U.S.-ISRAELI RELATIONS A 65-year glance

Several hundred people attended Sunday’s celebration at the Jewish Community Center in Youngstown marking the 65th anniversary of Israel’s independence. A brief look at the history of ties between the United States and Israel:

1948: The U.S. is the first nation to recognize the re-establishment of the state of Israel.

1967 and 1968: America regards Israel as a Middle East ally. In 1968, Congress authorized selling U.S. Phantom jets to that country, as well as sophisticated military equipment to several Arab countries.

1973 to 1980: After Israel’s victory in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the country became eligible to sell military equipment to the U.S. As a result, the two countries started joint military programs.

1985: Israel and America signed an agreement giving U.S. goods free access to Israeli markets. As a result, U.S. exports to Israel grew 437 percent by 2001.

1991: Despite Iraq’s having fired 39 Scud missiles into Israel during the first Gulf War, Israel refrained from launching a counterattack to protect the U.S.-led coalition.

1996 to 2007: On April 30, 1996, the two countries signed a Counterterrorism Cooperation Accord pledging to fight inter- national terrorism. In 1999, both countries formed plans to develop techno- logical means for counterterrorism, and Israel provided the U.S. with valuable intelligence on terrorist groups.

Source: “Israel 101”