Podcast Summary: "Ask Haviv Anything" – Episode 71

Episode Title: Why the heck does America support Israel?
Host: Haviv Rettig Gur
Date: December 25, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Haviv Rettig Gur tackles the provocative and timely question: "Why the heck does America support Israel?" Through a sweeping historical narrative, he unpacks the layered, sometimes paradoxical relationship between the United States and Israel—tracing its roots long before 1948 and exploring the political, strategic, religious, and practical motivations that have shaped it over the decades. Gur combines rich historical context with pointed analysis, examining how domestic American interests, Cold War realities, Middle Eastern geopolitics, and the enduring "bear hug" strategy converge to explain U.S. policy.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Early American Attitudes—Before Israel’s Founding

• Dual Motivations: America’s support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine began before Israel existed, motivated by both genuine affinity and a reluctance to absorb more Jewish immigrants.
  • [01:10] Haviv:

    "America's initial relationship with Israel was actually a relationship with Jews and frankly the Jews that America didn't want to take into America."

• Legislative Moves:
  • 1921: Emergency Quota Act—closed U.S. doors to Jewish immigrants.
  • 1922: Lodge-Fish Resolution—support for a Jewish national home in Palestine, following the British Balfour Declaration.
  • [02:13] Haviv:

    "The same Congress that closed the doors passed the Lodge Fish Resolution... Basically followed on the Balfour Declaration five years earlier by Britain and said that the United States supports the establishment of a Jewish national home of some kind in Palestine."

2. World War II and Creation of Israel

• Humanitarian and Strategic Calculations:
  • The Holocaust intensified the Jewish refugee crisis, but the U.S. still admitted very few after 1921.
  • The U.S. supported Zionism partly to avoid resettling large numbers of Jewish refugees itself.
  • Truman pressed for a solution, leading to support for Israel’s creation in 1948.
• Recognition of Israel:
  • [07:20] Haviv:

    "Truman recognizes Israel within 11 minutes. They make a big deal of how wonderful and beautiful and glorious this thing is."

• Contradictory Actions:
  • The U.S. worked both to secure UN backing for Israel and to avoid alienating Arab states, including imposing an arms embargo on Israel during its 1948 existential war.

3. Shifting Strategic Value: Suez Crisis to Cold War

• Suez Crisis (1956):
  • Israel, Britain, and France’s alliance against Egypt; America forced Israel's withdrawal.
  • Nonetheless, the U.S. noticed Israel’s value as a counterweight to Soviet-backed Arab states.
  • [12:00] Haviv:

    "The Americans nevertheless notice that the Israelis were an effective counterweight to the Arab forces and to Soviet armies."

• Ben Gurion’s Vision:
  • Israel’s founding leader decided early that Israel’s future was tied to America—“the American world” would be the safe and prosperous world for Jews.

4. The Cold War and the 'Bear Hug'

• Kennedy Era:

  • U.S. feared Israel’s nuclear ambitions: adopted a “bear hug” strategy—supporting Israel to maintain influence and control.
  • [17:55] Haviv:

    "It's a way of holding Israel close to maintain more American influence, more American control. So the Israelis don't...do anything crazy or foolish or stupid."

  • First major U.S. arms sale to Israel (Hawk missiles, 1962)—formalizing the security relationship.

• Six-Day War (1967) and Aftermath:

  • Israel’s rapid, decisive victory demonstrated its power and instability-creating potential, further encouraging the U.S. to lean into the “bear hug”—close ties to both benefit and restrain Israel.

5. Oil Shock and the Path to Peace

• Yom Kippur War (1973) and the Oil Embargo:

  • The U.S. experienced firsthand the impact of Middle East instability on domestic economic and energy security.
  • The region’s volatility made U.S. management of Israel’s actions all the more critical.

• Peace as an American Legacy:

  • 1979: Carter brokered the first Israeli-Arab peace treaty.
  • [26:10] Haviv:

    "The Israel file...has the potential to offer a president a great and grand and gorgeous legacy, which is peacemaking."

