Also, shall we talk about Israel again? Iran was never a threat to the United States; they were and are a threat to Israel. I contend that Israel is not and has never been an ally of the United States.
The Netanyahu 2001 leaked video:
"This is the most damning and it’s on tape. In 2001, Netanyahu was secretly recorded visiting settlers in the West Bank, not knowing the camera was rolling. He was dismissive of the United States, calling it easily manipulated, saying “I know what America is. America is a thing you can move very easily, move it in the right direction. They won’t get in the way.” The tape was later aired on Israeli Channel 10. In the same video he bragged about sabotaging the Oslo Accords and “beating Palestinians up so it hurts so badly, until it’s unbearable,” while manipulating Americans into supporting him doing so. Israeli journalist Gideon Levy commented at the time that this showed Israel was led by a man who “thinks that Washington is in his pocket and that he can pull the wool over its eyes.”
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef — the most explicit “subservience” theology
“Yosef was not a fringe figure. He was the former Chief Sephardi Rabbi of Israel and spiritual leader of the Shas party, a coalition partner in multiple Israeli governments. In a 2010 weekly sermon he stated that non-Jews exist only to serve the Jewish people, saying gentiles would “work, plow and reap” while Jews “sit like an effendi and eat.” He extended this to say non-Jews are given long lives by God for the same reason a man’s donkey is kept alive — to serve their master. The American Jewish Committee called the remarks “abhorrent and an offense to human dignity.” Half a million Israelis attended his funeral when he died in 2013.”
“Rabbi Yitzhak Shapira and “The King’s Torah” (Torat Hamelech) This one is extraordinary. Shapira, a West Bank settlement yeshiva leader, published a book in 2009 defending the killing of non-Jews, arguing that even babies and children of Israel’s enemies may be killed since “it is clear that they will grow to harm us.” He wrote that anywhere a gentile poses a threat to Israel, it is permissible to kill him “even if he is a righteous gentile not responsible for the threatening situation.” The book explicitly states the commandment “thou shalt not murder” applies only to a Jew killing a Jew. The book was endorsed by Rabbi Yaakov Yosef, son of Ovadia Yosef, and Rabbi Dov Lior — who is the spiritual mentor of sitting cabinet ministers Smotrich and Ben-Gvir. Netanyahu strenuously avoided criticizing its contents or the author’s leading supporters.”
"Bezalel Smotrich’s “Decisiveness Plan” (also translated as the Subjugation Plan) Smotrich is currently Israel’s Finance Minister. In 2017 he formally proposed giving Palestinians three options: surrender and accept residency with reduced voting rights, emigrate, or resist and face the full force of the IDF. What he didn’t advertise publicly is that the plan is based not on geopolitical assessment but on an ancient Talmudic text — the same text by which Joshua offered conquered peoples three choices before slaughter. In 2023 he publicly stated the Palestinian village of Huwara should be “wiped out.'”
"Rabbi Dov Lior The spiritual godfather of the current governing coalition’s far-right flank. Former IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Ya’alon described Lior as the rabbi of the Jewish Underground, whose followers intended to blow up the Dome of the Rock in order to hasten the “Last War” — the war of Gog and Magog, i.e., Armageddon. Lior endorsed Shapira’s King’s Torah. Netanyahu reportedly called him the “elite unit that leads Israel.'”
“Abraham Isaac Kook (Kook the Elder) The theological founding father of the entire religious settler movement. He stated that “the difference between a Jewish soul and souls of non-Jews is greater and deeper than the difference between a human soul and the souls of cattle.” There is a major Jerusalem yeshiva named after him. His theology is the intellectual foundation of everything Smotrich, Ben-Gvir and Lior believe.”
So, what has Israel done to us?
Jonathan Pollard (1985)
U.S. Navy analyst Jonathan Pollard was arrested and convicted for passing highly classified U.S. intelligence to Israel. He received a life sentence (released on parole in 2015). Widely cited as a major breach of trust and U.S. counterintelligence.
USS Liberty attack (June 8, 1967)
Israeli forces attacked the U.S. Navy technical research ship USS Liberty during the Six-Day War, killing 34 U.S. servicemen and wounding 171. Israel said it was a case of mistaken identity; many survivors, some U.S. officials and investigators, have disputed that explanation, making this a long-standing U.S.–Israel controversy.
Lavon Affair / Operation Susannah (1954)
A failed Israeli covert operation in Egypt (bombings and sabotage targeting Western — including British — interests) intended to be blamed on Egyptian nationalists. The plot was exposed, causing political scandal and strained relations. (Primary target was the U.K./Egypt context, but it demonstrated covert operations with deceptive tactics.)
Espionage cases and spy rings
Multiple cases over decades involving individuals accused or convicted of spying for Israel (e.g., Ben-Ami Kadish pleaded guilty in 2009 to passing U.S. secrets to Israel in the 1980s). These cases created recurring U.S. national-security concerns.
AIPAC / Lawrence Franklin case (2004–2006)
A Pentagon analyst (Lawrence Franklin) and others were implicated in passing classified information to an Israeli government official and to U.S. lobbyists. The case raised questions about improper transfer of sensitive material to Israeli contacts. (Charges against some parties were reduced or dropped; the case highlighted vulnerabilities.)
Unilateral military actions (examples of acting without U.S. concurrence)
Israel’s 1981 airstrike on Iraq’s Osirak nuclear reactor was carried out without U.S. approval and created diplomatic friction. Such unilateral strikes have on multiple occasions complicated U.S. diplomacy and raised concerns in Washington about being drawn into regional fallout.
Israel isn’t our ally. Israel is our enemy and making a good case for being the world’s enemy as well.
