About & Methodology

What this is

Our Worst Ally documents specific, sourced cases in which the State of Israel has acted against the interests of the United States. The U.S. gives Israel more military, financial, and diplomatic support than it gives any other country, on the premise that Israel is among its closest allies. This is the documented record of conduct that premise doesn't survive.

Each case is a single, dated episode — built to the same template, traceable to its sources, and confined to events that bear on a concrete U.S. interest: American lives, security, technology, law, or policy.

Methodology

Every case follows the same eight-part structure, so any two can be read and compared the same way:

• Summary — a neutral abstract of the whole episode.
• Background — the context needed to understand it.
• What Happened — a factual, chronological account.
• Key Figures — the people and institutions involved.
• Official Response / Position — what governments said on the record.
• Consequences — what followed, including where nothing did.
• Sources — the record the case rests on.
• Significance — what the episode demonstrates, argued from the sourced facts.

Sourcing

The standard is the public record — declassified documents, court filings, sworn testimony, official statements, and government financial records first; established reporting and scholarship to corroborate. Documented fact and contested interpretation are kept separate: where a case makes an argument, it is labeled as one and the official rebuttal is shown alongside it, and where a single claim rests on weaker ground, the case says so in its own words rather than papering over it. The point of view is in the selection of cases; the discipline is in the sourcing.

Corrections & Contact

Sourced corrections are welcome and will be made. If a claim here is wrong, or rests on a source that has been retracted or superseded, the remedy is to correct the record.

Corrections, source submissions, and tips can be sent to [email protected].