[grumple]

I assume by 1948 you mean Israel’s declaration and subsequent war of independence. The US had nothing to do with Israel forming beyond being part of the UN vote - Britain was the architect of this part of the Middle East and is responsible for every border drawn by all nations there. This was fallout of the Ottoman Empire choosing to go to war against Western Europe and being defeated (after hundreds of years of incompetent leadership). [0]

The US did not supply Israel in any way until 2 decades later, and it was Eastern European arms dealers first, France second. The first weapons sold to Israel by the US were in 1962 (anti air missiles), followed by some tanks and aircraft later in the decade. Things ramped up considerably after 1967 due to Arab states aligning with the USSR. [1]

RFK was assassinated by a Palestinian terrorist in 1968. [2]

0. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partition_of_the_Ottoman_Emp...

1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel%E2%80%93United_States...

2. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Robert_F._K...

[Comma2976]

> The US had nothing to do with Israel forming beyond being part of the UN vote

I put on my history hat and check the books

> Liberia's Ambassador to the United States complained that the US delegation threatened aid cuts to several countries.

> After a phone call from Washington, the representative was recalled and the Philippines' vote changed.

> After considering the danger of American aid being withheld, France finally voted in favour of it. So, too, did France's neighbours, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.

> [......]

Mind you that I am not calling foul play here, this is par for the course for politics. This is just to refute the quoted point above, unless you consider bribery and threats of sanctions a "nothing".

[aguaviva]

Overt U.S. meddling began (and in a very significant way) in 1956 with the Suez Crisis.

The US had nothing to do with Israel forming beyond being part of the UN vote

True for the U.S. at the government -- but not for the U.S. as a country. One of the earliest major Zionist associations (the Federation of Zionist Societies - a forerunner of the modern ZOA) was formed in New York in 1897. The movement would continue to receive key funding from American backers, and held one of its key meetings in New York in 1942:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biltmore_Conference

The movement's ideological (some would even say "spiritual") underpinnings can be traced to the mid-19th century writings of this American playwright and utopian activist - said to be the originator of the idea of resettling Jews in Palestine, predating the efforts Herzl himself by half a century:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mordecai_Manuel_Noah

So American meddling in the region goes back quite far indeed.