It would be "cheaper", or wise, for the USA to publicly advise Israel, and also put the entire world on official notice, that the United States have renounced all forms of ethnic segregation, both as a matter of our own internal policies, and as a requisite policy of any partners and allies. Israel is primarily in difficulty because of segregationist policy, and resultant crimes that were and are being committed against non-Jewish residents from the outset of the creation of Israel. When it becomes the official policy of Israel to renounce segregation, then the healing can begin that will allow Jews their right to live anywhere, and especially in the Mideast, without fear.
It would also save the United States incalculable blood and treasure from now on to publicly re-assert the important concept of separating religion from state policy, for our own part, and on the part of our allies. Religious beliefs always entail multiple and conflicting interpretations making it impossible to employ as a basis for functional policy, or stable government, in the long term. The United States could save themselves much grief if they would renounce theocratic policy-making, and theocratic governance. This can be done while acknowledging the importance of religious freedom, and while emphasizing that separating religion from government is necessary for religious freedom to exist.
Within the Jewish faith, there is much controversy of what relevance modern Israel has, both in relationship to ancient Tribes of Israel, and to the Prophecy of Jewish scripture. In every political movement that wraps itself in religion, there is literal and internal conflict as deities are variously asserted to be running things, and as beleivers' hopes get bound up in the careers and exploits of individual political and military leaderships. G-d as revealed in Judaism does not need any help, nor does He call down to leaders such as Ariel Sharon or Franklin Graham with a coherent plan of action to fulfill a consistent divine will.
For American leadership to neglect addressing the dangers of mixing religion with state policy, there will be an extremely heavy cost. Fundamentalist Christians in America typically hold dangerous and apocalyptic expectations, and are prone to supporting and promoting literally cataclysmic policy, so long as it appears to them that it will fulfill an interpretation of prewritten destiny. This is an extremely dangerous notion, and the American public needs very much to have an open debate on this subject, with the purpose of asserting that religion must not be the basis of formulating policy.
Presently, American Christians holding pro-zionist beliefs are attacking the separation of "Church and State" in the USA, in order to pre-empt any political movement toward secularism. It will be very destructive to the USA if one or any of several religiously-based movements are continually allowed tacit official sanction in "getting the nation right with God". "One Nation Under God" is one example, born in the xenophobic 1950s, that is now enjoying a revival as American theocracy re-asserts itself. The USA has a constitutional basis for removing this danger without attacking religion: From the founding of this country, it was established that religion was not to interfere in the affairs of governance, and government was not to interfere with religion. This contract needs careful review and more diligent exercise, or the penalties to our way of life will be immense. The danger is not that one religious movement is likely to take over exclusive power, but that religious sentiments overstepping Constitutional and common-sense limits could result in flawed and deadly foreign policy, producing collosal blowback.
If Americans can summon the wisdom, rooted in our national history, to resoundingly re-assert the separation of religious prophecy and belief from our collective policy-making, it would forestall many ominous possibilities for the future.
