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Ben Shapiro - Why Should The US Care About Israel?

Thumbnail of the video “Ben Shapiro - Why Should The US Care About Israel?”
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Author: Ben Shapiro
Categories: History
Tags: history
Views: 1 · Last viewed: 2026-10-13 22:01 UTC

Short Summary

Main recommendation: The US should continue supporting Israel because doing so serves US national interests and reflects America's moral role as a leader that defends free and allied nations, even though a strict non-interventionist view would favor cutting all foreign aid. Shapiro argues that disengaging from the world is not a viable option, since the 9/11 attacks showed that a withdrawn America still faces threats. He frames support for allies as both a strategic and a moral choice.

Key Points

  • Shapiro says he would prefer cutting all foreign aid, citing the Ron Paul position that the US should give no foreign aid at all.
  • The US gives aid to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and roughly 300 to 400 million dollars a year to the Palestinians, which shows the aid is not based on Judeo-Christian morality, since otherwise we wouldn't fund non-Jewish, non-Christian countries.
  • He argues the 9/11 attacks, which killed about 3,000 Americans, show that retreating from the world and limiting intervention to policing actions, as during the Clinton administration, is a mistake.
  • He cites historical examples of US moral leadership: liberating Europe twice, liberating the people of the Soviet Union, and liberating South Korea.
  • He contends that without allies, America faces more enemies and that abandoning allies would hurt trade, economics, and culture, issues Libertarians care about.

Details Worth Noting

  • Concrete instructions: No step-by-step instructions were given. The speaker's guidance is a policy framework: keep foreign aid tied to national interest, avoid permanent alliances (per the founding fathers' view), and back allies that side with the US so they do not turn to rivals.
  • The speaker draws on the founding fathers' view that the US should avoid entangling permanent alliances while always weighing its own interest.
  • He argues that being "a good country" is itself part of national interest, so moral obligations are not separate from strategy.
  • He notes that a powerful America's presence affects commerce, economics, and daily life, not just security.
  • He presents his position as a response to a Libertarian questioner who asked why the US should fund Israel given non-interventionism and the separation of church and state.

Bottom Line

Shapiro's case rests on the idea that America's security and moral standing are linked, so supporting allies like Israel is justified by national interest rather than religious obligation.