[age_bronze]

Let me get this straight: Israel risks pissing the U.S by spying on them, which can lead to them cutting ties with Israel, in order to make sure that US does not cut its ties with Israel. Would you risk spying on your girlfriend to make sure she wants to stay your girlfriend? This makes no sense.

[adventured]

> Would you risk spying on your girlfriend to make sure she wants to stay your girlfriend? This makes no sense.

It's interesting that you mention that one, because that is exactly what people sometimes do. You will find that very needy or jealous people frequently get easily concerned and obsessive about every little detail, worried that their partner may leave or lose interest. They get paranoid, they spy, etc. They make the situation worse, push the person away faster with their behavior, and create a self-fulfilling prophecy outcome.

You might risk spying on your significant other (to make sure they're going to stay your SO), if your life depended - in part or entirely - on them staying your significant other. In relationships that's going to rarely be the case of course. Although consider a case of total financial dependency in a relationship.

Israel is the very needy, dependent partner in the relationship, clearly. Without the US, they would not have survived.

[MFLoon]

There's not actually any risk, as plainly evidenced by the fact that the State Department has never even given a light wrist slap for any of the dozens of incidents mentioned in the top comment, under Bush, Obama or Trump. There's literally nothing Israel could do to cause the US to "cut ties", let alone even meaningfully rebuke them. Like his buddy Donald, Bibi could shoot someone in the middle of 5th Ave and nothing would happen. US security and energy interests are simply too entrenched in supporting Israeli hegemony.

[stjohnswarts]

Every nation collects dirt on every other nation if they have the manpower and funds to do it. You can be sure there are British and French spies in the USA as well as the obvious Russian and Chinese ones. and Vice Versa as well of course.

[yellowapple]

> Would you risk spying on your girlfriend to make sure she wants to stay your girlfriend?

I mean, lots of people do exactly that. It ain't healthy to do, but they do it anyway.

[ars]

The US is not a single person, spying on one doesn't bother the other.

But in general the US doesn't really care if Israel spies on it, and Israel doesn't care when the US does.

All countries spy on each other, and all countries know it. There's a tacit agreement to make some noise when it goes public, but otherwise move on and not care.