Israel–United States Relations

Israel and the United States cooperate through legislation, bilateral agreements, trade, and sustained defense and diplomatic contacts rather than through a treaty obligating either country to defend the other.[1] Israel shares intelligence, military technology, and other innovations with the United States, while American assistance supports Israeli defense capabilities and procurement.[1] The relationship extends beyond government and military institutions into economic, scientific, educational, and cultural connections.[3]

Security cooperation includes military assistance, joint exercises, research, and weapons development.[6] Economic relations operate within a free-trade framework established in 1985, and the United States is Israel’s largest single-country trading partner.[1] Binational foundations and regular economic consultations provide additional channels for scientific research, agricultural development, industrial innovation, education, and cultural exchanges.[3]

The partnership developed gradually: immediate American recognition of Israeli statehood did not initially bring either an arms relationship or a security guarantee.[7] Economic support preceded close military cooperation, while Cold War developments and the wars of 1967 and 1973 helped transform the strategic relationship.[7][4] Its institutional depth has nevertheless coexisted with recurring policy differences and periods of American pressure on Israeli governments.[4]

The United States supported the 1947 United Nations partition resolution, but recognition of an independent Israel emerged from a substantial internal American policy debate.[8] The State Department recommended a trusteeship rather than independent states, citing concerns that included Soviet influence and possible disruption of American oil supplies.[8] President Harry S. Truman ultimately chose recognition despite that recommendation.[8]

Within the administration, Secretary of State George C. Marshall and his deputy Robert Lovett favored delay, while presidential adviser Clark Clifford supported immediate recognition.[9] Marshall warned Truman that he would vote against him if the president followed Clifford’s advice.[9] The recognition announcement also angered American representatives at the United Nations and senior State Department officials who had not received advance notification.[10]

David Ben-Gurion proclaimed Israel’s independence on May 14, 1948, and the United States recognized its provisional government as the new state’s de facto authority eleven minutes later.[2] The announcement was prepared so quickly that Clifford crossed out the typed words “Jewish State” and substituted “State of Israel.”[9] De jure recognition followed on January 31, 1949.[10] Formal diplomatic relations were established when Ambassador James Grover McDonald presented his credentials on March 28, 1949.[11] The United States supported Israel’s admission to the United Nations later that year.[12]

Early Israeli policy initially sought nonalignment between East and West, although its political system and outlook on international affairs inclined it toward the United States.[7] American support reflected, among other influences, moral concerns associated with the Holocaust and religious support for Zionism.[7] Recognition did not eliminate American caution: the United States maintained an arms embargo on the parties to the Arab–Israeli conflict until the early 1960s and imposed an embargo on Israel during the War of Independence.[7][4]

In January 1949, the United States extended $100 million in credits to help avert an Israeli economic collapse.[7] By 1960, total American economic aid in grants and loans had reached $1.5 billion, and between 1949 and 1959 approximately 10 percent of Israel’s imported capital came directly from the United States.[7]

Economic support initially existed alongside American efforts to build Cold War alignments with Arab states. Washington focused on the Baghdad Pact and did not yet treat Israel as a strategic partner; under President Dwight D. Eisenhower, it sought closer ties with Arab governments and generally withheld offensive arms from Israel.[7][13]

The opening of American arms sales came incrementally.[7] President John F. Kennedy authorized the sale of Hawk anti-aircraft missiles in 1962, and Washington agreed in 1964 to provide modern weapons, including fighter aircraft and tanks.[7][14] In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson approved a one-time sale of A-4 Skyhawk aircraft after the United States decided to sell jet fighters to Jordan.[7] His 1968 announcement of Phantom aircraft sales established the United States as Israel’s principal arms supplier and marked the beginning of an American policy intended to preserve Israel’s qualitative military edge.[7]

Israel’s victory in the 1967 Six-Day War changed American perceptions of its potential as a strategic and Cold War partner.[4] By 1969, President Richard Nixon and national security adviser Henry Kissinger regarded Israel as a Cold War asset and supplied more advanced arms during the 1969–1970 War of Attrition.[7] Israel’s deterrence of Syrian intervention in Jordan in 1970, during fighting between Jordanian forces and Palestinian guerrillas, also earned Washington’s appreciation.[7]

American resupply during the 1973 Yom Kippur War further demonstrated the developing security partnership.[4] Assistance increased significantly after the war to replenish depleted Israeli stocks.[14] Combined civilian and military assistance reached $5.8 billion during 1974–1976.[7] Further assistance followed peace with Egypt, helping Israel offset the loss of strategic depth and the relocation of military bases from Sinai.[14]

