" for Israel is support that is well placed. Unlike other nations that have received tons of support in various forms from the US and other nations, support for Israel has helped to create a tech strong democracy. Compared to Israel's neighbors Israel is much more developed and much more democratic. Israel has few natural resources but it is one of the richest countries in the world; its people are its resource as they are the most educated in the world. In its short existence, Israel has created and improved technologies that have benefited the world.

Israel takes in many refugees (granted they almost all "Jewish") that have been persecuted in their home countries. If there is no love lost for Palestinians it is because many Jews in Israel were persecuted in Muslim countries.

Israel shares intelligence with America. Israeli, military intelligence is one of the best in the world. The USA can always use one more ally that helps us keep our country secure.

Support for Israel could prevent a catastrophic war. Granted, this argument only exists because the US helped to create the modern state of Israel in the first place. However, Israel is now in existence and it is heavily armed. Many other countries in its vicinity would love to wipe it off the map. If a strong Muslim nation, or a coalition of Muslim nations, posed a serious threat to the nation of Israel a very nasty war could ensue. I truly believe once such a war has begun, both Israel and its potential attackers would pull out all the stops (nuclear) if the extermination of Israel was a real possibility. Having the most powerful nation in the world as an ally will hopefully prevent such a cataclysm.

No other group is fit to run the area but the Israelis. Who else could govern Palestine/Israel if not the Jews? Does anyone want to have the Palestinians in charge of that entire swath of land? Does anyone want Israel's neighbors, who already have terrorist camps in their borders, to govern what is currently the state of Israel? The answer should be obvious. Israel has done far more than most countries with only limited resources. Nations with greater resources, like Mexico or Venezuela, trail behind tiny Israel in terms of infrastructure and modernization.

Notice, none of my arguments for supporting Israel come from Biblical passages that advise nations to do so. These arguments are usually the first ones cited by many well meaning Christians. However, there are problems with this view. First, not everybody in Israel is of Israel. Many non-Jews live in Israel and are every bit as much citizens as the Jews that inhabit Israel. Some of the Israelis that are "Jewish" are either converts or their Jewish lineage is dubious. Lastly, both Israel and the United States are secular democracies. While many Christians reside in the US, many people who live in it are not.

Also, missing from my arguments for and against support for Israel is the Palestinian situation. This dominates most of the discussion of foreign policy towards Israel. However, one is truly naïve if he or she thinks that giving Palestinians their own state would halt the conflict. Many in Palestine are ideologically opposed to the existence of any Jewish state. I do not see how peace can be had if many on one side in the conflict are unwilling to recognize the existence of Israel.

In summary, the US government should stop giving money and arms to Israel. We should continue to be friends with Israel and freely trade with it. We should recognize (and on some level we already do) Jerusalem as its capital of choice. We should not give Israel or any other nation a blank check to do whatever it wants. America should treat Israel the way it should treat every nation - with respect and a certain amount of suspicion.