Conservative political commentator and podcaster Tucker Carlson says, “I’ve always thought it’s great to criticize and question our relationship with Israel because it’s insane, and it hurts us. We get nothing out of it.”
While this claim contradicts all facts, a growing number of American pundits and politicians parrot Carlson’s lie that the U.S.-Israeli alliance yields no benefits to Americans.
Nonetheless, on April 15, when Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) promoted a Congressional resolution vote to prevent U.S. sales of 1,000-pound bombs to Israel, 36 Senate Democrats voted to support the resolution—an unprecedented show of disloyalty to the U.S.-Israel alliance. Fortunately, the resolution was defeated by a Senate majority.
It’s no secret that Israel has recently suffered massive press and political criticism. Yet hard facts confirm that Israel is America’s strongest, most loyal ally—not just in the Middle East, but worldwide. Israel provides the U.S. unparalleled strategic depth, reliability and proven combat value. No other U.S. ally matches Israel’s combination of intelligence gathering, technological innovation, cost-effectiveness, forward-deployed deterrence, steadfastness and the willingness to fight for shared values against shared threats without requesting American troops.
No wonder Israel has currently (and for decades) been consistently praised by American political and military leaders. For example, former U.S. Air Force Intelligence chief, Gen. George Keegan asserted Israel is “worth five CIAs” because of its contributions to U.S. military intelligence, while former Secretary of State Alexander Haig famously described Israel as “the largest U.S. aircraft carrier in the world that cannot be sunk, [and] does not carry even one American soldier.”
More recently, U.S. President Donald Trump wrote, “Whether people like Israel or not, they have proven to be a GREAT Ally of the United States of America. They are Courageous, Bold, Loyal and Smart and, unlike others that have shown their true colors in a moment of conflict and stress, Israel fights hard, and knows how to WIN!”
While one can legitimately criticize both Israeli and U.S. military actions, such scrutiny should be delivered with the perspective that no other country worldwide supports U.S. geopolitical interests as does Israel.
Five major factors offer compelling reasons why Israel remains America’s greatest ally:
Reason #1: Israel provides exceptional intelligence. Israeli intelligence agencies (Mossad, Shin Bet, Unit 8200) provide real-time intelligence on the mutual enemies of Israel and America, such as Iran, its terrorist proxies (Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis) and ISIS. U.S. intelligence agencies cannot replicate that, due to Israel’s linguistic, cultural and geographic proximity.
Israeli intelligence has directly saved American lives. One example: In October 2021, Israeli intelligence warned the United States of an impending attack on its Al-Tanf base in southern Syria, allowing for the evacuation of personnel before the base was hit by an Iranian suicide drone. As a result, no American casualties occurred.
Earlier this month, during U.S. military operations in Iran, Israeli intelligence provided real-time support for a U.S. search-and-rescue mission to extract stranded American airmen after an F-15 jet was downed.
Despite recent criticism of Israel, its intelligence continues to directly protect and enable U.S. forces in the region.
Reason #2: The U.S.-Israel alliance is cost-effective. Critics argue that the $3.8 billion in annual aid the United States contributes to Israel indicates a one-sided relationship. For instance, on a podcast in June 2025, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) spoke about the U.S.-Israel alliance, saying that “the cost is greater than the benefit.”
Actually, aid to Israel is a fraction of what forward-basing in the region would cost in personnel, logistics and lives. In a recent article in the New York Post, Joseph Epstein, director of the Turan Research Center, explained that “a single Gerald R. Ford-class carrier costs $13 billion to build and up to $8 million per day to operate—and experts have assessed that Israel’s military effectively replaces multiple U.S. aircraft carriers and ground divisions across the Mediterranean, Red Sea and Persian Gulf.”
Furthermore, unlike other U.S. allies, such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and South Korea, Israel has never asked for U.S. combat troops to defend its territory. Thus, not one American soldier has died defending Israeli territory. In fact, Israeli forces help protect American forces.
Reason #3: Israel’s battlefield innovation directly enhances U.S. capabilities. Indeed, Israel doesn’t just receive U.S. weapons; it co-develops and battle-tests them, then shares their experience and upgrades. For example, the Arrow and David’s Sling missile-defense systems, Iron Dome and counter-drone technologies have all been refined in actual combat and transferred to U.S. forces.
U.S. forces have also adopted Israeli urban warfare doctrine, counter-IED techniques, and drone tactics honed in Gaza and Lebanon, applying them in Iraq and Afghanistan. No other ally provides comparable real-world validation of U.S. military platforms.
Reason #4: Israel fights America’s battles. Its Qualitative Military Edge allows Israel to degrade threats without drawing American forces into direct combat. Israel’s battlefield successes have sometimes even changed the balance of power in America’s favor.
The 1967 war, for example, shattered Soviet prestige as Israel decimated Soviet allies Egypt and Syria. Israel’s recent campaign against Iran and its proxies following the Oct. 7 massacre has helped nullify the Islamic Republic’s quest for hegemony in the region at the expense of the United States. In short, no other ally has fought for America’s interests and won as much as Israel.
Reason #5: Israel’s unconditional loyalty to the United States. This loyalty is rooted in shared democratic values and national interests. In fact, Israel is oftentimes more loyal than America’s other democratic allies, both diplomatically and on the ground. Case in point: the current war with Iran, in which Israel has given the U.S. unconditional support, while support from other Western countries has been little to nonexistent.
Influencers and power brokers on both the left and right foolishly want to abandon Israel, even though 1) Israel is America’s strongest, most loyal and most committed ally; 2) Israel is single-handedly, in collaboration with the United States, fighting the greatest enemies of Western civilization; and 3) Israel helps us protect American interests against Iran, its evil “Axis of Resistance,” and the anti-American efforts of Russia and China.
The United States doesn’t give Israel anything. Rather, it invests in Israel so that Israel can continue to protect American interests in the Middle East almost completely independently.
Originally published by Facts and Logic About the Middle East (FLAME).
