As I’m sure most of you are aware, there’s an ongoing humanitarian crisis happening in Palestine — specifically, Gaza — and our president, Joe Biden, has stated that Israel has the full support of the United States. Most U.S. citizens don’t share this sentiment and are currently confused as to why the United States is supporting a nation that is continuously bombing innocent civilians, a large amount of whom are children. Protests have been happening in cities like New York City and Washington D.C., and throughout the world, such as South Korea and other Middle Eastern countries like Lebanon and Syria. Below, I’m going to explain the history behind the relationship of the United States and Israel.
the establishment of israel
For those who are unaware, Israel is quite a young nation. It was only officially established on May 14, 1948. It was created in the wake of World War II and the fall of the Ottoman Empire. The establishment of Israel was born from a movement called Zionism, which began in the 19th century and supported the creation of a Jewish homeland. In the early 1900s, a Jewish homeland was possibly established in Kenya, however, Palestine was thought to be the perfect place because of its religious ties.
Palestine is a country located in the Middle East that was once a part of the Ottoman Empire until it ultimately fell during World War I. Disregarding the Palestinians’ desire for sovereignty, the British took control in 1922, and Palestine was quickly under a British Mandate. From the 1920s until 1948, large waves of European Jews immigrated to Palestine, with most people coming during WWII and after.
As we all know, WWII caused major devastation as six million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust, and millions were left refugees after they were expelled from their homes throughout Europe and denied entry into countries like the United States and England. The British instead sent some to settle in Palestine, which was worrisome to the Palestinians, since Zionism had become a popular sentiment. The British had previously declared in 1917 through the Balfour Declaration that they supported creating a Jewish homeland in Palestine. The British stated that Palestine would remain one nation and eventually become independent, a promise that they never truly intended to keep.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt also shared a similar sentiment when he told Palestinians in 1945, before his death, “that the United States wouldn’t intervene without consulting both the Jews and Arabs in that region.” His successor, President Harry Truman, believed in the creation of a Jewish state and publicly announced he supported it in October 1946. In 1947, it was decided that the United Nations would split Palestinians into two states, Arab and Jewish, through Resolution 181. On May 14, 1948, the state of Israel was declared, and the United States was the first to recognize it. The creation of Israel launched the exile and displacement of almost 700,000 Palestinians. Israel originally only held 56% of the land, but soon controlled 78% of Palestine.
what’s going on now
In 1948, Zionists destroyed over 500 Palestinian cities, towns, and villages and murdered about 15,000 Palestinians. The Zionists captured 78 percent of historic Palestine, and the remaining 22 percent was divided into what is now the occupied West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip. In 1967, Israel began the occupation of the rest of Palestine. Illegal Israeli settlements were built in Gaza and the West Bank. An apartheid system was established when a “two-tier system was created with Jewish settlers afforded all the rights and privileges of being Israeli citizens whereas Palestinians had to live under a military occupation that discriminated against them and barred any form of political or civic expression.” The expelling, oppression, and murder of Palestinians is still happening. Since 2007, Palestinians in Gaza have lived in what has been called “an open-air prison” or “a concentration camp,” where “Israel imposed a total land, air and sea blockade on the Gaza Strip“.
On October 7, Hamas, a militia group operating out of Gaza, launched a surprise attack on Israel leading to over 1,000 deaths. In retaliation, Israel declared war on Hamas the next day, and the innocent 2.1 million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip as well. Countries like Jordan and Egypt proposed solving it diplomatically, but Israel refused and with the backing of the Biden administration began a bombing brigade on Gaza. Before the bombings, Israel dropped leaflets telling citizens in north Gaza to flee to the south. The United Nations stated, “it is impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences…. The United Nations strongly appeals for any such order.” The borders to Israel and Egypt have been blocked, leaving citizens without anywhere to go. Bombs have been dropped on hospitals, schools, residential buildings — anywhere. Amnesty International, a human rights organization has stated “Israeli forces have shown a shocking disregard for civilian lives. They have pulverized street after street of residential buildings killing civilians on a mass scale and destroying essential infrastructure.” Israel shut off Gaza’s electricity, water, internet, and has also been blocking aid — food, water, and other resources. Despite pressure from the U.N. and other nations, Israel has no intentions of letting up and the situation may become worse, as the bombing and air strikes continue, they further invade the West Bank, and the possibility of a ground invasion looms.
