Why does America continue supporting fundamentally religious Israel with unconditional aid?

6 Comments

1. mustagme says:

   December 18, 2009 at 6:54 am

   They are one of our biggest allies in the fight against terror. We should be supporting them, as it is to our benefit to have a strong ally in the Middle East.
2. Infernal Disaster says:

   December 18, 2009 at 6:54 am

   Israel is our only real ally in that region.

   If anything, we need to stop giving aide to countries like Egypt who are unreliable at best.
3. Who Else? says:

   December 18, 2009 at 6:54 am

   I don’t agree with the U.S. policy toward Israel, but if we discontinued aid, we would have much less influence over them. For the present, we should demand more of them in return for aid, and taper down our support if they don’t comply. The reason for the current level of aid, however, is because of AIPAC (the pro-Israeli lobby) and the large numbers of American Jews who support Israel, right or wrong. It’s unfortunate that Israel has turned into such a fanatical state, and I wish the U.S. would pressure them to improve their relations with the Palestinians.
4. jwenting says:

   December 18, 2009 at 6:54 am

   1) they are not fundamentalist at all
   2) they’re the only democracy in the middle east
   3) they’re friends, despite the shit poured out over them by the US and Europe
   4) there are many conditions attached to whatever help they get, most of them totally unreasonable and far beyond what is demanded of countries like Zimbadwe and Birma
   5) a lot of what you think is aid isn’t aid at all but normal business deals with Israeli firms for products only they can produce
5. Kojak says:

   December 18, 2009 at 6:54 am

   You seem fairly intelligent…..should not be hard to figure out……

   In America there is a HUGE powerful Jewish community…. they control major sectors of our economy and wield a lot of votes….. In addition the Liberals and conservatives supported the creation of a Jewish state (post holocaust )

   ….. Things are slowly changing for a variety of reasons…..many Liberals are beginning to sympathize with the Palestinians and question our long standing support of Israel ….. which BTW does come with "conditions"….. not that Israel always abides by those conditions….. one of the frustrations that made President Carter obviously anti-Israel….

   EDIT… First of all…"thumbs down"…. the American government is influenced by "MONEY and POWER"…. be it the "Military Industrial Complex"…..ACORN…… the Israeli Lobby…..or any number of other power brokers…. You do not like it…..I do not like it…..but it is a fact
   Second….I am NOT anti-Semitic…..In fact I support Israel most of the time.
   Finally I have seen the POWER of the Jewish lobby up close and personal.
   The USS Liberty incident was an attack on a United States Navy technical research ship, USS Liberty, by Israeli jet fighter planes, followed shortly by motor torpedo boats, on June 8, 1967, during the on-going Six-Day War. The combined air and sea attack killed 34 crew members (naval officers, seamen, two Marines, and a civilian), wounded 171 crew members, and severely damaged the ship. At the time, the ship was in international waters and clearly marked.

   Both the Israeli and US governments conducted inquiries into the incident, and issued reports, which concluded that the attack was a "mistake", due to Israeli confusion about the identity of the USS Liberty. The CIA classified the "mistake " as "gross ignorance and incompetence", does anyone think the Israeli government is REALLY ignorant or incompetent?? Many US diplomats, veterans and intelligence officials who were involved in the incident continue to dispute these official findings, saying the Israeli attack on the USS Liberty was not a mistake, and it remains the only major maritime incident in US history not investigated by the US Congress. I wonder why??

   In May 1968, the Israeli government paid US$3,323,500 as full payment on behalf of the families of the 34 men killed in the attack. In March 1969 Israel paid a further $3,566,457 in compensation to the men who had been wounded. On 18 December 1980 Israel agreed to pay $6 million as settlement for the US claim of $7,644,146 for material damage to the Liberty itself.

   I find it a little humorous….they paid us off with our own money….now that is "hutzpa"

   WHO ELSE…. There is no way for Israel to be "nicer to the Palestinians"….. They have done that MANY times only to be attacked even more viciously for their efforts. I have been there. Both sides of this dispute are guilty but the Palestinians are by far the more evil and the element most responsible for the continued hostilities There has not been a serious or potentially successful attempt at peace since 1946. The current attempts at peace are myopic and ignore the realities of the cultures involved.
6. popcorn says:

   December 18, 2009 at 6:54 am

   I am so sorry that you were educated in a public school by union teachers. I will try to educate you. All the nations around Israel are fundamentally religious nations (Islamic). These same countries receive aid from our government. Israel is a real democracy. The nations around it are not. In fact there are people elected into the government of Israel who are not Jewish and are not religious. The question should be why do we have children graduating who are so ignorant.