Why I Support Israel, and Why You Should Too
I’ve often been asked why I stand so firmly with Israel. In an age when anti-Western and anti-Israel narratives are plastered across social media, I believe it’s more important than ever to back up our convictions with facts. I support Israel not out of blind allegiance, but because of logic, history, and shared values. After examining the evidence, I think you will see why you should support Israel as well.
A Homeland Earned Through History and Struggle
The very foundation of Israel stems from a desire for survival and self-determination. As the ancestral home where their identity first formed, the Land of Israel has been associated with the Jewish people for centuries. The need for a safe Jewish homeland became sadly urgent after millennia of persecution that culminated in the Holocaust. The United Nations acknowledged this in 1947 when it decided to divide Palestine, which was ruled by the British, into two states: one Arab and one Jewish. Despite concessions, the Jewish leadership agreed to this U.N. Partition Plan. However, Arab leaders completely dismissed it, refusing to accept any Jewish state. Five Arab countries invaded Israel as soon as it declared its independence in May 1948 with the intention of suffocating the newly formed country in its cradle.
Israel managed to survive that assault in spite of all the odds. A small country of Holocaust survivors and refugees was up against several well-armed armies in a David vs. Goliath situation. The war was expensive; both sides suffered and there was a severe refugee crisis. Crucially, however, Israel was compelled to fight for its survival from the very beginning. The Arab attackers' declared objective was to prevent the creation of any Jewish state. Israel eventually established itself in the territory it controlled, while Jordan annexed the West Bank and Egypt occupied Gaza. The fact that no Palestinian Arab state arose in Gaza or the West Bank between 1948 and 1967 while Egypt and Jordan ruled over them is telling; the opportunity was lost. Those regimes prioritized the destruction of Israel over the establishment of separate Palestinian state.
Israel's legitimacy was based on morality and international law rather than being imposed by colonialism. T he United Nations recognized a Jewish state in 1947 as "irrevocable," recognizing the Jewish people's inherent right "to be masters of their own fate, like all other nations, in their own sovereign state." Peace and equal citizenship for Arab residents and neighbors were expressly promised in Israel's founding document. With the pledge to "ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race, or sex," the Declaration of Independence declared, "We extend our hand to all neighboring states...in an offer of peace and good neighborliness." These were not empty words; approximately 150,000 Palestinian Arabs became citizens of Israel after 1948. More than 20% of Israelis are Arab citizens today, and they enjoy the same legal rights as Jews, such as the ability to vote, practice their religion freely, and choose their representatives. This is hardly the characteristics of a "apartheid" state; rather, it is a multicultural democracy that, like all democracies, is still working toward complete equality. In actuality, Israel's founding principles in 1948 were pluralistic and secular: a Jewish homeland that protects everyone's freedoms.
Critics who paint Israel’s creation as illegitimate ignore this context. Israel was established via international consensus and defensive struggle – not by conquering a foreign land, but by defending and reviving an indigenous one. The Jewish people were not colonial strangers in Palestine; they were a people returning to the only homeland they’ve ever called their own. And despite immediate hostility from neighbors, Israel kept the door to peace open. A stark example: after later wars, Israel proved willing to trade land for peace. It returned the entire Sinai Peninsula (an area over three times its own size) to Egypt in 1979 as part of a peace treaty, and made peace with Jordan in 1994. These peace deals demonstrated Israel’s consistent message: if enemies lay down arms and recognize Israel’s right to exist, Israelis are ready to compromise and coexist.
Unfortunately, that idea has been put to the test time and time again. Israel preemptively won the Six-Day War in 1967 and took control of Gaza and the West Bank in response to existential threats, including Egyptian President Nasser's vow to drive the Jews into the sea and blockade Israeli shipping. Then, it expressed a readiness to back off in return for peace. The response from the Arab League? T he notorious "Three No's" at Khartoum were: no negotiations, no recognition of Israel, and no peace with Israel. The main barrier to peace has been this rejectionism. Hardline groups saw Israel's withdrawal from areas, such as Gaza in 2005, which included the removal of all settlers and soldiers, as a chance to attack again rather than for peace.
