What does Israeli protectionism contribute to America?

I am asking this question not because I am racist or anti-semitic, I have several Jewish friends and respect the religion greatly. I find the culture fascinating as well (particularly Chasidic Judaism).

But I'm genuinely curious and uneducated on why the United States is so intent on keeping the Israeli state alive in the face of virtually the entire Middle East. They contribute no natural resources to take note of, and the strained Israel-Palestine relationship is one of the worst foreign relations crises in history.

Is it merely the Judeo-Christian tradition of the "holy land" and the need to own Jerusalem? Or is it that, for whatever reason, the Jewish lobby is one of the most powerful in the United State despite being an extreme minority in the population (globally as well)?

I want to know what the aggressive pro-Israel policies played up by almost every politician in Washington has done for me, the average American citizen. Or, failing that, America as a country on the whole.

Thanks for any responses.

You give them about $3 billion in direct assistance each year, they give you a bad reputation with the Arabs. That doesn't seem like a fair deal to me.

There must be some benefit. Cheap oil and intelligence are the only two I can think of.

I wonder if, and how much, the UK gives to them (over and above the dodgy arms deals). We've given them help with nukes in the past, but i'm unsure if we still send them money direct.

The question is not whether our relationship with Israel is to our benefit. The question is, Is our support of Israel the right thing to do?

It might be dangerous for us to support Israel.

It might make a lot of people mad that we support Israel.

It would just be morally wrong to abandon Israel.

I'd like to give the Jews a huge chunk of land here in the US so they could have less vicious neighbors to deal with, but that won't happen, so the only logical choice is to support Israel. At least that's true for people of conscience.