Why isn't Israel a NATO member as it seems on in military friends

Why isn’t Israel a NATO member as it seems to be that one nation in need of military friends?

Israel is a major non-NATO ally (MNNA), meaning it has a strategic working relationship with the US Armed Forces but is not a member of NATO. In 1987, US President Ronald Reagan designated Israel as an MNNA.

Here are some reasons why Israel might not join NATO:

NATO is far removed from the North Atlantic: Israel is not close to the North Atlantic, so membership in NATO might get the alliance involved in Middle East conflicts.
NATO’s enlargement policy: Article 10 of NATO’s enlargement policy states that only European states can join NATO and need the approval of all existing members. Every member state can also set criteria for new members.
Israel is a mature country: Israel has a strong economy and GDP per capita that’s higher than Japan’s.

NATO has started looking to Israel as a source of military technology and battlefield experience. Israel has also cooperated with NATO on counterterrorism and technology.

There are multiple reasons. Below are some of them:

NATO is about mutual benefit. Israel would be directly aided by the rest of the allies when attacked, but Israel would be bound by the very same expectation. If it sents troops to fight somewhere, it means less Israeli soldiers in Israel;
Joining NATO is only possible if all members agree. To not get into details and try to predict how every state will react, we can only focus that Turkey will most definitely veto Israel’s admission and that would be enough to prevent Israel from joining;
Israel has one of the strongest armies in its area and so far it’s doing well, so there’s no need for it to join the alliance;
Some of the requirements may seem difficult for Israel to fulfil.

Will Israel ever join NATO?

No. Israel joining to NATO could add significantly to the treaty, military speaking only. But it’s more complex than sheer military power. The idea was discussed many times, officials in NATO spoke about it many times. Though, it was always clear Israel would never become part of NATO.

Not because it’s not in the North Atlantic. Turkey (only 400 kilometers or so from Israel) is not there either, nor does many other Mediterranean NATO members that are much closer to Israel than they are to North Atlantic countries like the UK or Denmark for instance (e.g., Greece, Albania, Bulgaria).

NATO has very close ties with Israel, including very often major joint drills and most of NATO armies training with Israel very often. Israel is also regular weapons and military know how supplier for most of NATO member countries.

But, NATO countries- at least most of them, wouldn’t fight for Israel. The public opinion in France, for instance, wouldn’t agree with a situation in which French soldiers are going to fight for Israel.

Also, today there is huge Islamic population in Europe and Israel joining to NATO can cause internal conflicts in countries with big Islamic population (e.g., France, Belgium). It would also lead to Turkey withdrawing from the pact and getting closer to Russia.

If Israel is to become part of NATO, it would have to give up on its nuclear ambiguity policy. It would have to unveil its nuclear secrets- whether it have nukes or not. This may result with some negative and unwanted implications.

Last thing, Israel wouldn’t like to be involved in wars that are not her’s to fight. And you can also imagine that if there was now ongoing conflict in Europe, like there was in Kosovo, and Israel would be then asked to join the fray and to bomb Europeans, then it would lead to sharp rise in antisemitism all across the continent, including in the countries it helped.

Why is India not a member of NATO?

India is not a member of NATO because it is a firmly non-aligned country and stakes its international reputation on remaining non-aligned. This way, India can enjoy huge trade with China, the Middle East, the US and Europe, all that while having access to Russian and American weapons.

Why doesn’t Israel ask to join NATO?

It’s not in the interests of either Israel or NATO for Israel to join the Alliance. For NATO, it should be rather clear: Israel tends to get into wars rather often, and NATO would be obliged to join in; On the other hand, Israel cannot offer any substantial assistance when joining in to a NATO campaign.

From Israel’s POV, it’s a little more subtle. In case of Israel being attacked, and NATO being mobilized to help – even if NATO starts to mobilize immediately, it will not be fast enough to make any difference:

NATO thinks of wars that take months to start and years to fight. Israel thinks in terms of wars that take hours to start and weeks to conclude. When NATO mobilized after 9/11, the first shots were fired in October 7th. The 2006 Lebanon War started by a sneak attack, and ended 34 days later.

Under the Israeli doctrine, if the IDF cannot hold off a conventional attack for several days, the assumption is that the war has been lost; By the time NATO forces show up, there’s no longer any need for them. This ties into a more important aspect of Israeli security doctrine: Self Reliance. Israel is not willing to delegate parts of its security to external countries, close allies included – mostly because we still can’t trust them.