American mediation after the 1973 war helped produce ceasefire arrangements, disengagement agreements, prisoner exchanges, and an interim Israeli–Egyptian agreement.[14] These negotiations prepared the way for the 1979 peace treaty, while American assistance and the establishment of a peacekeeping force in Sinai supported implementation of the agreements.[14]

Egyptian President Anwar Sadat arrived in Israel on November 19, 1977, after announcing his intention to address the Knesset.[15] President Jimmy Carter convened the Camp David summit in September 1978, producing principles for a settlement, and continued mediation led to the Israeli–Egyptian peace agreement signed in March 1979.[14] Israel’s subsequent withdrawal from Sinai and evacuation of Yamit took place in 1982.[15]

Later American initiatives included President George H. W. Bush’s convening of the Madrid Conference in October 1991.[14] After Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization reached mutual recognition through secret negotiations in Oslo, President Bill Clinton hosted their White House signing ceremony.[14] The 1993 Israeli–Palestinian Declaration of Principles and the 1994 Israeli–Jordanian peace treaty aligned Israel’s regional diplomatic role with American post-Cold War interests.[7]

The United States recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital on December 6, 2017, and transferred its embassy from Tel Aviv on May 14, 2018.[1] The embassy opened in Jerusalem’s Arnona neighborhood using premises of the existing American consulate.[16] Initially, a small diplomatic staff worked at the Jerusalem site while most embassy operations continued in Tel Aviv.[17] At the opening, President Donald Trump said that the United States would continue to observe the status quo at Jerusalem’s holy places.[16]

American diplomacy also supported the expansion of Israel’s regional relationships through the Abraham Accords.[3] These normalization initiatives involved the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan.[3] Promoting a comprehensive and lasting solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict remained a long-standing American policy priority alongside these regional initiatives.[3]

President Joe Biden signed the Jerusalem Declaration during his July 2022 visit to Israel, underscoring his administration’s commitment to Israeli security.[18] The visit and declaration formed part of the continuing diplomatic framework of the bilateral strategic partnership.[12]

Defense Minister Ariel Sharon and Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger signed a strategic-cooperation memorandum in 1981 providing for joint military exercises, readiness activities, defense-trade cooperation, and access to maintenance facilities.[4] A 1983 memorandum established the Joint Political-Military Group and the Joint Security Assistance Planning Group.[19] The former initially addressed Soviet threats before focusing increasingly on bilateral issues; the latter addressed security-assistance planning and Israeli military procurement needs.[19]

Other bilateral defense agreements cover mutual defense assistance, signed in 1952; security of information, in 1982; mutual logistics support, in 1991; and status of forces, in 1994.[6] Regular meetings of the Joint Political-Military Group have taken place since 1983.[6] These arrangements support military contacts and planning without constituting a mutual defense treaty.[1][6]

Congress designated Israel a major non-NATO ally in 1987, allowing Israeli industries to compete for certain defense contracts alongside NATO members and other close American partners.[19] Cooperation expanded during the late 1980s through joint training, prepositioned American equipment, and development of the Arrow missile-defense system.[19]

The United States accepted Israel’s invitation in 1989 to store American munitions in Israel, including missiles, armored vehicles, and artillery ammunition.[19] The stockpile is intended for American use, but Israel may draw on it in emergencies with American permission.[19] Israel accessed it during the 2006 war with Hezbollah and the 2014 operation against Hamas.[19] The continuing War Reserve Stockpile provides a means of reinforcing Israeli defenses during a significant military emergency.[6]

In April 1996, Clinton and Prime Minister Shimon Peres signed the U.S.–Israel Counter-Terrorism Accord.[4] It expanded cooperation in information sharing, training, investigations, research and development, and policymaking.[4] As of April 2025, the United States had 751 active Foreign Military Sales cases with Israel, valued at $39.2 billion.[6]

Israel began purchasing American arms in 1962 but did not receive grant military assistance until after the 1973 Yom Kippur War.[20] American assistance averaged approximately $122 million annually between 1949 and 1973, and Congress first earmarked a specific amount for Israel in 1971.[20] The subsequent aid framework increasingly centered on grants rather than military loans, and ten-year government-to-government memoranda have structured assistance since 1999.[21][5]

The first memorandum covered fiscal years 1999–2008 and constituted a political commitment of at least $26.7 billion in economic and military assistance, including $21.3 billion for military aid.[5] It also initiated the gradual phaseout of American economic assistance, completed in 2007.[21] The second ten-year memorandum, signed in August 2007, covered 2009–2018 and provided $30 billion in military aid.[20][21] It explicitly permitted conversion of up to 26.3 percent of assistance into shekels for purchases from Israeli defense industries.[21]

