The U.S.-Israel relationship is based on the twin
pillars of shared values and shared interests. Given this commonality
of interests and beliefs, it should not be surprising that support for
Israel is one of the most pronounced and consistent foreign policy
values of the American people.
Americans have long viewed Israelis with
admiration, likely because they see American heritage in
Israel's pioneering spirit and struggle for independence. Like the United
States, Israel is a nation of immigrants that has produced a multicultural society
with citizens who hail from more than 100 nations. Approximately four in ten
Israelis are Eastern or Oriental
Jews who trace their origins to the ancient Jewish communities of
the Islamic countries of North Africa and the Middle East.
Israel has also common, deep commitment to democracy. All citizens of Israel - regardless
of race, religion or sex - are guaranteed equality before the law and
full democratic rights. Freedom of speech, assembly and press is
embodied in the country’s laws and traditions. Israel’s
independent judiciary vigorously upholds these rights. The political
system in Israel is based on free elections
with divergent parties. And though Israel does not have a formal constitution,
it has adopted Basic
Laws that establish similar legal guarantees.
Israel also share America’s passion for
education. Israelis are among the most highly educated people in the
world. No fewer than twenty-nine daily newspapers are published in ten languages.
More books are published per capita in Israel than anywhere else.
These shared interests form the pillar of the continued U.S.-Israel relationship. Since the 1980s, Shared
Value Initiatives between Israel and the United States have covered a broad range of areas - the environment, energy, space,
occupational safety and health, among many other fields. Hundreds of American institutions in nearly every
state have received funds
from binational
programs with Israel and other relationships, like the Free
Trade Agreement, the Cooperative
Development Research Program, the Middle
East Regional Cooperation Program and various memoranda of
understanding,
demonstrate the depth of the special relationship.
Learn more about U.S.-Israel cooperation in the following fields: