Washington, DC, April 16, 2024 --  

America's active protection of Israel stands in stark contrast to its abandonment of Ukraine.

When America and its European allies shot down nearly 100 Iranian drones and missiles bound for Israel on Sunday¹, it was great news for Israelis, who endured the massive assault without a single fatality. But not everyone was happy.  

Seething anger over America's defense of Israel was voiced not by Iran but supporters of Ukraine, which  suffers wave upon wave of strikes by the very same Iranian drones wielded by Russia.  One of these strikes destroyed Kiev's largest power plant just three days prior to the attack on Israel², with Ukraine's air defense systems buckling under dwindling ammunition supplies.  

Ukraine has been all but abandoned by its  American ally since extremist Republican congressmen blocked new funds in December.³ While Congress continues to debate resuming aid, the past four months have been devastating for Ukraine.  Depleted stocks of American-supplied  artillery shells and HIMARS rockets allowed Russia to capture the city of Adviika in February.  Then two American patriot air defense launchers were destroyed in March by a Russian missile ⁴, further degrading Ukraine's ammunition-starved air defenses.  

There are several reasons for Republican sympathy for Israel and lack of sympathy for Ukraine -- none of them good.  First, Republicans' evangelical base idolizes Israel from Old Testament fables.  Second, Israel's aniti-Muslim policies appeals to rank-and-file Republicans.  Third, Israel is operating from a position of strength -- its military has  destroyed much of Gaza in response to Hamas' October terrorist attacks, and it has continued in defiance of condemnation by left-leaning human rights advocates.  This strong and unyielding response resonates with a party that looks up to another bullying strongman leader.

On the Ukraine side of the equation, Republicans are suspicious or downright hostile for a number of reasons. Firstly, many East Coast elitists support Ukraine, with flags in their front yards and pins on their lapels -- something that surely raises the hair on the necks of many middle Americans.  Second, the Russian invasion of Ukraine is of greatest importance to European countries in NATO, an alliance perceived (not without reason) as being freeloaders on America's military spending.   Third, Ukraine is perceived as an obscure country on the fringes of Russia, a place not worthy of US weapons and money best reserved to fight China.

But this perspective is utterly wrong.  Ukraine is far more important to US interests than Israel and supporting Ukraine teaches China what to expect should it dare to invade Taiwan.  Ukraine is the prime battleground for the free world's fight against authoritarianism.

Worried about escalation?  Despite nationalistic Russian bluster, the war in Ukraine is less likely to get Americans nuked because Russia and the US have a 70-year history of avoiding nuclear confrontation during conventional conflicts. 

The same is not true for Iran.  Iran is suspected of a "breakout" capability to produce a small number of nuclear weapons in just a few weeks.  These would probably be aimed at Israel, but if the US backs Israel in a full-scale war with Iran, one of those ruidmentary nukes might be smuggled toward US shores.  Never underestimate the crazy things that a religious fundamentalist regime might do when the end is near.

And while Israel would need American help to fight an offensive war against Iran, it needs far less help to simply defend itself.  Israel has its own nuclear weapons and one of the world's leading arms industries.  While it may rely on American and other foreign help for resupply in a longer war, it is simply not in the same  desperate position as Ukraine.

On the moral front, Israel is in a far more dubious position than Ukraine.  It is engaged in a 75-year-old fratricidal conflict with Palestinians over land, a battle that has resulted in Israel becoming both an occupying power and de-facto apartheid regime ruling nearly as many Palestinian Arabs as Jewish residents.  

Israel's Jewish population is becoming dominated by the fast growing right-wing orthodox community, which is on the forefront of efforts to seize and colonize ever more land from Palestinians.  Extremists like Security Minister  Itamar Ben-Gvir form a key part of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's coalition and share few of the democratic values of America and the Western world.

Compare this to Ukraine, where the government of Volodymyr Zelensky has aggressively pursued EU and NATO membership and has cracked down on Right Sector extremists in Ukraine's military, most recently when pulling a critical front-line last week.⁵

Indeed, it is Ukraine, not Israel that is far more deserving and far more in need of American assistance.  Both moral considerations and American self-interests are aligned.  As the struggle for support in America's Congress continues, aid to Israel is hardly in doubt.  Thoughtful leaders should not let it pass without re-starting aid to Ukraine as well.

Related Web Columns:

Distant Casualties, December 12, 2023

Waning Alliance, March 31, 2015

Notes:

1. The Intercept, U.S., Not Israel, Shot down Most Iran Drones and Missiles, April 15, 2024

2. Associated Press, Massive Attack Destroys One of Ukraine’s Largest Power Plants, April 12, 2024

3. New York Times, Republicans Block Aid to Ukraine, Jeopardizing Its Fight Against Russia, December 6, 2023

4. Forbes, A Russian Drone Spotted A Ukrainian Patriot Air-Defense Crew Convoying Near The Front Line. Soon, A Russian Hypersonic Missile Streaked Down, March 4, 2024

5. Forbes, Robots Reinforce Ukraine’s Most Vulnerable District As A Key Brigade Melts Down, April 15, 2024