The 2016 memorandum established a $38 billion framework for fiscal years 2019–2028, comprising $33 billion in Foreign Military Financing grants and $5 billion for missile-defense programs.[5] This corresponds to annual commitments of $3.3 billion in military financing and $500 million for missile defense.[14] The arrangement is a government-to-government political commitment, not a legally binding treaty requiring Senate ratification.[5]

Congress retains authority over annual appropriations and may change assistance levels or provide supplemental funding.[5] The memorandum anticipates additional missile-defense support in exceptional circumstances, including a major armed conflict involving Israel.[5] Israel also committed not to request additional assistance during the agreement’s term unless a security event made it necessary.[21]

A significant change concerned off-shore procurement, under which Israel could use part of its American financing to purchase Israeli-made defense equipment.[5] The allowance was scheduled to decline and end entirely in fiscal year 2028.[5] The transition was intended to give Israeli defense industries time to adjust to the reduction in domestically available procurement funds.[22]

Cumulative American assistance and missile-defense funding for 1946–2025 totaled approximately $175 billion in nominal dollars.[5] This included approximately $124.5 billion in military assistance, $34.3 billion in economic assistance, and $16.1 billion in missile-defense funding.[5] A separate inflation-adjusted calculation placed aid obligations for 1946–2024 at approximately $298 billion in constant 2024 dollars.[5] A narrower accounting of bilateral assistance since Israel’s founding gives a total exceeding $130 billion, reflecting a different stated scope from the broader accounting that includes missile-defense funding.[6][5]

Joint missile-defense work encompasses development, manufacturing, procurement, co-production, and technology transfer.[14][5] Its principal systems include Iron Dome for short-range threats, David’s Sling for short- and medium-range threats, and the Arrow systems for long-range interception.[14] American investment in developing and producing these systems totaled approximately $5.6 billion during 2006–2019.[14]

Cooperation includes Arrow II and Arrow III as well as Iron Dome and David’s Sling.[5] Israel matches American research-and-development contributions, while the assistance memorandum stipulates that at least half of annual procurement and co-production funds be spent in the United States.[5] Joint exercises complement these programs, and the United States has deployed missile-defense assets in the region during periods of heightened threat.[5]

During Iran’s April 2024 attack, American, British, French, and Jordanian air-defense forces participated in interceptions alongside Israel.[23] The operation involved Israel’s layered defenses and systems developed through American–Israeli cooperation, including Arrow and David’s Sling.[23]

Emergency support during the war that followed the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack was distinct from regular assistance under the ten-year memorandum.[20][5] The 2024 emergency supplemental law included $3.5 billion in Foreign Military Financing and $5.2 billion for missile defense.[5] Of the missile-defense allocation, $4 billion supported missile-defense programs and $1.2 billion supported the Iron Beam laser-defense system.[5] Total American assistance and missile-defense funding in 2024, including regular and supplemental appropriations, reached $12.5 billion.[5]

The broader April 2024 foreign-aid package included approximately $26 billion in Israel-related allocations: $17 billion in security assistance and $9 billion for humanitarian assistance in Gaza.[24] Security funding included replenishment of air-defense inventories and other defense-related purposes.[24] American assistance to Israel exceeded $20 billion during the first two years of the war.[20]

In its discussion of wartime financing, SAPIR Journal reported that the 2025 continuing appropriations law maintained $3.3 billion for military financing and $500 million for missile defense while extending loan guarantees through 2030.[25] The same commentary reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio used emergency authority in March 2025 to expedite approximately $4 billion in military aid and that $11.4 billion in Israeli requests for American-made air-launched munitions had been approved since the war began.[25]

The bilateral Free Trade Agreement entered into force in September 1985 and was the first bilateral free-trade agreement concluded by the United States.[26] It received approval in the House of Representatives by a 422–0 vote and in the Senate by voice vote.[26] The agreement eliminated customs duties between the partners while allowing nontariff protections for sensitive agricultural subsectors, including import bans, quotas, and fees.[1] Eligible Israeli products previously receiving reduced tariff rates obtained duty-free treatment in 1995.[27]

Bilateral trade grew from approximately $4.7 billion in 1985 to more than $11 billion in 1995.[19] A later economic snapshot placed annual trade in goods and services close to $50 billion, representing eight-fold growth since the agreement.[3] For 2019, American goods exports to Israel totaled $14.7 billion and goods imports from Israel totaled $19.6 billion.[3] Estimated American services exports were $5.7 billion, while services imports were $7.4 billion.[3]