Why isn’t Israel a NATO member as nation in need of military friends?

In a case where NATO is being called on to act, a NATO-member-Israel would be obliged to assist by means of material and personal. Politically, there will never be public support in Israel to send our soldiers to fight somewhere else. This is partly because of the conscription and the tax load, and partly because sending troops to fight somewhere else reduces the amount of troops we have at home – and we already have the minimum number of forces we think we need to protect our borders; Redirecting anything away puts us at risk.

Israel does have conduct joint exercises with NATO and NATO members, and shares a lot of intelligence, training and tactics with them, but has no interest in officially joining.

Is israel in nato?

It is entirely possible to have alliances outside of NATO. Israel already has allies.
NATO was formed to counter the growing threat of the Soviet Union (i.e. Russia). Israel isn’t in any danger of invasion by Russia.
NATO is a collective defense treaty and it works both ways. It would require other NATO countries to assist Israel when it is attacked but it would also require Israel to support countries in Europe when attacked. The Israeli Defense Force is not designed for power projection. It’s not used to having to deploy troops much further than its own borders.
Again, NATO is about collective defense. It’s supposed to be mutually beneficial; not a handout for any country that could possibly benefit from it. Therefore any need for allies on Israel’s part is irrelevant to NATO.
All NATO members would have to agree. That’s going to be difficult just with Turkey alone (which has been condemning Israel’s actions against the Palestinians) but it’s unlikely that all other countries would agree even if Turkey wasn’t a factor. Europe doesn’t want to get dragged into Israel’s mess every time a rocket gets fired and they really don’t want to be associated with the controversy that erupts every time the IDF takes action in the Palestinian territories.
Israel lies outside of the geographic area that NATO is concerned with.

The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all…

Q: Why isn’t Israel a NATO member as it seems to be that one nation in need of military friends?

Why isn’t Israel a NATO member?

Political impossibility. Even if NATO structure would be changed so that it could offer membership to country anywhere in the world, it would not happen.

Israel’s situation is too volatile, no other member countries want to get involved in middle-east that deeply. You can think it as pros and cons. Israel would be huge risk, but wouldn’t add anything meaningful to NATO defence framework.

To put it short, Israel in NATO would be much more prone to create conflict than prevent it. That is why Israel will never be member of NATO unless situation in middle-east change drastically.

Why doesn’t Israel join the coalition against ISIS?

For the same reason it couldn’t join any other coalition operating in the middle east formally – Arab countries would back out.

Don’t worry – Israel is already helping.
But keep this between you and me OK?

Why does Israel need such a strong military if all it wants is peace with her neighbors?

Because its neighbours don’t want peace with it.

Why is Israel not a part of NATO?

It’s in the definition: NATO is an Alliance that consists of 28 independent member countries.
All members consisting – as mentioned in other answers – by North American and European nations.
(emphasis on “NORTH ATLANTIC” in North Atlantic Treaty Alliance)

That said, among NATO’s partners are the Mediterranean Dialogue states, consisting of 7 countries:
Israel, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Jordan, Mauritania and Morocco.

Specifically, and de facto, there is constant and ongoing connection between Israel and NATO, and Israel is regarded a Major non NATO ally, alongside Australia, South Korea and Japan.

Why is India not a member of NATO?

Well India is not near the Atlantic so it can’t join anyway, because you know NATO stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Still, even considering there was some kind of an invite, India has not joined NATO yet, due to the following reasons:

1. Expensive equipment and no licenses – We have little to gain and much to lose by doing such a move. Firstly, by becoming a NATO member our long standing and strong ties with Russia will get frayed. Considering that we import more than 56% (according to SIPRI) from Russia, this seems like an eminently bad idea. We import all types of arms and equipment from them from fighter jets to rifles and even an aircraft carrier!

At present, antagonizing Russia will particularly be a major problem because we are not yet ready to produce many types of military equipment indigenously in significant quantities in a rapid manner. For example, the Tejas light jet took nearly three decades to be developed and made fully combat ready!

Why isn’t Israel a NATO member as nation in need of military friends?