A Democracy Sharing Our (American and Western) Values
Why should Americans, especially moderates and young folks, care about supporting Israel? Start with values. Israel, for all its flaws and debates, is a liberal democracy. It has a boisterous elected parliament, a free press, an independent judiciary, and a civil society with active NGOs. Women serve at the highest levels (Golda Meir was one of the world’s first female Prime Ministers). LGBTQ rights in Israel are also the most advanced in the Middle East. On top of this, ethnic and religious minorities have representation: Arab-Muslim, Druze, and Christian citizens serve as lawmakers, judges, even army officers. One of Israel’s Supreme Court justices is Arab Israeli, and an Arab party was part of the governing coalition recently – facts unheard of in most of the Middle East.
These liberal, pluralistic aspects of Israel stand in stark contrast to its enemies. The regimes and groups bent on Israel’s destruction – Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran’s theocracy – are deeply anti-democratic. They do not tolerate dissent or diversity. Hamas in Gaza imposes strict Islamist rule with no elections since it seized power in 2007; it persecutes political opponents and LGBTQ Palestinians. Iran’s regime, which calls the U.S. the “Great Satan” and Israel the “Little Satan,” is a theocratic dictatorship that jails protesters and mandates medieval religious laws. It is telling that Israel’s detractors often hate the West’s liberal values as much as they hate Israel itself. Support for Israel, then, is not just about one country – it’s about standing with a fellow democracy under attack by forces that also despise America’s way of life. Moderate Americans who value freedom of speech, gender equality, and human rights will find those values reflected in Israel far more than in any of Israel’s adversaries.
Furthermore, backing Israel is in line with US strategic objectives. In a volatile region, Israel is a reliable ally of the United States, offering innovation and intelligence that contribute to the security of Americans. Israeli research has helped advance everything from advanced cybersecurity to advances in medicine. This small country of only 9 million people has gained the moniker "Startup Nation" due to its significant technological contributions that benefit the entire world. If Israel were not a free society that encourages innovation and discussion, none of that would be feasible. Supporting Israel means supporting these beneficial contributions as well as the mutual security cooperation that aids in the fight against international terrorism.
Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran
Logic and data compel one to support Israel’s actions in defending itself, once you understand the relentless threats it endures. Israel withdrew completely from Gaza in 2005, hoping the Palestinians there would build a peaceful future. Instead, the Hamas terror organization took over Gaza and turned it into a fortress of extremism. Since 2001, Palestinian militant groups (primarily Hamas and Islamic Jihad) have launched tens of thousands of rockets and mortars at Israeli cities and villages. Think about that: not dozens or hundreds – tens of thousands of projectiles fired indiscriminately at civilian populations. The United Nations, European Union, and human rights groups have all condemned these deliberate attacks on civilians as terrorism and war crimes. Under international law, there is no ambiguity here.
What does this mean for Israelis on a human level? It means millions of ordinary people – moms, dads, and children – live under constant threat and are accustom to the sound of rocket sirens. In southern Israel, kids in towns like Sderot have 15 seconds or less to find shelter when Hamas launches a rocket. Over the years, these bombardments have killed and maimed Israeli civilians and inflicted deep psychological trauma. Medical studies found almost 50% of young children in Sderot suffer from PTSD symptoms due to the constant rocket fire. Imagine trying to raise your family with that kind of fear haunting every day. No nation on earth would tolerate this terror on its borders without responding.
Israel has responded, but with remarkable restraint under the circumstances. It developed the Iron Dome defense system, which miraculously intercepts about 90% of incoming rockets. This has saved countless lives on both sides – including Gazan lives – because it reduces Israel’s need to retaliate massively. Still, even a 10% leak-out rate means deadly rockets get through. In the May 2021 Gaza conflict, for example, Hamas and allied militants fired over 4,300 rockets at Israeli cities. Twelve civilians in Israel were killed, including children, and hundreds were injured. Horrifically, many Gaza civilians were victims of Hamas’s reckless fire as well – about 680 Hamas rockets misfired and fell inside Gaza during that conflict, killing innocent Palestinians. Yes, you read that right: Hamas killed Gaza’s own people with their unguided rockets. They then cynically tried to blame Israel for those deaths. This is the true nature of the enemy Israel faces— do anything possible to deflect blame and paint Israel in the worst possible light.
