Has Israel been a faithful and cooperative ally to the United States ?
Strategic alliances and relationships are always built on multiple aspects, such as common interests, mutual trust, and shared values. In the context of the relationship between the United States and Israel, a contradiction is very clear between a nation which claims to be the “leader of the free world” and the home of liberty and freedom, and another entity which violates everything that the United States stands for. Whether it is because of the ethnic cleansing and genocide of Palestinians, illegal settlement, the obstruction of peace efforts, or even direct espionage and attacks against U.S. sovereignty, the relationship between Israel and the U.S. is definitely a very questionable if not an unsound and absurd one.
Direct attacks against U.S. military, USS liberty incident:
Perhaps the most renowned incident of direct Israeli aggression against the United States was their attack on U.S. navy vessel, USS Liberty on June 8th, 1967.
Memorial for the lost American souls due to Israeli attack on USS Liberty
USS Liberty was originally the 7,725 long tons (7,849 t) (light) U.S. navy vessel, which carried out patrol operations off the coasts of Africa. In 1967, as the 6-Day war, which was started by Israel, erupted, the ship approached closer to the coasts of Sinai and Israel. William I. Martin, admiral of the United States Sixth Fleet, was requested to send a destroyer to accompany USS Liberty. However he replied back saying:
“Liberty is a clearly marked United States ship in international waters, not a participant in the conflict and not a reasonable subject for attack by any nation. Request denied."
Despite this, the Israeli military, under general Yitzhak Rabin at the time, decided to strike the vessel both from sea and air. After being cleared to attack, Israeli Mirage and Dassault Super Mystères jet fighters attacked the ship, killing several members of its crew and injuring dozens others. Afterwards, Israeli torpedo boats also joined the attack from sea and opened fire at the Liberty, using machine guns and cannons. The final death toll of the attack was 34 American sailors, while 171 were wounded. Liberty was also heavily damaged as a result of the Israeli attack.
Dean Rusk, who was the U.S. secretary at the time expressed his anger regarding the Israeli attack, and wrote:
“I was never satisfied with the Israeli explanation. Their sustained attack to disable and sink Liberty precluded an assault by accident or some trigger-happy local commander. Through diplomatic channels we refused to accept their explanations. I didn't believe them then, and I don't believe them to this day. The attack was outrageous.”
Lieutenant Commander James Ennes and Joe Meadoes, who was a survivor of the attack, both had described the attack as “deliberate”.
Additionally, in 2002, Captain Ward Boston, JAGG, U.S. navy, senior counsel for the Court of Inquiry, Court of Inquiry's findings were intended to cover up what was a deliberate attack by Israel on a ship that the Israelis knew to be American.
Espionage against the U.S.
In addition to the unlawful killing of American soldiers and sailors, and the damaging of an American navy vessel, Israel is notoriously known for its notable espionage cases against the United States. While the exact number of espionage cases that Israel was involved in against the U.S. is unknown, there has been numerous cases of alleged espionage.
Perhaps the most notable case is the case of Jonathan Pollard, who was an American Jewish intelligence analyst that sold numerous state guarded secrets, including the National Security Agency’s ten volume manual on how the U.S. gathers its signal intelligence, and disclosed the names of thousands of people who had cooperated with U.S. intelligence agencies. Pollard’s case is known to be one of the most damaging spy cases for the U.S., due to the sensitivity of the information that was stolen by Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, with one of the most damaging spies to the U.S., Jonathan Pollard.
The red flags on Pollard were flying everywhere. He was rejected by the CIA in 1977 for extensive drug use, he lied about his master’s degree from Tufts University in Massachusetts, and he had trouble paying off his debts. Even after an Air Force clinical psychologist suggested Pollard “was grandiose, manipulative, and at times uncertain of what was real, exaggerated, imagined or false and recommended therapy and assignment to nonsensitive duties,” occasional departmental reshuffles allowed the danger to fly under the radar. He was allowed to keep working with sensitive information, because he was good at it.
At the same time, he claimed the U.S. wasn’t making good on its intelligence commitments to Israel, and he saw some intelligence workers as openly anti-Semitic. So he did something about the situation personally. His espionage activities for Israel were short-lived, beginning in June 1984 until his arrest on Nov. 21, 1985.
According to the polygraph-enhanced debrief he received as part of a plea bargain, he was first recruited by Israeli intelligence to hand over information about military developments in several Arab countries between June and August 1984. Later that year, he traveled to Paris, where he was trained and tasked with preparing documents for his Israeli handlers. For $1,500 every month (more than $3,800 in today’s dollars) and a diamond engagement ring for his new fiancee, Pollard agreed to provide the Israelis with American intelligence on Israel’s Arab neighbors, along with any information about the support they received from the Soviet Union.
Israel wanted to know about Arab and Pakistani nuclear technology, chemical and biological weapons programs, Soviet aircraft and air defense systems, as well as Arab nations’ deployment and readiness intelligence. Pollard’s handlers also asked for “dirt” on any Israeli political figures who were providing information to the United States.
Every two weeks between January and November 1985, Pollard dropped off large caches of documents to a D.C. apartment with a specially made, high-speed copier, where they were copied and returned. His trips were so regular and his information so vast.
