[theoldlove]

Honest question: why does the US need Israel? Or, to put it another way, what concrete help or advantages has Israel given the US over the last few decades?

Even in the (ill-conceived and disastrous) Iraq and Afghanistan wars other ME nations produced a lot more help than Israel did.

[ars]

The easiest answer is military tech.

More complex answers involve having an allied county in an area with a lot of Russian influence.

The history is long and complex, but keep in mind Israel ran all by itself for decades, and defended itself in multiple wars, without any US help. It was when Russia started helping Egypt that the US recruited Israel. It was not the other way around.

For a while when Russia seemed powerless people started questioning the relationship, but after Ukraine it was re-energized.

Other answers are cultural: Israel is very similar to the US and Europe, same equal rights for citzens, same democracy, same culture of freedom. And the US is allied with all countries that are similar to it.

[theoldlove]

What military tech has the US gotten from Israel?

What concrete, specific advantages from having an allied country in a distant region?