The United States and Israel are joined in a de facto alliance, with each nation sharing intelligence with the other, and both cooperating in joint military exercises. In Fiscal 1997, Israel received from the United States more economic aid — $1.2 billion — than any other nation, and more military assistance— $1.8 billion — than any other non-NATO nation.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, the relationship has not always been so close. For most of Israel's first two decades of independence, the United States was not a close ally and did not provide Israel with significant amounts of either financial or military aid. All that changed, however, with President Lyndon Johnson's decision to sell Phantom jets to Israel in 1968.
The U.S. Keeps Its Distance
Harry Truman is given much of the credit for the creation of Israel, but his unwillingness to supply arms to the Jews fighting for independence undermined the diplomatic support he gave to the UN-sponsored partition of Palestine. The United States continued its arms embargo, despite persistent pressure from Israel and her supporters, until the Kennedy Administration.