No incident underscores the stakes more than Hamas’s surprise onslaught on October 7, 2023 – a date seared into Israeli history. On that morning, Hamas terrorists burst across the Gaza border using trucks, motorcycles, even paragliders, in a coordinated land, sea, and air assault. They barreled into Israeli towns and kibbutz farms, gunning down anyone in sight. The carnage was shocking in its brutality and scope. Over 1,200 people – mostly civilians – were massacred in a matter of hours, making it the deadliest single day for Jews since the Holocaust. Innocent families at breakfast were slaughtered; young people at a music festival were hunted down and murdered. Hamas fighters took more than 240 hostages, including women, babies, and the elderly, dragging them into Gaza’s tunnels. The cruelty defies comprehension – some victims were tortured; there were reports of atrocities that cannot be printed here. For Israelis, this was their 9/11 moment, condensed into a few terrifying hours.
Ask yourself: if a terrorist militia stormed American towns and butchered over a thousand of our citizens in cold blood, how would we respond? Could we ever justify or “contextualize” such an act? Of course not. Hamas openly celebrated this orgy of violence. Its leaders called it a heroic operation and urged Palestinians to join the fight. Let there be no mistake: Hamas’s stated goal is Israel’s annihilation. The Hamas charter is chillingly clear that “Israel will exist until Islam will obliterate it,” rejecting any peaceful solution. They glorify killing Jews as a religious duty, even citing in their charter, “The Day of Judgment will not come about until Moslems fight Jews and kill them. This genocidal ideology isn’t hypothetical – Hamas attempted to act on it on October 7, 2023, and has been acting on it by targeting civilians for decades.
Israel’s ongoing military efforts against Hamas in Gaza are not acts of aggression but of self-preservation. No country can allow a terrorist army committed to its destruction to operate next door. Hamas deliberately embeds its fighters, weapons, and command posts in civilian areas – using apartment buildings, hospitals, and even UN-run schools as shields for its rockets and militants. This heinous tactic means any effort to dismantle Hamas inevitably risks civilian harm, which Israel strives to minimize. Israeli Defense Forces give advance warnings before strikes, urging civilians to evacuate whenever possible. They’ve aborted countless raids when intel showed civilians were too close. Yet Hamas wants Gazan civilians to stay put – they literally use their own people as human shields, hoping casualties will spark international pressure on Israel. It’s a cruel calculus: Hamas benefits from the death of its own civilians because it can then demonize Israel in the media. We must see through that propaganda. The moral responsibility for Gaza’s suffering lies first and foremost with Hamas, who choose to wage war from amid civilian population centers. As Colonel Richard Kemp, a former British Army commander, observed, “Israel does more to safeguard civilians than any army in the history of warfare”, whereas Hamas does everything to endanger civilians (on both sides).
Beyond Hamas, Iran and its proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon loom large as part of the threat matrix. Iran’s Islamist regime is the chief sponsor of groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, funding, training and arming them to attack Israel. In fact, Iran has funneled an estimated $100 million per year to Palestinian terror groups including Hamas, alongside advanced weapons. Since 2012, Iran spent over $20 billion supporting terrorist proxies across the region. Why? The Iranian ayatollahs are obsessively anti-Israel; they call Israel a “cancerous tumor” to be “uprooted and destroyed.” These aren’t metaphors – Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei regularly incites for Israel’s eradication in the same breath as he chants “Death to America.” Tehran sees Israel (and the U.S.) as “enemies of Islam” to be wiped out.
Hezbollah, Iran’s Lebanese proxy, has amassed a staggering arsenal of an estimated 150,000–200,000 rockets and missiles aimed at Israel. This is a terror army more heavily armed than many national militaries. In 2006, Hezbollah rained rockets on northern Israel, killing dozens of civilians and driving millions into bunkers. Today their rockets can reach all of Israel. One can imagine the nightmare if Hezbollah joins a war – Israeli cities would face a massive bombardment. Israel’s ongoing shadow war (striking Iranian weapons convoys in Syria, etc.) is essentially pre-emptive self-defense to degrade these threats. When Israel conducts airstrikes on Iranian weapons facilities in Syria or thwarts Hezbollah terror tunnels, it is holding back a greater conflagration that could engulf the region. Indeed, many Arab countries quietly understand this; that’s one reason why several Sunni Arab states (like the UAE and Bahrain) recently normalized relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords. They see Iran’s extremist expansion as the real danger, not Israel.