  • Successive presidents (Reagan, Bush Sr., Clinton) invested in Israeli-Arab diplomacy—motivated by legacy-building as much as strategy.

6. Counterterrorism and the War on Terror

• Post-9/11 Era:
  • Israel became especially valuable for American counterterrorism and intelligence-sharing.
  • Haviv notes that Israel contributed expertise, but was not the driver behind America’s 2003 Iraq invasion—contrary to common conspiratorial claims.
  • [33:00] Haviv:

    "Actual Israeli policy counseled quietly against the Iraq war, and then went with the Americans because the Israelis are not in a position not to go with the Americans."

7. Recent History: October 7th, Biden, and Beyond

• The Enduring Bear Hug:

  • When Israel’s actions threaten regional stability, the U.S. uses support as leverage.
  • Biden continues the “bear hug” tradition: offering weapons and backing while restraining Israeli escalation.
  • [39:25] Haviv:

    "What was Biden's visit just after October 7th about? ...Biden held Israel close, gave Israel defensive weaponry, and then made sure the Israelis understood that they would lose that American leverage...if they did things the Americans weren't willing to stomach."

    • Example: Biden warned Israel not to invade Rafah; Israel obeyed under threat of losing U.S. support.

• Broader Takeaway:

  • The relationship persists and deepens regardless of religious, cultural, or personal affinities because Israel’s stability (or potential for destabilization) directly impacts American interests.
  • [44:05] Haviv:

    "If you want stability, Israel has to be safe. And the Americans always played the game because the Israelis were always willing to be a stable partner as long as Israel is safe."

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On America’s Early Relationship with Zionism:
  [01:10]

  "America's initial relationship with Israel was actually a relationship with Jews and frankly the Jews that America didn't want to take into America." — Haviv Rettig Gur

• On Truman’s Dilemma:
  [09:00]

  "In the immediate aftermath of the war...Truman wanted to get rid of the DPs and he actually asked Congress to let them into America. At one point, Congress refused. So Truman went on the next best option..."

• On Israel as a Cold War Asset:
  [12:00]

  "The Americans nevertheless notice that the Israelis were an effective counterweight to the Arab forces and to Soviet armies." — Haviv Rettig Gur

• On the Bear Hug Strategy:
  [17:55]

  "It's a way of holding Israel close to maintain more American influence...So the Israelis don't...do anything crazy or foolish or stupid." — Haviv Rettig Gur

• On Peace as Presidential Legacy:
  [26:10]

  "The Israel file...has the potential to offer a president a great and grand and gorgeous legacy, which is peacemaking." — Haviv Rettig Gur

• On the Iraq War Narrative:
  [33:00]

  "Actual Israeli policy counseled quietly against the Iraq war, and then went with the Americans because the Israelis are not in a position not to go with the Americans." — Haviv Rettig Gur

• On Biden and the Present-Day Relationship:
  [39:25]

  "Biden held Israel close, gave Israel defensive weaponry, and then made sure...if they did things the Americans weren’t willing to stomach."

Important Timestamps

• 01:10 — America’s early double motivation for supporting Zionism
• 07:20 — U.S. recognition of Israel and UN support
• 12:00 — Suez Crisis and Israel as a Cold War counterweight
• 17:55 — Kennedy’s “bear hug” strategy and the start of direct U.S.-Israel military support
• 22:40 — Six-Day War and the intensification of the U.S.-Israel relationship
• 26:10 — How presidents seek peace legacies through Israel
• 33:00 — Debunking the claim that Israel drove America into Iraq war
• 39:25 — Biden’s “bear hug” policy post-October 7th
• 44:05 — Summary of the ongoing logic of U.S. support for Israel

Conclusion

"Why the heck does America support Israel?" Haviv Rettig Gur’s answer is nuanced and compelling: It’s history, strategy, power, and practicality—more than affinity, religion, or culture. The U.S.-Israel alliance rests on America’s interest in a stable Middle East and in managing Israel as both a valuable partner and a potential regional disrupter. The “bear hug” continues, shaped by generations of presidents and a world that remains anxious about the cost of instability in the region.