First of all, Israel and Saudi Arabia are the major sources of problems for the US. They US would need eyes and ears in the middle east if not for their relationship with these 2 countries.

The US spends billions on Israel itself, gives them more access then any other nation, they spend billions on paying of Egypt, the US lends international support on EVERY LEVEL, Israel was one of the primary drivers that got US into Iraq and tried their best (and they still are) to do the same with Iran. The relationship with Israel is one of the prime tools of propaganda for every single terrorist group in the Middle East. Israel is a rough stat that illegally acquired nuclear weapons and the list goes on and on.

9/11 was a direct caused by US the relationship with these nations. One of the main bombers prime motivation was revenge because of what Israel did in Lebanon, OBL own motivation was that US troupes should not be on Saudi soil (and that got him banned from Saudi Arabia). Because of the Saudi alliance Obama placated them by allowing a genocidal war in Yemen and people actually thought that is a reasonable thing to do. And I could go on about many more bad effects of this relationship.

Now I'm not saying these nations are uniquely evil and I'm not even saying the US should be allied with them in some way, but these relationships have grown far beyond what makes sense from the perspective of US population but not if you are in the political class.

It’s unfortunate we would rely on either of these countries to be our eyes and ears. Both are corrupt. Saudi appears worst to us in the west because their daily way of life isn’t so compatible with western values, especially with respect to religion in government (or freedom of, rather) and general human rights and women’s rights.

Israel appears to be democratic but discriminates heavily and are also driven to a great extent by extremist hardliners and outright corruption (ie Netanyahu's numbers are down, so he wants to annex more of the West Bank). Also, you’re not supposed to criticize anything they do out of fear of being labeled an anti Semite.

This is nothing new; The game of geopolitics is a dirty one, and you need sharp elbows to get your way. America's obsession with the Middle East was originally to counter the USSR, then later a quest to control oil prices so that their own producers wouldn't suffer. It's always played like a zero-sum game, which means that those in power will deal with unsavory characters if it means getting ahead.

The "anti semite" fears are an American thing; outside of America, nobody cares. And that's to be expected... Israel gets no help from anyone else, so why should she care what they think? America, however, is a mind to be guarded, to ensure that her protection remains in the future. And this is a perfectly reasonable tactical stance to take for someone in Israel's precarious position.

Obviously it's not so simple as this in reality. You have idealists and zealots and hardliners all jockeying for control within any given government. But the primary driving force is that of state security.

Accepting your premise, is there a non-corrupt alternative in the region?

This is key. If your filter is to never partner with countries who have done unethical things, you're never going to partner with anyone.

Iran of course.

Before you accuse Israel of discrimination, you should consider that 20% of Israelis are Arabs (compare that to 12% of Americans being black) and that Arabs had legal equality in Israel decades before blacks did in America.

The relationship between Israel and its Arab minority is much more nuanced than you think. I’d call it passive aggressive, going both ways.

> 20% of Israelis are Arabs

Does that include the Palestinians, do the Israeli government counts them as people?

They are not Israeli citizens, and therefore not counted under the Israeli populace.

The 20% I referred to are Israeli-Arabs.

> Before you accuse Israel of discrimination, you should consider that 20% of Israelis are Arabs (compare that to 12% of Americans being black) and that Arabs had legal equality in Israel decades before blacks did on America.

Why should that be considered?

Because it’s perceived as an ethno-state while it’s more diverse than most if not Alon oECD countries.

Because it’s been historically progressive in its relationship towards minorities.

Because it’s not like it’s persecuting a tiny group of the population for sport, it’s that there’s a lot of tugging between a minority and majority which are much further apart in culture, religion and traditions than the whites and blacks in America.

Because it’s reasonable to expect that issues appearing in the American societal fabric such as discrimination would show just as much in Israel with its huge proportional minority share.

It’s not that Israel is racist as much as it is that there are discrimination issues in societies everywhere and this is just another instance.