‘The most reliable ally’

American support for Israel transcends the pro-Israel lobby. A majority of Americans recognize in Israel the one Western-style democracy in the Middle East, the place most like the United States when it comes to free speech, a free press, the rule of law and an independent judiciary, free and fair elections, and equal rights for women and minorities.

Americans know that Israel, during the decades of the Cold War and, since the collapse of the Soviet empire, in the struggle against Islamic fundamentalism, has been the United States’ most reliable ally in the Middle East. From providing intelligence on captured Soviet-era military equipment to destroying Syria’s nuclear facility in 2007, Israel has been a de facto extension of U.S. (and NATO) security forces.

Even more, the United States has benefited from Israeli innovations in everything from diagnosing and treating illnesses to cell phone technology, something that cannot be said about any individual Arab state or the Arab countries collectively.

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