P.S: I’m not even going to mention the Houthis
In supporting Israel, you’re supporting the front-line fight against Islamist extremist terrorism. Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Iran’s Quds Force are all parts of the same malignant network that targets Western democracies and values. Israel is their first target, but not the last – these forces oppose the liberal world order that Americans uphold. Israel’s battle to neutralize Hamas and contain Iran’s proxies is literally a fight for the safety and stability of the free world. It is no coincidence that groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS share a hatred of Israel; the ideologies are branches of the same poisonous tree.
Hamas’s violence is not due to lack of opportunity for peace, but despite numerous opportunities. Israel completely withdrew from Gaza, only to receive rockets instead of goodwill. Israel has repeatedly offered or agreed to far-reaching peace deals – in 2000 at Camp David and in 2008 – that would have created a Palestinian state in Gaza and most of the West Bank. Those offers were either rejected or met with new violence (the Second Intifada suicide bombings after 2000, for example). Even the Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas admitted to turning down a generous statehood proposal in 2008. Meanwhile, Hamas categorically rejects any two-state compromise; as their Charter says, any peaceful negotiation is just a “waste of time” and jihad is the only path. They do not want a Palestinian state alongside Israel – they want one instead of Israel. This zero-sum extremism is the fundamental barrier to resolving the conflict.
Dispelling Myths and Seeing the Reality
It’s important to confront some myths promoted by anti-Israel propagandists head-on:
“Israel is a colonial oppressor, not a victim.” False. Jews are indigenous to the land of Israel; Jerusalem was their capital in antiquity, and there has been an unbroken Jewish presence there for thousands of years. Modern Israel was born in anti-colonial struggle against British rule, and with the blessing of the international community. Its founders included refugees from European genocide and exiles from Arab lands (about 850,000 Jews were expelled from Middle Eastern countries around Israel’s founding). Israel absorbed these refugees and built a thriving society. By contrast, Arab nations kept Palestinian refugees in camps for generations, using them as political pawns rather than integrating them. Israel’s existence is a tale of indigenous revival and survival, not European colonialism.
“Israel is practicing apartheid.” This slander collapses under scrutiny. In apartheid South Africa, blacks couldn’t vote, hold office, or share facilities with whites. In Israel, Arab citizens vote in elections, serve in the Knesset, and enjoy freedom of speech and religion. Arabic is an official language. Mosques dot the skyline of Israeli cities. Yes, there are serious issues regarding the West Bank, which is territory under disputed status since 1967, and Palestinians there do not have Israeli citizenship. But that is a separate political dispute over land and security – not a system of racial segregation within Israel proper. When critics conflate Israel with apartheid, they erase the reality that 20% of Israelis are Arab and participate fully in national life (Israel even has Arab judges and military officers). Is Israel perfect in its treatment of minorities? No – social and economic gaps persist, and some discriminatory policies have existed. But it is actively debated and challenged within Israel’s own vibrant democratic framework. Meanwhile, look at Israel’s neighbors: many have virtually no Jews left (they were expelled long ago), and minorities that remain (like Christians or Kurds) often face harsh discrimination. The double standard is glaring.
“Israel’s self-defense is ‘genocide’ or disproportionate.” This accusation flips reality. Genocide is what Hamas openly advocates against Jews. Israel, in its military operations, invests great effort to avoid civilian casualties, sometimes even at the cost of increased risk to its own soldiers. No country fighting an enemy embedded among civilians has ever had a zero-casualty outcome – not the U.S. in Iraq, not NATO in Afghanistan. Consider this: when Israel targeted Hamas rocket launchers hidden next to a U.N. clinic in Khan Younis in 2024, the IDF first ensured all civilians were evacuated from the area. Only then did they strike the launchers precisely, avoiding harm to innocents. That level of caution is extraordinary amid war. Israel’s enemies deliberately maximize civilian harm; Israel seeks to minimize it. Also, the concept of “disproportionate force” is often misused. In warfare, the goal is to stop the threat. When a democracy is fighting terrorists who intentionally blur the lines by hiding among civilians, any civilian loss is tragic – but the blame lies with those who create that horror by initiating aggression and hiding behind human shields.
