WHY AMERICA SHOULD SUPPORT ISRAEL.
by Tom Taylor
Many people wonder why America should support Israel – a country with no natural resources we
need - when such support has earned us nothing but enmity and terrorism from the Arab/Islamic
world.
But of course Israel does offer something we need. As the world’s only super-power, America
badly needs a reliable, militarily strong ally in that strategic part of the world. Further, since it leads to
peace and stability, America has a vital interest in promoting democracy around the world; and Israel
is the only stable democracy in the mid-east.
A more important reason, however, concerns America’s very national identity. Our cultural
values, laws, liberty, and even our form of government came in large part from the influence of Israel’
s Old Testament scriptures upon Western Civilization. Sure, democracy came to us from ancient
Athens and Rome. But the concepts given us by the Jewish scriptures: of the sanctity of human life,
of inalienable rights granted by a Creator God, of a supreme divine law under which all men are
equal, of the inherent sinfulness of man (hence he cannot be trusted with absolute power) – all
formed the kind of society necessary before freedom and democracy could take root and grow.
Anyone who doubts this should try to name even one democracy in the world today that did not
originate from (or else was transplanted from) a Judeo-Christian culture. So it’s safe to say the free
America we know today would not exist if ancient Israel had not existed first.
And then there are the millions of Americans like myself who have trusted in Jesus Christ for our
salvation. We will always be grateful to Israel because of the event we celebrate each Christmas: the
Son of God came as a man through Israel’s line of David. So America’s bond with Israel is historic
and deep.
Cal Thomas once wrote when a country loses its cultural identity it is in danger of crumbling when
faced with prolonged disaster or war. Nothing would signal the loss of our cultural identity more than
if we were to abandon Israel.
If our support of Israel seems one-sided, it’s most likely the fault of those who complain about it
the most. When the nation of Israel came back into existence in 1948, the surrounding Arab
countries immediately declared war and tried to drive the Jews into the sea. The Arabs tried and
failed again at the same thing in 1967. Now, considering the frequent rocket attacks and suicide
bombings carried out against Israel by the Palestinians, there’s no reason to think this Arab goal has
ever changed. Instead of hating America, it would be helpful if certain people in the Arab and Islamic
countries would try to understand our dilemma. It’s difficult to be even-handed and “fair” to someone
who is trying to kill your friend.