Moreover, indigenous equipment like Arjun Tank and INSAS rifle were not up to mark as well, so Russian T-90 tank (locally made) remains mainstay of Indian armored forces. We are also setting up arms plant at Amethi with Russia to make AK-203 rifles which will equip much of our infantry.

As these examples show arms imports from Russia will continue for many years until our indigenous production capabilities are fully mature. Hence till then we reluctantly have to spend vast sums of money to import our arms and equipment.

Now, why not import from the West then? Well usually, Western equipment and arms are superior to Russian arms, (although Russian SAMs and other missiles are much better) however, acquiring a license for transfer of technology to produce them in India is difficult or in most cases impossible. Moreover, western equipment is usually much more expensive. This combined with the non-availability of a production and transfer license makes acquiring arms exorbitantly expensive. So, we simply cannot depend on the west to fulfill all our military needs. We need choice and non-alignment gives us this choice.

2. Multi Alignment policy – Another reason, is that India has always been a non-aligned country. It was Nehru’s greatest achievement and we still follow this protocol although in a changed form.

Why isn’t Israel a NATO member as nation in need of military friends?

We are now progressing to multi alignment as the world becomes a multi-polar world. In multi alignment India does offer support to one country over another but not for all issues but rather a specific issue or issues. So, we don’t fully support any country but rather tender issue based support.

For example, we might align with China and developing nations against the US in WTO but oppose China on some other forum while also being involved with China and Russia in Shanghai Cooperation Organization while contemplating a “Quad” with USA, Japan and Australia which might have a military angle of opposing China.

Sound confusing? That’s multi alignment for you!

However, this does allow flexibility and helps us play the role of a global “swing power” whose support other countries desire.

We were non-aligned during the Cold war, so even though we were friendly to the USSR we didn’t join the Warsaw pact or become a Soviet puppet state. The objective of non-alignment was to prevent the world from getting divided into military blocs and to give the newly independent countries of Asia and Africa a chance to avoid getting dragged into expensive and senseless conflicts and falling prey to the malevolent machinations of the superpowers. It wanted to give the newly independent countries a chance to develop and stand on their own two feet without becoming the lapdogs of the two major powers of the time (USSR and USA).

In the modern world, this non alignment has given way to the similar but more flexible multi alignment which allows India to be on friendly terms with both the West and Russia.

Joining NATO will break this delicate balance and decades of efforts will be wasted.

3. Article 5 of NATO – This is the key section of the North Atlantic treaty. According to this article of the treaty, an attack against a member nation of the NATO would be considered to be an attack against all the members of the alliance and would call for a joint military action against the aggressor.

At first, it may seem that this is actually a good thing. I mean if India is ever attacked by Pakistan or China, the NATO would get involved won’t it? We may even resolve our territorial disputes with them once and for all. So NATO is good for India ain’t it?

Well, yes, those are the pros of joining NATO but the downside of doing so is that India would get dragged into stupid conflicts around the globe.

Why isn’t Israel a NATO member as nation in need of military friends?

Say, we become a NATO member. A year later, Latvia or one of the other Baltic states is invaded by Russia. This would result in a call to action for NATO troops and we would have to send an armed force too. How many of us would like to send off our soldiers, to die in their thousands on foreign soils when their is no immediate threat to our country?

If you would remember, the Americans tried a similar stunt in the Vietnam War and their public was outraged. Even after this they didn’t learn their lesson and went into Iraq for a second time in 2003 on a false pretext. They disobeyed the UN and got away with it. Both of these wars were incredibly unpopular among the US public.

If India joins the NATO we would have to help the US in the so called noble objective of policing the world and acting as the sword hand of democracy and freedom or whatever cosmetic term they are using nowadays. This would result in a lot of brave Indian soldiers dying in stupid conflicts in which we have no reason at all to be involved in.

Why isn’t Israel a NATO member as nation in need of military friends?

Also, If the NATO ever actually engages in a military operation against China, we would be the first ones to get hammered.

Being in close proximity to China, we will suffer heavy military casualties due to faster Chinese mobilization. The Chinese have better roads and infrastructure arrangements at the border and can move their forces and supplies a lot faster. Even though the current NDA government has done superb infrastructure development, especially the regarding the construction of bridges in the NE India border area, we are still behind the Chinese due to the head start they had.

Hence, our troops would be at a manpower disadvantage for some time and might take heavy losses. Supply movement and logistics might pose a problem too.