The annual Joint Economic Development Group provides a regular forum for economic cooperation.[3] Binational foundations support science, agricultural research, industrial research and development, and education, linking economic relations with scientific and cultural exchange.[3] The U.S.–Israel Binational Science Foundation was established in 1972, followed later in the decade by the Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation.[12][19] The latter has funded more than 800 joint high-technology research-and-development projects.[19]

Civilian agreements also address peaceful space cooperation, energy, water resources, environmental protection, and scientific exchange.[19] Together with trade and investment-related institutions, these programs extend cooperation beyond defense into applied research and technological development.[3][19]

Israel joined the American Visa Waiver Program in September 2023, becoming its forty-first participating country after negotiations, legislative changes, and preparations to meet program requirements.[28] Israeli citizens applying through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization require biometric passports.[28] Admission to the program added a travel-related dimension to the existing network of governmental, commercial, scientific, and educational connections.[3][28]

The relationship combines substantial American support for Israeli security with Israeli contributions in intelligence, military technology, and innovation.[1] Its institutional reach includes military planning, missile-defense production, trade, scientific foundations, and educational exchanges.[3][6] These overlapping channels give the partnership a broader basis than arms transfers alone.[1][3]

Interpretations of its strategic meaning emphasize both cooperation and asymmetry.[7] SAPIR Journal argues that American support has strengthened Israel while also generating dependence and constraints on its freedom of action.[29] The commentary presents variations between American administrations, and inconsistencies within individual administrations, as evidence that close relations do not eliminate divergent national interests.[29]

The Jerusalem Center for Foreign Affairs emphasizes the strategic rationale of the partnership, citing Kennedy’s description of a “special relationship” and Reagan’s characterization of Israel as a “strategic asset.”[13] These interpretations accompany a documented progression from early economic assistance and limited arms access to institutionalized military cooperation and reciprocal technological exchange.[1][7]

In November 2026, Trump announced that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to end direct American military assistance earlier than the existing memorandum’s scheduled expiration. Israeli officials said that no final decision had been made and that the timing and terms remained under discussion.[30] Netanyahu’s office characterized the shift as a transition “from assistance to partnership,” while negotiations considered joint projects and a gradual reduction in direct aid.[30][31]

Other reporting described both Trump’s proposed end-of-2026 cutoff and a possible post-2028 framework involving approximately $16.5 billion in direct military financing over five years, with separate missile-defense funding still to be negotiated.[31] As of November 15, 2026, these accounts did not establish that assistance had actually ended or that a replacement framework had been finalized.[30][31] The existing memorandum continued to provide a scheduled annual framework of $3.8 billion through fiscal year 2028 pending any new agreement.[30][31]

Major disputes have concerned territorial policy, military operations, arms transfers, peace negotiations, and the use of American financial leverage.[4] Eisenhower threatened sanctions in 1957 to secure Israeli withdrawal after the Sinai Campaign, while Kennedy pressed Israel over Palestinian refugees and opposed its nuclear development.[7] In May 1963, Kennedy warned Ben-Gurion that an Israeli nuclear option would disturb regional and global stability.[7]

In 1975, Rabin rejected terms proposed by Kissinger for an interim agreement with Egypt; Washington’s subsequent “reassessment” included suspending consideration of new weapons requests, after which Israel conceded.[14] American pressure also accompanied the Camp David negotiations, including Carter’s threat to cut assistance if Israel did not show greater flexibility.[7] After Israel’s June 1981 strike on Iraq’s nuclear reactor, the Reagan administration criticized the operation and delayed an F-16 shipment for several weeks before resuming deliveries.[14]

Financial disputes included the Bush administration’s suspension of a $10 billion immigrant-absorption loan guarantee during the period surrounding the Madrid Conference.[7] Loan guarantees were subsequently granted after Rabin took office in 1992, with deductions tied to Israeli investments in settlements or East Jerusalem.[32] Additional guarantee negotiations in 2002–2003 involved conditions concerning settlements and the budget deficit.[32]

The 2015 Iran nuclear negotiations produced a sharp Obama–Netanyahu disagreement.[14] Netanyahu addressed Congress on March 3 at Republican leaders’ invitation, and many Democratic representatives boycotted the speech.[14] He argued that sanctions relief should depend on Iran ending attacks on regional countries, support for terrorism, and threats against Israel.[33] A later policy difference concerned Russia’s war against Ukraine: Washington led a coalition supporting Ukraine, while Israel remained relatively neutral for security reasons connected to Moscow.[18]

Jerusalem recognition and the embassy move departed from decades of American practice and drew condemnation from Palestinian leaders, who claim East Jerusalem as a future capital.[1] American positions on settlements have varied across administrations, including their treatment under international law.[1] Congressional aid debates likewise include continued support for assistance alongside proposals for greater scrutiny, conditions, or restrictions.[5]