U.S Israel relations
The United States and Israel’s relationship first began to flourish in 1967, due to the Six-Day War, when Israel began occupying the West Bank and Gaza, and air assaulted Syria and Egypt. The United States was fearful that Russia and communism had some part in this war and were worried another proxy war was going to happen. But the U.S. was left impressed when Israel “defeated the Arabs hands down in six days with absolutely no American military assistance.”
The United States soon started selling Israel weapons and was also a key part of the country’s development. The United States has provided Israel with over $120 billion in aid since the early 1970s, and the majority was allocated to military development. Since the 80s and 90s, the two nations have been working together on the development, production, and research of weapons. In the 90s, the Clinton administration vowed to send “billions in military aid” every year. And the aid and assistance is only increasing. The U.S. has been sending Israel almost $4 billion in military aid since 2019.
In the aftermath of 9/11, the United States’s aid to Israel allowed their signal intelligence and surveillance technology to become “as good as and in some cases better than [that of] the United States.” The U.S. is also a key factor in the creation of Israel’s Iron Dome, which is “a short-range air missile defense system that uses radar technology to destroy rockets fired by Hamas and other militant groups.” The Iron Dome was assembled using U.S. funding and U.S.-made parts, and $1.3 billion in aid was provided for the Iron Dome. The Excess Defense Articles program “has provided Israel with $6.6 billion worth of equipment, including weapons, spare parts, weapons, and simulators since 1992.” The aid the United States has provided Israel has allowed Israel to become the world’s fourth largest military.
The United States has been a key factor in growing the IDF, Israel’s military into the powerhouse it is now, which is currently attacking and bombing civilian populations. They’ve also thrown their support behind them and their deplorable actions. President Joe Biden has come out in support of Israel during this war and humanitarian crisis. He stated, “We will make sure Israel has what it needs to take care of its citizens, defend itself, and respond to this attack.” Biden has been a strong Zionist ever since his days in the Senate, and has claimed, “If there were not an Israel, we would have to invent one to make sure our interests were preserved” and “America’s support for Israel’s security is unshakable, period. Period, period.” Former President Barack Obama has also come out with a statement in support of Israel. So has former President George W. Bush, infamous for his unpopular decision to declare war on Afghanistan and Iraq, who said, “My view is: One side is guilty, and it’s not Israel.” A lot of the language around this war and support of Israel is reminiscent of the sentiments surrounding 9/11 in the days after. Some say this is Israel’s 9/11 and say that if you support Palestine, you support terrorism. Hate crimes have gone up against both Muslims and Jews, similar to what happened after 9/11.
On October 10, 2023, Biden “committed to sending additional ammunition to help support Israeli Defense Forces. U.S. navy ships and planes have been sent to support the country, with one warship blowing up cruise missiles and multiple drones in defense of Israel.” Biden has also called for Congress to send Israel and Ukraine $100 billion for their war efforts, telling Americans that the United States needs to be involved in wars all around the world.
Eight days after his initial statement, Biden stated “The vast majority of Palestinians are not Hamas. Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people.” But he refuses to entertain the idea of a ceasefire and continuously supports Israel’s actions against Palestine. Biden visited Israel on October 18, 2023, to show support to “our” ally. However, on the trip he declared the U.S. would be providing Palestine with $100 million in maintenance aid, which is minuscule to the amount we’re sending Israel. On the same day, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. vetoed “a U.N. Security Council resolution that would have called for a ceasefire to bring aid.” Military officials from the Pentagon have been sent to Israel to help the IDF prepare for their land invasion, and the U.S. has stated that the U.S. would not be a part of the fighting. However, they will send naval attack ships and an aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf to protect from any possible attacks. The United States has maintained its support for Israel’s right to defend itself and that it will provide humanitarian aid to Palestine, despite helping continue the humanitarian crisis.
What can we do?
A large majority of those living in the United States and around the world do not approve of what Israel is doing. Our country has a history of aiding in Israel’s suppression of Palestine and is currently aiding in the genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestine. We are not our government. Americans, a part of every community, have come out in support of a free and liberated Palestine. Protests are taking place all over the world, and a historic March on Washington is scheduled for November 4, 2023. If you want to help, call and email your representatives and senators to change their minds and withdraw their support for Israel. Here’s a link to find your senator’s emails and numbers. Here’s one for representatives. You can reach out to the White House here and demand they do so as well.