Why isn’t Israel a NATO member as nation in need of military friends?

While I am confident that we would be able to hold our own against China, and prevent an invasion of the vital and populous Gangetic plains and even Assam, while inflicting massive casualties on Chinese troops, we will in the process suffer significant losses.

Heavy civilian casualties are also likely. The Chinese Air force could bomb the cities and cause severe damage.

Also, please remember that the core NATO members are thousands of miles away. Their cities would remain totally safe while our border cities get clobbered by the Chinese. Due to the huge distances involved, the other NATO members will take time to assemble their forces and launch an offensive. Preparing to fight a war against China would take time and would require massive mobilization of armed forces. This would take quite a while. Till support forces arrive we would have to fight all alone. As I said earlier I am confident that Indian forces would hold their own against China but the cost in manpower and resources would be huge.

Now, I believe that a war between India and China is almost impossible. We have had our differences but I don’t think that we would actually fight each other. India has invested in Chinese projects like the AIIB (Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank) and in turn get a lot of loans from AIIB for various projects.

Why isn’t Israel a NATO member as nation in need of military friends?

We are looking at rapprochement, thanks to our enterprising and charismatic PM Modi. India is also a permanent member of the SCO (Shanghai cooperation organization) which would hopeful lead to better Indian cooperation with China, Pakistan and Central Asia. Due to these reasons an India-China war is almost impossible at the present.

On the other hand, the US and China have regular shouting matches in the South China Sea . It’s extremely unlikely that a war would be fought, but the possibility, however small, is there. If it does happen then we would be reluctantly dragged into a stupid war with our neighbour whom we obviously don’t want to fight.

The crux of the matter is that joining NATO will chain our hands and lead to the loss of independent decision making. This is obviously bad for us. The cons outweigh the pros by a huge margin.

Why isn’t Israel a NATO member as nation in need of military friends?

4. Reliability issues- As pointed out earlier, becoming a NATO member makes us the squires of the USA, to heed its call at all times. However, in a time of need, the US may be reluctant to help us. Our relationships with the west are improving slowly and steadily, however we still can’t trust them implicitly. After all, we have had a long period of animosity with the West during the cold war.

We have to also consider that contemporary geopolitics show that the USA is a very untrustworthy ally that is prone to sudden shifts in opinion. In light of these facts, I believe that it would be best to advance with caution.

5. NATO Bases – Another point would be establishment of NATO bases on Indian soil. This might invite widespread protests in the country and may even be a considered an infringement of our sovereignty.

Conclusion – The crux of the argument is that India is still a developing country due to which we have enough problems on our hands.

Also, there is the fact that our policy of Non-alignment earlier and multi alignment now have both worked brilliantly till now and would continue to work at least for the near future. Hence, I don’t see any reason to join the NATO.

Thanks for reading. Suggestions are welcome.

Why is the US allied with Israel?

Just checked back in here and the original question I answered was “Why is the US allied with Israel?”

AIPAC
A large Jewish population in the US who are pro Israeli.
Religious conservatives in the US see Jews possessing Israel as vital to the return of Christ. I’m not joking.
USSR switched from supporting Israel in the early/mid 50s to supporting the Arab states. This led to America going from supporting the Arab states to supporting Israel.
They have a democratically elected government. Historically, democracies tend to have friendly relationships with other democracies.
They’re a pretty stable country. Israel is one of only a handful of countries in the Middle East that didn’t change it’s government type faster than the US changed aircraft carrier designs. Reliable friends lead to long last relationships and alliances.
They’re victims. In the 20th century alone, they experienced the Holocaust and then they were repeatedly attacked on all sides as well as the fact that they were subject to multiple suicide bombing attacks. I think this appeals to Americans’ sense of right and wrong and trying to help victims…. Victims who don’t hijack airlines, kill olympians or commit suicide bombings.
They have a habit of winning against overwhelming odds. There’s something admirable about that which I think appeals to Americans in our core.
They spend the money we give them buying up American weapons.
The security apparatus in both countries have a long history of working together. It generates a positive cycle.
People in Israel don’t regularly march down the street in massive protests shouting “Death to America”
The natural gas field they found recently will conveniently ensure that they are allies with the US for a while.

I’m sure there are a dozen more reasons and this list is no-where near being all-encompassing.

