Authored by J.D. Hester via AntiWar.com,

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the arm of Israel’s foreign propaganda mission in the United States, recently made an unprecedented mission to the island of Taiwan. At the 2025 Minyan Mission, President Lai Ching-te prostrated himself to the lobby by comparing Israel and Taiwan to the “spirit of David against Goliath in standing up to authoritarian coercion.”

In reality, the governments of Israel and Taiwan both have a long history of acting more like Goliath than David. They are also similar in the sense that they are both instruments of the American empire, a costly endeavor robbing Americans of economic and political freedom. To understand why Taiwan is trying to frame itself in the minds of American elites as the “Israel of Asia,” it is important to recognize why Israel and the United States became so codependent to begin with.

The United States and Israel have collaborated since the founding of the state of Israel. The relationship between both countries became one of convenience during the Cold War as the Soviet Union generally favored the Arab nations in the region over Israel. Evangelical Americans, prominent in the government at all levels, also see Israel as religiously significant. After the Cold War, the United States and Israel continued to collaborate with both having a common enemy in numerous Muslim states. However, Israel also began an influence campaign in the United States to ensure that they would always have the support of the world’s foremost superpower.

Domestically, AIPAC and other groups were able to foster bipartisan support for the state of Israel via lobbying. In exchange for funding both Republicans and Democrats, American politicians who receive funding from the Israel lobby are expected to maintain a pro-Israel position. AIPAC boasts about its power with the organization proudly supporting “361 pro-Israel Democratic and Republican candidates in 2024 with more than $53 million in direct support through AIPAC.” The organization also boasts a 96% election rate and defeated 24 candidates who they stated would have “undermined” US-Israel relations. In total, Israel has received $300 billion in aid adjusted for inflation due largely to its lobbying efforts. Understandably, Taiwan would also want similar support from the US to bolster its geopolitical aims.

Numerous researchers have compared the efforts of the Taiwan lobby to that of the pro-Israel lobby in terms of “composition, aspirations, and operations.” Both Israel and Taiwan use the narrative of an “existential threat” to garner support from the United States. While Israel claims Iran poses a major threat to the security of the nation, Taiwan claims that China poses a similar threat.

A 2021 report found that, in 2019, $4.97 million was spent on agents working for the Taiwan lobby. With this funding, pro-Taiwan organizations contacted nearly 90% of Congress. The lobby directly spent $156,794 on individual campaign contributions that year. Most damningly, twice the lobby contributed money to congresspeople on the same day they met with these lobby agents. Like the Israel lobby, the Taiwan lobby also invites congresspeople on free trips, including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi. While the Taiwan lobby might not have as much power as the Israel lobby, it has nevertheless secured meaningful support from the US government because of its efforts.

Throughout the years, the United States has sold over $50 billion in arms and related services to the Taiwanese government. However, in fiscal year 2024, the US has also given the Indo-Pacific region $2 billion in free military aid with much of this aid presumably going to Taiwan. Like Israel, Taiwan also conducts joint military training with the US.

This level of cooperation between Taiwan and the US is extremely dangerous. If the US got involved in a hypothetical Chinese invasion on the side of Taiwan, we could risk another Russia-Ukraine war or even outright nuclear war. Neither is in the interests of US taxpayers who already give their dollars to foreign governments like Israel for nothing in return except for more lengthy wars. Foreign aid only serves to drain the resources of our government and entangle us in conflicts we have no business being involved in.

Israel and Taiwan are “Goliaths” in their neighborhoods of the world due to support from the United States. In contrast, the “Davids” are the people of the United States robbed by foreign powers and groups, like the Palestinians, slaughtered by Washington-funded proxies. Until the US is truly free from the influence of foreign lobbyists and the self-imposed responsibility of policing the globe, the American people will never be free. Those who claim to be non-interventionists or “America First” should oppose making Taiwan the Israel of the South China Sea.