Among the most damaging intel Pollard is (publicly) known to have given Israel information about is the VQ-2 electronic surveillance system and the 10-volume Radio and Signal Intelligence (RASIN) manual, detailing the entire U.S. global listening profile, detailing what communications the National Security Agency was monitoring, from which countries and what the U.S. priorities were. Some of his disclosures are said to have ended up in the hands of the Soviet Union, which many believe were traded by Israel to the USSR in exchange for the continued emigration of Soviet Jewish citizens to Israel.
Pollard was caught as a result of suspicions raised by his colleagues about his unusually high access to classified information and the frequency of his requests for certain documents. An investigation was initiated, which eventually led to his arrest in 1985 after he was caught attempting to seek asylum at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. Pollard was subsequently charged and convicted of espionage for passing classified information to Israel.
During Pollard's trial, the U.S. government's memorandum in aid of sentencing challenged the "defendant's claim that he was motivated by altruism rather than greed". The government said that Pollard had "disclosed classified information in anticipation of financial gain" in other instances:
The government's investigation has revealed that defendant provided to certain of his acquaintances U.S. classified documents which defendant obtained through U.S. Navy sources. The classified documents which defendant disclosed to two such acquaintances, both of whom are professional investment advisers, contained classified economic and political analyses which defendant believed would help his acquaintances render investment advice to their clients ... Defendant acknowledged that, although he was not paid for his unauthorized disclosures of classified information to the above-mentioned acquaintances, he hoped to be rewarded ultimately through business opportunities that these individuals could arrange for defendant when he eventually left his position with the U.S. Navy. In fact, defendant was involved in an ongoing business venture with two of these acquaintances at the time he provided the classified information to them ...
After serving 30 years of his sentence, he was released on parole in November 2015. In 2020, after completing his parole period, Pollard was granted Israeli citizenship. He then traveled to Israel, where he and his wife made Aliyah (immigrated to Israel under the Law of Return), fulfilling a long-held desire to live in Israel. Pollard's release from parole allowed him to move to Israel, where he was welcomed as a citizen.
Pollard was not the only American arrested in 1985 for breaches of security involving Israel. In May, Richard Kelly Smyth, a NATO consultant with a high-level security clearance, was indicted for illegally shipping krytrons to Israel — devices which can, among other uses, trigger nuclear weapons. Smyth’s company, Milco Incorporated of Huntington Beach, California, acted as the American agent for the deal on behalf of Heli Corporation, an Israeli trading company owned by Arnon Milchan, an international businessman and the producer of such movies as Martin Scorcese’s The King of Comedy.
Smyth was arrested in May 1985 but he fled with his wife while awaiting trial. The couple was discovered in Málaga, Spain in July 2001. After his extradition to the US, he pleaded guilty in December 2001 to violating the Arms Export Control Act and to making false statements to US Customs. His sentence included 40 months in prison and a $20,000 fine, though he was immediately eligible for parole because of his old age. He was 72 at the time of sentencing.
According to the 30-count indictment, Mr. Smyth shipped the krytrons to an Israeli trading company in Tel Aviv over the course of three years. The Israeli Defense Ministry has acknowledged that a number of krytrons were shipped to Israel between 1979 and 1983 and that a large quantity remains in stock.
According to both Mr. Smyth's lawyer and the prosecuting attorney, Mr. Smyth sent the krytrons to the Heli Trading Company, an Israeli company that is either completely or partially owned by Arnon Milchen.
News of the indictment came too late in Israel to contact anyone at the company for comment.
Mr. Milchen is an Israeli movie producer and businessman who has ownership interest in chemical and electronics companies.
Lavon Affair
The Lavon affair was a failed Israeli covert operation, codenamed Operation Susannah, conducted in Egypt in the summer of 1954. As part of a false flag operation a group of Egyptian Jews were recruited by Israeli military intelligence to plant bombs inside Egyptian-, American-, and British-owned civilian targets: cinemas, libraries, and American educational centers.
Lavon Affair was named after Israeli defence minister, Pinhas Lavon, who was behind the bombing of American and British civilian targets in Egypt
According to historian Shabtai Teveth, who wrote one of the more detailed accounts, the assignment was:
"To undermine Western confidence in the existing Egyptian regime by generating public insecurity and actions to bring about arrests, demonstrations, and acts of revenge, while totally concealing the Israeli factor. The team was accordingly urged to avoid detection, so that suspicion would fall on the Muslim Brotherhood, the Communists, 'unspecified malcontents' or 'local nationalists'."
A set of goals, ostensibly articulated by Benjamin Gibli, the head of Israeli Military Intelligence, was delivered to the ring by an intelligence officer about to join them:
Our goal is to break the West’s confidence in the existing [Egyptian] regime … The actions should cause arrests, demonstrations, and expressions of revenge. The Israeli origin should be totally covered while attention should be shifted to any other possible factor. The purpose is to prevent economic and military aid from the West to Egypt. The choice of the precise objectives to be sabotaged will be left to the men on the spot, who should evaluate the possible consequences of each action … in terms of creating commotion and public disorders. (Rokach, 1986: 659, 664)
On 2 July, the cell detonated bombs at a post office in Alexandria, and on 14 July, it bombed the libraries of the U.S. Information Agency in Alexandria and Cairo, and a British-owned theatre. The homemade bombs, consisting of bags containing acid placed over nitroglycerine, were inserted into books and placed on the shelves of the libraries just before closing time. Several hours later, as the acid ate through the bags, the bombs would explode.