There is one final thing that I want to mention: It’s not an official reason for me, but a lot of people I’ve spoken to or have heard debate this issue bring up the fact that when the WTC came down, people in the Palestinian Territories celebrated. It’s surprising how many different places I’ve heard this from. I think when an image like that is burned into so many minds, the thought of “My enemies’ enemy is my friend” starts to bubble up.

other than the United States, who are Israel’s most important allies?

Germany – Subsidizes Israeli purchases of German-manufactured military equipment. Supplies Israel with it’s submarines, and is going to also build four new warships for Israel in the near future. Has also provided limited political support to Israel, in particular by blocking proposed EU sanctions. Provided a lot of aid to Israel in the form of Holocaust reparations in it’s early years. Economic relations are also very strong. Germany is Israel’s second-largest trading partner in the world after the United States.
France – Was Israel’s main patron and arms supplier from the 1950s until the late 1960s, when the US took over, and gave Israel it’s nuclear capability. Relations greatly soured from the 1960’s onward, with the French imposing an arms embargo on Israel (and the Israelis going in and stealing three missile boats that had been built for Israel the French authorities had confiscated). Strong political support for Israel, and a major trading partner. France is one of the major participants in trying to mediate peace talks. Military cooperation exists (although there were a few incidents where the Israeli military and French peacekeeping forces in Lebanon nearly exchanged fire).
UK – Politically supports for Israel, especially with the current government. Very limited military trade, in particular because the UK has a history of imposing arms embargoes against Israel, so Israel highly limits it’s arms purchases from the UK. Major trading partner.
Egypt – As strange as this sounds, Egypt, an Arab country where Israel is still reviled by the public, and where the Israeli embassy had to be closed after being attacked by an angry mob, is actually a major ally. It’s one of only two Arab countries to maintain official relations with Israel (although more do so in secret). Due to Hamas in Gaza and ISIS militants in the Sinai, military and cooperation is enormous, to the point where Israel has even conducted drone strikes in the Sinai with the Egyptian government’s approval. They are united by common interests against Islamist radicalism and Iranian influence. Economic cooperation is also growing, especially in gas. Israel also pressed the US not to suspend military and economic aid to Egypt a few years ago (though it did anyway). Egypt is one of the top military and economic partners of Israel in it’s region. Has also mediated ceasefires between Israel and Hamas in 2012 and 2014, mediated a prisoner exchange deal in 2011, and is in the process of mediating another one now. During the 2014 Gaza war, a poll showed that Israelis actually believed Egypt would be a better mediator with Hamas than the United States.
India – Growing trade and military cooperation, and massive buyer of Israeli military of equipment (Israel is India’s second-largest foreign source of military equipment after Russia). Very close intelligence relationship, to the point where India launched an Israeli spy satellite into space. Large-scale and deepening economic relations, particularly in areas of high-tech. Israel also enjoys a very high level of public support in India.
Greece – Once very hostile to Israel and supportive of the Palestinian cause, Greece is now second only to Egypt as Israel’s economic and security partner in the Eastern Mediterranean. Military and intelligence cooperation is very strong, and the two countries have repeatedly participated in military exercises with each other. Together with Cyprus, they engage in large-scale energy cooperation, and are cooperating in laying a natural gas pipeline that will be an economic game-changer for Israel. They have singed a pact which has had this triple relationship described as a new geopolitical bloc in the Eastern Mediterranean. There is also significant trade in other areas.
Jordan – Despite harsh public opinion against Israel in Jordan, it’s a major strategic partner. The two countries are neighbors, and have mutual interests. Security cooperation, including intelligence cooperation, is very close. Economic relations are also very close. Through what are called “Qualifying Industrial Zones”, certain industrial zones in Jordan which have Israeli companies operating there can export duty-free to the United States, and these have been Jordan’s primary engine of economic growth (Egypt also participates in this program, but Jordan has been hugely affected). Goods bound to and from Jordan transit through Israel, and Israel is a major supplier of natural gas to Jordan. There is a high degree of mutual dependence. Israel needs Jordan mainly for security reasons, and Jordan needs Israel mainly for economic reasons. Relations actually go back to before there was an official diplomatic relationship. Before Israeli independence, the leaders of the Yishuv (Jewish community in Mandate Palestine) had contacts with the Jordanian monarchy, and Golda Meir actually met King Abdullah before the war. During the 1948 war the Jordanians limited their invasion of Israel. Although Jordan and Israel fought in the Six-Day War (Israel was initially willing to let Jordanian bombardment after the war started slide, understanding that King Hussein needed to show solidarity with the Arabs for political reasons slide, until it escalated), when Syria invaded Jordan in support of Black September in 1970, Jordan requested Israeli military intervention (the IAF did fly reconnaissance missions but intervention proved unnecessary as the presence of Israeli planes greatly intimidated the Syrians, and that, in combination with strong Jordanian resistance stopped the Syrians cold).
Azerbaijan – Israel’s top oil supplier, and a major destination for Israeli weapons exports. A great level of security cooperation takes place between them, to the point where Israel reportedly has access to Azeri airbases (although both countries deny this).

