US and Australian backing for Israel is the result of their imperialist interests in dominating the Middle East, not the power of the Israel lobby, writes Mark Gillespie
Despite overwhelming evidence that Israel is committing genocide in Palestine, the Albanese Labor government, the US and other Western governments continue to back them. Why?
A common explanation points to the influence of the “Israel lobby”. Numerous books and articles argue that pro-Israel lobby groups exercise a corrupting influence over Western governments.
The targeting of journalists, writers and activists by the Israel lobby, often at the cost of their jobs, and the adoption of many of their recommendations in the name of combating antisemitism following the Bondi massacre seems to confirm this explanation.
Socialists, however, reject this analysis. Sourcing the problems back to the influence of the lobby lets capitalism off the hook. Rather than rooting support for Israel in imperialism and the drive for profits, it opens the door to conspiracy theories suggesting policy is driven by manipulation rather than material interests.
It also feeds rotten antisemitic ideas about the supposed influence of Jewish people on governments behind the scenes.
At its core, the “lobby” argument claims that politicians, either in the US, Australia or elsewhere, have been pressured—or even hoodwinked—into acting against their own national interests.
Former Foreign Minister Bob Carr describes the Israel lobby as a “foreign influence operation” that has an “unhealthy” and “extraordinary” influence on Australian foreign policy.
But it is highly implausible that the Australian and US political establishments—comprising experienced politicians and the most powerful military planners, intelligence agencies, corporations and media institutions in the world—could be systematically pushed into acting against their own interests.
These institutions exist precisely to defend and advance national interests and secure hundreds of billions of dollars in wealth.
Certainly pro-Israel lobby groups exist and are well organised, funded and have the ear of governments. But why do governments listen?
They listen because the interests of the political and economic elites in the US and in other Western nations align with Israel’s interests. Just as mining companies are more likely to win concessions from governments than unions, Indigenous people or environmental groups, so too does the Israel lobby have more success.
Oil, empire and control
To understand Western support for Israel, we have to look at the logic of capitalism and imperialism.
Modern capitalism depends heavily on fossil fuels and, as the current crisis with Iran shows, the Middle East remains central to the global energy system. For decades, US strategy has focused on maintaining dominance over this vital resource.
The US doesn’t need this oil for itself; it is currently self-sufficient. It wants to control its distribution, just as China strategically wants to control the critical minerals market. Controlling the flow of oil gives the US enormous leverage against rivals, especially in times of crisis and war.
History shows how decisive this can be. During the Second World War, control over oil fields and supply lines was a central strategic objective. The Axis powers were ultimately crippled by fuel shortages that undermined both their economies and military capacity.
Today control over energy routes is just as critical. Military planners understand that any major conflict would hinge on access to fuel and the ability to deny it to opponents. The US and other Western powers back Israel because it is critical to their strategy for maintaining hegemony over it.
The ‘special relationship’
US politicians often call their relationship with Israel “special,” shown through massive military aid—including about $21.7 billion extra for the Gaza genocide—and diplomatic protection.
But this relationship was not the product of exceptional lobbying. It was forged through war.
A turning point came in 1967 during the Six Day War, when Israel defeated the combined forces of Egypt, Syria and Jordan. This dealt a major blow to Arab nationalism, which had emerged as a powerful force challenging Western influence in the region.
At the centre of this movement was Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser, who had overthrown a British-backed monarchy, expelled British forces, nationalised the Suez Canal and called for Arab unity against imperialism.
His ideas inspired movements across the region—from Iraq to Algeria—and posed a direct challenge to pro-Western regimes.
When the US tried to pressure Nasser by withdrawing funding for the gigantic Aswan Dam project, he turned to the Soviet Union for support. He became the West’s enemy number one.
Israel’s decisive victory humiliated Nasser. In doing so, Israel proved its value as a strategic ally. Before this, US support for Israel had been more limited. Washington had imposed an arms embargo on Israel from 1948 to 1961 and opposed its 1956 invasion of Egypt alongside Britain and France, even threatening to kick Israel out of the UN if it did not retreat.