The operation had, however, failed, and the Israeli agents involved in the operation were discovered by the Egyptian intelligence. The agents were later trialed and given sentences. The Lavon Affair is perhaps considered an example of how Israel was ready to bomb American targets for its own political agenda.
Murder of American citizens
Besides the unprovoked attack on US Navy vessel USS liberty in 1967, Israel has also had direct responsibility of the murder of many American citizens, and for no good reason.
The first notable example is perhaps Rachel Corrie, an American citizen who was murdered by the Israeli military. Born on April 10, 1979, in Olympia, Washington, Rachel Corrie had dedicated her life to human rights, defending Palestinian rights in particular.
Rachel Corrie, American activist
In 2003, she traveled to Palestine for her senior-year college assignment – to connect her hometown with Rafah, as part of a sister cities project.
During her stay, she engaged with members of the International Solidarity Movement, a pro-Palestinian NGO.
There, on March 16, she stood in front of an Israeli bulldozer, staging a peaceful protest to protect the home of a Palestinian family from demolition. She was crushed to death when the bulldozer driver ran her over, according to witnesses.
Rachel Corrie protesting in front of Israeli bulldozer in Gaza
Palestinians in Gaza received news of her murder with grief and horror, describing her as a "martyr" and staging a massive funeral for the American activist.
On the other hand, there were no repercussions on her murder in Israel, where Israeli judges had simply ruled her death as an “accident”.
Another example is Furkan Doğan, a Turkish American activist who had embarked on a journey to support Palestinians in Gaza.
Furkan Doğan, Turkish American murdered by Israel
Furkan Doğan was born on October 20, 1991 in New York. He was a senior student at Kayseri Private Hisarcıklıoğlu High School. He joined the aid fleet to Palestine from Kayseri.
Furkan Doğa was shot dead by Israeli soldiers on the Mavi Marmara ship, which included civilians in the Humanitarian Aid fleet, at the age of 19. Four bullets from 1.5 meters had been hit in the chest with one bullet in the face. Furkan had embarked on this journey at a young age in order for his own existence to be beneficial.
His father buried his pain in his heart and said:
“We have no regrets. Our child was martyred on a beautiful road. We also became the father of martyrs. It will lead to good developments.”
Furkan's brother, Mustafa Doğan, said at the funeral prayer in Istanbul:
"We thought that Israel would detain or turn away ships and passengers, but we did not expect it to do such an inhumane thing. My brother died a martyr for the Palestinians. May our lives be sacrificed for them. Furkan is now in Istanbul; They pray together with the martyrs who participated in the conquest of Istanbul.”
Furkan, who heard the sounds of fire during the attack of the Israeli soldiers on the Mavi Marmara ship, which brings aid to the suffering people living in Palestine, wrote on the paper in front of him:
“Last hours for the martyrdom sherbet. Is there anything more beautiful? If there is, it's just my mother. But I'm not sure about that either. The two are very difficult to compare. Witness or my mother? The hall is empty. The seriousness that has not existed until now has taken over everyone…”
Israel targeted 19-year-old Furkan, whose only weapon was a pen and a piece of paper.
Perhaps the most recent and notable example was the murder of Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-Christian and American journalist who was murdered by the Israeli military while on duty.
Shireen Abu Akleh, Palestinian American journalist murdered by Israeli military
In May of 2022, Shireen was shot by an Israeli sniper while she was reporting on the Israeli army’s invasion of the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank. Even though she was clearly identified as a journalist and was nowhere near any fighting when she was shot in the neck by the sniper, her killer had yet to face any consequences for their actions. In November, it was revealed that the FBI had opened an investigation into her killing, which Israel declared it won’t cooperate with.
Another example is 78-year-old Palestinian-American Omar Assad who died from a heart attack after soldiers pulled him from his car late at night while he was driving in his village. The soldiers handcuffed, blindfolded, and gagged him before leaving him unresponsive in the cold. Following pressure from Assad’s family in the US and criticism from US officials and human rights organizations, one soldier received a reprimand while two others were removed from leadership positions. The battalion the soldiers were from is notorious for its brutality, with members convicted of torturing Palestinians.
78 year old Omar Assad, a Palestinian American who was murdered by Israeli military
Conclusion
The fact that the United States, a country which stands for human rights, dignity, and liberty considers Israel, a state known for the violation of human rights, breaking numerous international laws, an ally is by itself a contradiction that makes no sense. Additionally, Israel has already proven multiple times before that it is a backstabber, and an uncooperative ally, who has caused more damage than good to Americans.
So why are Americans silent on their country supporting a state that has murdered their own citizens, spied on their country’s sensitive information, and continues to violate the very same values that America has stood for since its establishment?