At one of the campuses on his American Comeback tour, Charlie called Israel “a complicated ally of the United States but very necessary in the Middle East.” When a student asked him why, Charlie replied:
“For many reasons. For military technology sharing, for data sharing. Also, they’re a free society in an island of totalitarianism.”
Let’s unpack that.
Israel is constantly innovating in ways that strengthen our military, improve our security, and invest in America’s economy. We don’t just send money there and hope for the best. We get a major return.
Consider U.S. aid to Israel, which under the 10-year Memorandum of Agreement on Security Cooperation signed in 2016 comes out to $3.8 billion a year. Over 75% of that money is invested back into American technology, American contractors, and American jobs. That’s how smart support works. Israel gets the tools it needs to survive, and America gets stronger, more secure, and more advanced. That’s what national interest looks like.
A Strategic Partner, Not a Charity Case
The U.S. military routinely trains with the Israel Defense Forces in joint exercises like the five-day Juniper Cobra. American forces learn from Israel’s hard-won experience in fighting asymmetric threats, urban combat, rocket attacks, tunnels, and terrorism—skills that translate directly to U.S. operations around the globe. It builds readiness and interoperability.
Israel’s defense and tech sectors are second to none. From cybersecurity and electronic warfare to unmanned systems, robotics, sensors, and battlefield medicine, Israel’s innovations directly benefit America’s military and private sector. Israeli developments in trauma care, bandages, and counter-drone systems are used to protect and treat American troops. Many Israeli startups partner with or are acquired by U.S. companies, driving job creation and technology growth here at home.
Then there’s intelligence. Israel’s networks across the Middle East provide critical information about terrorism, Iran, Hezbollah, and nuclear proliferation. The U.S. has also learned from Israeli experience handling Soviet-made weaponry—data that shaped American missile defense and counter-threat capabilities.
Even Israel’s missile defense systems—Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Arrow—have influenced U.S. missile defense architecture. They serve as live testing grounds in real combat conditions, providing data that helps protect American bases and infrastructure.
Team Civilization
But Charlie always said that even if none of these benefits existed—if there were no military technology, no intelligence sharing, no defense contracts—America should still support Israel.
Why? Because Israel is “a small outpost of civilization in an endless ocean of tyranny.”
Charlie saw Israel the same way the enemies of Israel do: as a mini-America, standing between radical Islam and Western civilization itself. The Middle East is filled with regimes that repress, persecute, and impose a violent ideology. Israel, while not perfect, is vastly different than its Islamic neighbors. It has elections. It has freedom. It has a moral code rooted in the same values that shaped America. And that must be defended.
As Charlie said on his show:
“We’re on team civilization here. We want to see the maniacs of Hamas be defeated and the barbarians of Islam not be able to storm the gates of the West.”
Another time, he told Steve Deace:
“Everything, when it comes to Israel, must be viewed through the premise of radical Islamofascism and Mohammedism. We’ve been lending a lot of our platform toward this, and we’re getting a lot of death threats—a lot of targeting from that so-called ‘peaceful and tolerant’ world that’s singling us out.”
Charlie made it clear that America’s protection of Israel isn’t charity—it’s strategy. It’s about shared values. It’s about freedom. And it’s about ensuring that the cradle of civilization—the birthplace of the Christian faith and the last democracy in the Middle East—continues to thrive.
“We do get a lot in return from weapons and technology benefits. But again, I believe we have a moral obligation to be able to protect the cradle of civilization and the place where our Lord and savior walked on water and rose from the dead and proves where the Bible is true. Israel is not like every other nation. It’s not like just sending money to Chad or to Senegal. There’s something special about Israel, and I think we have a moral commitment to that land,” he told a college student on The American Comeback tour.
That’s why he viewed the Israeli-Hamas war in stark moral terms:
“The Israeli-Hamas struggle is one versus civilization and barbarism. Remember that.”
Ultimately, Islamic barbarism doesn’t end with Israel — and Charlie knew it. After Hamas’s October 2023 massacre, pro-Iran cyber armies launched attacks on American networks and government sites. ISIS and al-Qa‘ida called for strikes on U.S. embassies and bases. To them, Israel and America are one and the same — the same enemy, the same target. It’s time we start seeing it that way too.
So yes, Charlie believed supporting Israel is in America’s national interest — militarily, culturally, and existentially. Israel is not just our ally—it’s our shield against the forces that would destroy civilization itself.
Sources
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj4d5YtfLRk
