Current hostilities in Israel and Ukraine have taken center stage across the globe, with international leaders, the media and global organizations discussing resource allocation and diplomatic priorities. The United States and other Western powers have been heavily engaged in both crises, yet there is an increasing feeling that Israel is supported more urgently than Ukraine. This brings forth the question: Why prioritize Israel over Ukraine?
Israel has been a long-term strategic ally of the United States in the Middle East, where geopolitical interests are high. The U.S. has invested significantly in protecting Israel as a counterweight to Iranian influence, as a force for regional stability, and as a hub for intelligence in a very unstable region. Protecting Israel is also part of broader Western interests in fighting terrorism and creating regional hegemony and is thus prioritized over Ukraine for most policymakers.
Israel, in contrast to Ukraine, possesses deep economic and political ties with the world’s greatest powers, particularly the U.S. Republican and Democratic presidents alike have traditionally had close ties with Israeli politicians, resulting in ongoing military aid, intelligence sharing agreements, and economic partnerships. Ukraine’s geopolitical position, however, only strengthened in recent decades due to Russian aggression, so its alliances are relatively newer and less entrenched.
Lobbying and strong political influence in the U.S. and Europe by Israel assist in maintaining its security interests as highest priorities. AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) is one such organization that assists in providing long-term support for Israel through congressional lobbying and media campaign. Ukraine lacks an equivalent level of influence, and this impacts the country in not being able to secure long-term military and financial aid.
Israel’s struggle against Hamas and Hezbollah is often framed as an existential risk to the survival of the state, so it elicits speedy military interventions and global support. Unlike Ukraine, which is embroiled in a protracted war against Russia, Israel’s security challenges tend to call for prompt intervention due to the threat it faces at its borders in the form of militant groups immediately. The immediacy generates speedier and commanding actions from its allies.
While Ukraine increasingly relies on Western support to finance its war effort, Israel boasts a higher level of high-tech, independent military, augmented by the most advanced technology, intelligence capabilities, and nuclear deterrence. To aid Israel is seen as propping up an already powerful ally, whereas helping Ukraine involves a constant, costly commitment to an ill-defined war effort. This utilitarian consideration makes Israel an easier recipient for immediate resources.
It is argued that Western leaders owe the priority being accorded to Israel to historic considerations, notably the Holocaust and the establishment of Israel as the homeland for the Jewish people. History has framed foreign policy as one of continuously supplying diplomatic support and military resources. Ukraine’s sorry past as the target for Russian ruthlessness fails to garner Western countries in the same moral imperative.
President Trump’s move to prioritize Israel over Ukraine reflects a policy shift of the United States, placing focus on historic alliances and Middle Eastern strategic interests while downgrading support for Ukraine in light of its tensions with Russia.
Israel is the most significant cumulative receiver of U.S. foreign assistance since 1948, getting some $300 billion (adjusted for inflation) largely in defense aid due to its geo-strategic location in the Middle East and strong home-front political support within the United States.
The U.S. has lately shelved fresh assistance to Ukraine and opposed a United Nations motion condemning Russia for being in Ukraine, a departure from Biden’s foreign policy that represents Trump’s “America First” strategy and underscores its preoccupations of minimizing European reliance on American military support.
Concurrently, the Trump administration hastened $4 billion in military aid to Israel and approved a $3 billion weapons sale, bypassing congressional approval based on emergency powers, driven by Israel’s ongoing wars and U.S. interest in its security.
Ukraine, even though it has received $119.7 billion in U.S. aid since 2022, is in doubt as Trump has criticized the expense and called on European countries to bear more of the burden, seen in recent budget freezes and opposition to U.N. peace efforts.
Prioritizing Israel over Ukraine is a consequence of a synergy between strategic, political, and historical factors.
Why Prioritize Israel Over Ukraine?
