The settler-colonial foundations of the United States and Israel reveal deep structural affinities in their histories of land expropriation, ethnic cleansing, and the systematic dispossession of Indigenous populations. This article critically examines these parallels, emphasizing the expansionist policies, legal frameworks, and ideological narratives that have shaped both countries. Although the United States has partially reformed aspects of its settler-colonial past, Israel has moved in the opposite direction, deepening its apartheid system. The notion of shared democratic values between the US and Israel is a manufactured political construct designed to justify American support for Israel rather than an objective reality. Through an analysis of US colonial experience and territorial expansion alongside Israel’s military occupation and annexation policies, this study argues that American support for Israel is structurally rooted in their shared settler-colonial origins. This continuity explains the contradictions of US policy better than rhetorical claims of “shared democratic values.” Furthermore, the US–Israel alliance exacerbates regional instability, fuels conflict and undermines genuine efforts for justice and peace. A fundamental reassessment of this relationship would require the United States to confront its own imperial and settler-colonial legacy – raising the critical question of whether a settler empire, still reckoning with its own injustices, can serve as an honest broker for justice abroad.
Samir Abed-Rabbo (Thu,) studied this question.