Finally, let’s address the propaganda war. Extremist groups and their sympathizers invest heavily in misinformation: doctored photos, false atrocity stories, wild conspiracy theories. They know they can’t defeat Israel militarily, so they try to poison public opinion. We saw this when Hamas misfired a rocket in October 2023 that landed on a Gazan hospital parking lot – killing people there – and instantly blamed Israel. Many media outlets ran with the Hamas claim of an Israeli airstrike, sparking outrage. Within a day, evidence showed it was actually a Palestinian rocket that malfunctioned – a tragic self-inflicted harm. But by then, the narrative damage was done. This is a classic Hamas tactic: cause or fake an incident to demonize Israel. As supporters of truth and reason, we must be vigilant. Look to confirmed facts and credible sources. Don’t let emotional manipulation cloud the reality of who the aggressor is. Israel doesn’t gain anything from hurting civilians – it actually suffers diplomatically when that happens. Hamas, by contrast, banks on Palestinian civilian deaths as a tool to boost their twisted cause. It’s cynical and cruel, and we should reject these emotional ploys and focus on the core facts.
My Basic Conclusions
When I sift through all the history, data, and real-world evidence, I come to an inescapable conclusion: Israel is fundamentally in the right to defend its existence and way of life, and it deserves the support of all who cherish democratic values and truth. This doesn’t mean Israel is infallible or beyond criticism. Israelis themselves fiercely debate their government’s policies, from settlement building to judicial reforms – that’s part of being a democracy. Supporting Israel doesn’t mean opposing Palestinian aspirations either. I deeply sympathize with innocent Palestinian civilians who have suffered in this conflict. Supporting Israel is not supporting war for war’s sake – it’s supporting a path to a genuine peace, one that can only be achieved when terror groups like Hamas are disarmed and discredited. The two-state solution that would grant Palestinians independence and Israelis security is only possible once those committed to Israel’s destruction are defeated.
I support Israel because I support peace. And lasting peace will never come from Hamas’s rockets or Iran’s fanaticism. It will come when moderates on all sides can negotiate without the gun pointed at Israel’s head. Every time Israel has faced a willing peace partner, whether Egypt’s Sadat or Jordan’s King Hussein , peace has resulted. Israel is not the obstacle to peace; the obstacle is extremists who refuse to accept that any Jewish state can exist in this region. By standing with Israel, we send a message that terrorism and absolutism will not be rewarded, and that civilized nations have the right to protect their citizens.
And consider this: Many of the values driving young people to criticize Israel – concern for human rights, opposition to racism, desire for equality – are the very values Israel’s enemies blatantly trample. Hamas and Iran are homophobic, theocratic, and oppressive. Women under their rule are second-class citizens. There is no free speech under Hamas or the Ayatollah. If you marched for women’s rights or LGBTQ pride or freedom of expression in Gaza or Tehran, you’d be jailed or worse. In Israel, you can and people do protest for all these causes in the streets of Tel Aviv. Which society aligns more with ‘progressive’ or modern, democratic and fair ideals? The answer is clear. So do not be misled into supporting a narrative that undermines a free society in favor of forces of darkness.
I support Israel because facts compel me to, because its cause is just, and because the alternatives are horrific. I support Israel because I watched footage of families slaughtered in their homes by terrorists and realized there is no moral universe in which that is excusable. I support Israel because I see a pluralistic nation trying to live in peace facing down regimes and militias that glorify death. I support Israel because when democracies face violent fanatics, we have to choose a side, and I choose the side that upholds life and liberty.
To politically moderate Americans and young skeptics, I say: scrutinize the information critically. Don’t buy the simplistic narrative of bully versus victim that anti-Israel activists peddle. Look at the whole picture – Israel’s hand extended in peace since 1948, met so often with war; Israel’s humane practices versus its enemies’ barbarism; Israel’s shared values with the West versus the terrorists’ tyranny. When you do, and if you do so honestly and without an attempt to feed a confirmation bias, I’m confident you’ll conclude, as I have, that supporting Israel is not only logical – it’s the right thing to do.
In the end, Israel’s fight is about the right of a nation to live in peace and security, free from terror. That principle is one all decent people should champion. Israel’s fight is our fight – a fight for the values of civilization against the forces of chaos.
A very sincere thank you for your thoughtful and comprehensive explanation and support of Israel. I don't understand why so many don't see the factual reality as you do. I am so grateful for all of your instagram posts on the topic as well. You are a clear and necessary voice in a swell of anti-jewish and anti-israel rhetoric and behavior. I wish more young people had your clarity and perspective.
Correct. 👏 👏 👏