Why did America decide to back Israel to begin with, before Jews had a grip on our politics?

Question

I am no bigot, nor was this question anti-Semitic in nature. Jews do hold a lot of power in US politics, if you think otherwise, you are naive.
I suspected it had something to do with our belated response to the Holocaust, but even that doesn't completely make sense to me. I think there is a better reason.

SolMan, you are an idiot, and deserve a good slapping. I am no bigot, nor is this question anti-Semitic in nature. I have heard both sides of the same coin, and I am trying to form an intelligent, informed opinion concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, instead of blindly accepting that Palestinians are bad, and Israelis are the victims.

Answer 1

I think that America saw the early State of Israel as continuing the American pioneering spirit.
Before Israel was a state, when early Jewish settlers came, the land was a desert or a swamp, with either no water or people dying of malaria, and here were a bunch of young people leaving the comforts of home to settle the promised land.
Americans definitely identified with that pioneering spirit. The Jewish community in America wasn't particularly Zionistic before the early to mid 20th century, which many Christians in America were sympathetic to or even enthusiastic about Zionism.
Additionally, Israel is the only democratic country in the middle east. It's the only country in the ME that gurantees people basic civil liberties. If you are gay, or disagree with the government and want to protest, or are a woman who enjoys wearing immodest clothing like sleeveless tops, Israel is the only place you can really live in around this part of the world. Israel is a democracy with democratic values. Muslim women, for example, have much much better educational opportunities in Israel than anyone else in the ME.
And I didn't even get to explain how Israel served the United States during the Cold War, when the Soviet Union and America were using the ME as their battlefield, and Israel served the United States' diplomatic and strategic interests . . . But you can read up a bit of history and poli sci for that, maybe . . .

Answer 2

This began with the finish of the world war, and the Jewish people lost 6 million family members and friends. There was also some history of the Jewish people in Palestine during the 1800's having bought up much of the land, farmed it and we're developing it but the Palestinians took it away from them. So this was the political debate and discussion in creating a country from Palestine for the Jewish people. My personal belief was the flaw in the plan was not leaving a Palestinian state in place. I don't know how the people of that day could reconcile with taking a peoples country away from them and not giving them a country back?

Answer 3

Bigot. 2 points for me. Study history. If the U.S. had not kept Israel contained, they would have completely overrun the West Bank and Gaza Strip a long time ago. And personally, I think they had every right to considering how many times they have been invaded from and attacked from there.

Answer 4

Pres Truman backed the original idea. The Jews had a death grip on our politics even then because they had the so-called "holocaust" to guilt white people with.

Answer 5

We fought against the Germans in World War II who had done great atrocities to the Jewish people and they had to flee Germany to find a new home and it was the right thing to do. The bigger question is why can't the people in the middle east live in peace?

Answer 6

B/c the fxck'n Palestinians (most arabs in fact) are a psyscho culture. That's why. I'd rather have the Weinstein's running Hollywood and making great films than Arabs stoning our children.

Answer 7

maybe I missed something, but if Jews "had a grip on our politics", then there wouldn't be biggoted jerks like you, right?

Answer 8

Probably because the Jewish have always had someone or other persecuting them.