Following the Six Day War, the US replaced Britain and France as Israel’s primary arms supplier and committed to maintaining its “Qualitative Military Edge”—ensuring it retained technological superiority over neighbouring states. This policy has continued for decades and was enshrined in US law in 2008.
The depth of this new commitment was demonstrated by the massive airlifting of military supplies to Israel during the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, through to the arming of Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Former US President Joe Biden spelt out the importance of Israel as a regional enforcer, repeatedly saying, “If there were not an Israel, we would have to invent one to make sure our interests were preserved.”
Stable and reliable
The US has many allies in the Middle East—Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait among them. Many host US military bases or receive extensive aid. So what makes Israel special?
The key difference is stability. The Arab client states lack the popular support needed to provide long-term stability for US interests. History is full of examples where such regimes have been overthrown—from Egypt in 1952 to the uprisings of the Arab Spring in 2011. Iran, too, was a regional client state until the Shah was overthrown in 1979.
While most Arab regimes were tamed in the 1970s and have since smoked the peace pipe with Western imperialism, the same can’t be said about the Arab masses. The Arab regimes are sitting on a powder keg.
Israel, by contrast, as a colonial settler state has no choice but to rely on US protection and to sell itself as a regional enforcer. Living in a highly militarised colonial outpost, and rewarded with higher standards of living, Israel’s Jewish population has a profound siege mentality that welds them to the interests of the Israeli state.
A poll in mid-2025 found 82 per cent of Jewish citizens of Israel support “the transfer [expulsion or ethnic cleansing] of residents of Gaza to other countries”.
Of course, Israel has interests of its own that it does not share with the US. It annexed the Golan Heights and occupies Gaza, the West Bank and now southern Lebanon. These land seizures are not crucial to US interests and Trump even warned Israel against declaring the annexation of the West Bank.
The US puts up with this sometimes destabilising behaviour, however, as the price of having an ultra-dependable ally in the region.
Australia and the imperialist alliance
Australia’s support for Israel follows the same logic. Australian governments back Israel not because they have been misled but because Australia is part of the Western imperialist alliance that includes Israel and has dominated global politics under US leadership since the Second World War. Australia’s ruling class are absolutely tied to this alliance.
Being part of this gang allows the Australian ruling class to maintain its dominance over the South Pacific and the security of its trade interests. Any adversary to Australia’s imperialist interests in the region knows that standing behind Australia, a middle power, is the US.
Australia’s ruling class needs to ensure the US will support them if their regional hegemony was ever seriously challenged. Their strategy is to make themselves indispensable to US interests.
Opening Australian territory for US spy bases, submarine bases and the rotation of US troops through Darwin; signing onto the AUKUS military pact and involvement in joint military exercises and more, is a way of enmeshing the US in the region and solidifying the alliance.
Australia can generally be relied upon to support the US politically and militarily in their ventures abroad. Australia’s support for the US alliance also means backing Israel militarily and ideologically. The Australian ruling class are hostile to the movement supporting Palestinian rights because this movement challenges their strategic alliances.
That is why our politicians are all ears when representatives of the Israel lobby come knocking, suggesting ways to demonise and criminalise the movement.
Millions of people have witnessed a genocide in Gaza and now unspeakable violence against the people of Lebanon and Iran. The naked violence of the system is being revealed, no longer able to be covered with platitudes about “international law” and a “rules-based order”.
The idea that this violence is the result of lobbying distorts reality. It suggests that the system could function justly if only the right pressures were applied.
But it wasn’t the Israel lobby that convinced the US to construct over 750 military bases all over the world or convinced the Australian government they needed nuclear submarines.
Western foreign policy is not benign with the exception of its support for Israel. Across the board it is driven by profit and power and is part of a system in which military force is used to secure economic and strategic advantage.
The task for socialists is to make clear that war, oppression and exploitation are built into the logic of capitalism and that the struggle for Palestine is bound up with the struggle against capitalism and imperialism.
