Übergeek 바둑이: Historically,Israel has had to fight wars against(instigated most often by) multiple countries all at once, vastly outnumbered.I'm pretty sure that is the root of the military aid they recieve.If they did not have top notch military equipment Israel would not exist today.Personally I'm torn on the preservation of a Jewish State issue, while I am atheist,I have strong cultural ties to Judaism, and know that atheist or not, if Jews ever became another target,I would not be spared due to my atheism, the name on my birth certificate would be enough to put me in harms way.I think you need to understand the Jewish mentality, regardless of where Jews live in the world,Israel is considered their only safe haven if the unthinkable ever happened again.You are dealing with a very fragile insecurity in regards to the Jewish relationship to Israel, and that is something that cannot be seperated from the discussion.I do not condone much of Israeli policy in relation to the Palestinians, but to not acknowledge even once in your post the many years of terrorism towards Israel by the PLO, and the environment of distrust that has created towards peace displays an incomplete side of the story, and resolution.