Tyler Hull
Mr. Rueter
Economics A1
September 29, 2015
America of the Middle East
Ever since the creation of the Jewish homeland America has been Israel's strongest supporter and closest ally. Every President since it’s creation has commented about siding with them to the last second, whether it be Jfk- “Let us make it clear that we will never turn our backs on our steadfast friends in Israel” or Gerald Ford- "America must and will pursue friendship with all nations. But, this will never be done at the expense of America's commitment to Israel.”. Even with the steadfast faith of every president in Israel there are still doubters of the relationship. These people believe that It is a one sided relationship with American gaining little to nothing in the trade-off.
Since the creation of Israel America has been financially and militarily supporting Israel and has provided over 83 billion dollars in financial grants. Israel has used these grants to develop their nation into one of the wealthiest nations in the world(having average households earnings of $164,000. which is above the European Avg). Producing mostly transportation equipment and advanced medical machinery Israel has climbed it’s way into the top percentile of multiple economic standpoints.. Israel also is given large amounts of military grants, along with the grants Israel uses 20% of their budget for their military, giving them the 11th strongest military in the world. Non supporters of this relationship say that were giving way to much money to another nation when we could use the money elsewhere. They believe that the marginal-cost is greater than the marginal benefit and could be spent better elsewhere. Along with the grants America has provided billions of dollars in military support in times of crises, including the 1982 incident when Israel invaded Lebanon and Regan had to deploy marines to stabilize the country. Non supporters also point out that during Israel's war with its neighbors in 1973 America's military support of the country almost brought themselves to the brink of conflict with the Soviet Union and almost prompted an Arab oil embargo.
Even with these opportunity costs supporters still say that no Arab nation has refused negotiations with America because of the relationship. Infact supports say that America's relations with Israel supported Egypt's 1970 shift away from the Soviet Union and towards America. Along with this issue Israel has been a huge help to America in securing assets in the middle east, Jesse Helms once said about the cost of supporting Israel “My question is this: If Israel did not exist, what would U.S. defense costs in the Middle East be? Israel is at least the equivalent of a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Middle East. Without Israel promoting its and America's common interests we would be much worse off indeed.” Israel has also developed many technological advances such as the David’s Sling anti rocket weapons, now used by the American military. 
Despite the non-supporters America has and will continue to support our closest ally Israel. To the world this means that America will be involved in the middle east and has the ability to secure their interests through Israel. For America this most likely means lower gas prices and large military involvement in the middle east. Believe in either viewpoint but clearly there are unbreakable ties between the two democratic and christian nations.
"Friends with Benefits: Why the U.S.-Israeli Alliance Is Good for America." - The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Web. 29 Sept. 2015.
"History of Israel." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 29 Sept. 2015.
Macias, Amanda. "The 35 Most Powerful Militaries In The World." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 10 Dec. 2014. Web. 29 Sept. 2015.
"Quotes." Jewish History. Web. 29 Sept. 2015.
I found it interesting saying that the main reason that we are in the middle east is to protect Israel. I also think that all of our money being given to Israel can be seen as a sort of investment. We want Israel to succeed, and they are very happy to pay us back with the technology they invent and a friendly face in the ever more hostile middle east. Although at the end you called them a christian nation, and that is simply not true the overwhelming majority of their population is Jewish, behind that is Muslims, and even lower still is Christians. Inside Israel, the religions of Islam and Christianity are facing ever more restrictions and are because of this shrinking.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the economic stand-points throughout this writing, as there is a lot of stipulation of if the US should be funding Israel or not. The question is whether or not to actually fund Israel or not, which means there would most likely be people on both sides of the argument. Some say that the opportunity cost doesn't outweigh the benefits, but what actually is the opportunity cost? Yes, the US is giving up money, but is there a more desirable decision lost other than the money? Or is there a more desirable decision that was lost in the process?
ReplyDeleteIt's a really cool topic, mostly because when people talk about The US alliance with Israel they don't really think of what they do for us, just in how much it costs and other things they'd like to spend the money on. Sad thing is a lot of people think they know, but they are only partly informed, they don't consider opportunity costs and marginal benefits of this alliance.
ReplyDelete-Danna P.
This is a very interesting topic that has had a lot of debate the last few years. In my opinion the man who said it is just like having an aircraft carrier is wrong. Is Israel is much more powerful and influential in the middle east then a carrier could ever be first off. Second, we have been friends for a long time and if we bail on them it wouldn't be a very good image for America especially when they are on the brink of war with Iran. We need to stand strong with them because they have helped us with the war on terror and countless other military operations. I could go on an on on all of the things Israel has done for America the last 45 years, but that would be a long comment. The price is high, but in my opinion well worth it.
ReplyDeleteI had not known that Israel was such a close ally although now that I have read your post, I understand why they are such an important ally. I believe that it is necessary to keep Israel as a close ally. However, I do not understand why we spend so much money on them when we have problems of our own to solve? What have they really done in return? I think that it is necessary to help them and fund them, but not such a substantial amount.
ReplyDeleteI already knew a little bit about the US's relationship with Israel, but I thought this post was insightful and complimented my prior knowledge. I think it's cool how you talked about the development of Israel's military, and maybe this means someday they will no longer need support from the US. That being said, I believe we should support Israel as long as necessary before they become a stable nation and could potentially help us in return. I would've liked to read your predictions!
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the article a two very prominent things came to mind: I never realized how much money we spend on keeping up relations with Israel,and that the proponents of spending the money elsewhere I believe have more merit than those who would argue to resume the steep spending we have with Israel. For the proponents of spending the money elsewhere, there is very good reasoning to do so. As stated in the article, "America has provided billions of dollars in military support in times of crises, including the 1982 incident when Israel invaded Lebanon..." (par 2.) While the money spent was in support of Israel after they were attacked by Lebanese personnel, the decision to invade ultimately failed and ruined relations with Lebanon that, by extension, America funded and so it would appear as a waist of an "investment" to some.
ReplyDeleteBut, to advocate in the direction of people who say we should keep up the same amount of spending with Israel and also in response to Aaron's comment that, "we have been friends for a long time and if we bail on them it wouldn't be a very good image for America especially when they are on the brink of war with Iran." It is true that if we suddenly dropped relations with Israel the mounting tensions between them and Iran would most likely hit a boiling point and Iran would most likely immediately attack now that we are no longer in support of Israel. So it is somewhat necessary for the survival of Israel that we keep supporting them.
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ReplyDeleteI would agree with those that say that the US's support for Israel is crucial to their survival. Their neighbors hate Israel, it's just the way it is. But with all the money we give them, and all the influence we have over them, don't you think we could use that to push for stability in the Palestine conflict? Just food for thought.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't the money that we supply them with be used for a more useful less controversial way of protection. Also if we continue to support them with more even trade. Is this really the smartest way for our country to use its resources to solve conflicts rather than just pay a nation off to stay at peace.
ReplyDeleteTowards the end of your writing you wrote "Israel has been a huge help to America in securing assets in the middle east." Along this train of thought, is it possible that if there was no conflict in the middle east then the U.S. would drastically reduce how much we give Israel for military and other funding? If so, would we be less friendly to Israel? It may be possible that we are helping them mostly for the services they provide for us and the Invisible Hand has helped Israel as a byproduct (even though we may have genuinely helped them out a few times).
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