The United States recognized Israel on May 14, 1948, the day Israel declared independence, and established diplomatic relations in 1949. The partnership did not begin as a mutual-defense alliance: the two countries have no mutual-defense treaty. It developed through successive decisions on arms, emergency resupply, economic ties and joint programs.
Recognition came before a defense partnership
Early U.S. policy combined diplomatic support for Israel’s statehood with limits on military commitments. President John F. Kennedy approved the sale of Hawk air-defense missiles in 1962, and President Lyndon Johnson’s administration approved the sale of M-48 tanks in 1965. These arms sales helped establish a growing security relationship, but Israel was not covered by a U.S. treaty guarantee.
After Egypt and Syria attacked Israel on October 6, 1973, the United States organized Operation Nickel Grass. U.S. Air Force C-5 and C-141 transports delivered 22,318 tons in 567 missions between October 14 and November 14, according to the Air Mobility Command Museum’s operational account. The cargo included tanks, artillery, helicopters and aircraft components. Portugal’s Lajes Field in the Azores provided the essential stopover while other countries denied landing rights. The airlift demonstrated U.S. capacity to replenish Israel rapidly in wartime; it was one major episode in a relationship already developing, not the creation of a treaty alliance.
Security cooperation became more structured
After the 1973 war, U.S. military assistance grew, and the two governments developed recurring consultation and defense programs. The 1981 Strategic Cooperation Agreement set out cooperation against common threats. In 1987, Congress designated Israel a major non-NATO ally, a status that facilitates certain defense cooperation but does not obligate the United States to defend Israel as a treaty ally.
Later arrangements made the relationship more predictable. Ten-year memoranda of understanding set expected levels of military assistance and missile-defense funding, subject to Congress appropriating funds. U.S.-Israeli cooperation also includes joint missile-defense development and procurement. Separate agreements support scientific research and industrial research and development, while a free-trade agreement entered into force in 1985.
Regional cooperation expanded in the 2020s
The Abraham Accords of 2020 established diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain through separate instruments. Morocco announced normalization later that year, while Sudan’s process followed a distinct path. In 2021, the U.S. Department of Defense moved Israel into the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. CENTCOM said the change created opportunities for closer operational collaboration with its regional partners. It changed the U.S. military command structure; it did not itself create a joint regional defense pact.
The history is best understood as a series of concrete commitments and institutions, rather than a single founding moment. Related pages explain U.S. aid and Israel’s qualitative military edge, joint missile defense and CENTCOM and the Abraham Accords.