On May 14, 1948, David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the establishment of the State of Israel. Within minutes, President Truman recognized the new nation, defying warnings from Secretary of State George Marshall and Undersecretary Dean Acheson about the risks of alienating Arab states. Behind the scenes, a network of lobbyists and activists—including Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver, Louis Lipsky, and B’nai B’rith—pressured the White House through personal meetings, letters, and public campaigns. While Israel’s armed groups, Irgun and Lehi, had histories of violence, Truman prioritized humanitarian relief for Holocaust survivors, domestic political support, and early Cold War strategy. This decision illustrates the intricate interplay of moral urgency, political influence, and strategic calculation that reshaped U.S.-Israel relations.

The U.S. spends $3.3 billion every year in military grants to Israel—money that cannot be repaid and is legally required to be spent on U.S.-made weapons. While this supports thousands of American defense jobs, most of these positions would exist anyway due to domestic defense demand. In effect, the aid shifts the financial burden to U.S. taxpayers while sustaining a militarily advanced ally. Critics argue that the net benefit to the American public is effectively zero, especially when factoring in moral, strategic, and opportunity costs.

Twenty-seven days into the 2025 government shutdown, Washington remains locked in partisan paralysis. Republicans passed a stopgap bill to keep agencies open, and a conservative donor even stepped up with $130 million to cover troop pay. Yet Senate Democrats have rejected funding votes more than a dozen times, insisting on new spending before reopening. With no Democratic donor aid or legislative compromise in sight, critics say one side is solving problems while the other prolongs them.

The framers, shaped by Enlightenment rationalism, colonial religious strife, and a predominantly Christian populace, sought to avoid the religious wars of Europe by limiting federal power over faith. Their documents and correspondence reveal a commitment to religious liberty that preserved the church’s autonomy while acknowledging religion’s role in moral governance. Notably, while some founders expressed deistic views, the majority drew on Christian principles, and public acknowledgments of God were commonplace. Historical analysis shows that of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention, at least 28 were Episcopalians, 8 Presbyterians, 7 Congregationalists, and others from various Protestant denominations, with only a few identified as Deists. This religious composition influenced their views, emphasizing a government supportive of religious morality without establishing a specific sect.