Why isn’t Israel a NATO member as nation in need of military friends?

Although these are the main allies for now, Israel is currently pursuing relations with many countries throughout Asia and Africa, both to expand it’s economic opportunities and as an economic insurance policy should it’s traditional allies turn hostile (Obama-era US pressure, EU pressure, and the BDS movement are largely to thank for that). The following countries are not major allies of Israel yet, but these are still major blossoming relationships to watch closely for the future:

China – Rapidly growing economic and defense collaboration. Israeli military technology exports to China have gotten it in hot water with the United States before.
Saudi Arabia – There is a very strong level of behind-the-scenes security cooperation, largely against Iran. There are apparently regular meetings between Israeli and Saudi officers. The two countries are also negotiating economic ties.
Kurdistan – Not a country yet, but very possibly will be soon. Iraqi Kurdistan is already a major oil supplier to Israel, and Israel is now the only country to explicitly support Kurdish independence. If Kurdish independence does occur, Kurdistan will be surrounded by hostile neighbors and also deal with the threat of terrorism. Security and economic ties will blossom, and Kurdistan will very rapidly become one of Israel’s top strategic partners.

Why does Israel need such a strong military if all it wants is peace with her neighbors?

Because Israel’s neighbors don’t want peace with Israel. Only two of them will even recognize it diplomatically (although Saudi Arabia might as well be in bed with them, diplomatic niceties aside).

Since Israel’s neighbors don’t want peace with Israel, the only way for Israel to secure the peace it desires is peace through strength. In short, if you break the peace against Israel, then Israel must be strong enough to inflict a defeat so severe that they will think twice about ever doing it again.

This is why no country has engaged in open warfare against Israel since 1973. The last time they tried it, they caught the Israelis off-guard, but within a few weeks, the IDF was threatening both Cairo and Damascus. The next time they try it, Israel might just decide it’s time to return to the boundaries it claimed in the days of Solomon.

In the real world, there is no peace except for peace through strength.

Is Israel part of NATO? Has it ever discussed joining? When maybe or why not?

Israel is not part of NATO.

No, Israel joining NATO has never been discussed.

Why not? For starters, Israel’s military isn’t named the Israel DEFENSE forces for nothing. Its primary mission is to protect Israel, not fight in foreign wars.

NATO membership would require the IDF to participate in foreign wars, if, for instance, Russia attacked any NATO member state.

Third, Israel is nowhere near the North Atlantic Ocean (just in case the OP has forgotten, NATO is an acronym for “North Atlantic Treaty Organization”).

Does Israel have any ally other than the US?

Sure, plenty. For India, Israel is a very important ally. Israel secures India’s trade route and thus its very passage to the Western countries. In return, India will ensure that Israel is shielded from hostilities that may turn out badly.

As you might know, India used to be colonized by Britain. However, to this day Britain needs to have guarantees for the beneficial trades that remain in place with India. It does so by also promising security for Israel, India’s gatekeeper.

Oh, and the Middle East is very polarized. Every country has to make a decision whether they ally with Iran, or with Saudi Arabia. Israel clearly seems to have chosen for Saudi Arabia, although it is not really proud and happy with this ally. But it counts as one!

RelatedCan any country join NATO?

According to article 10 of NATO’s charter the organization is open to new members…”The Parties may by unanimous agreement, invite any other European State in a position to further the principles of this Treaty and to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area to accede to this Treaty.”

Interesting that it seems to be open only to European states in spite of the fact that the USA and Canada were founding members.

A non binding vote in Georgia in 2008 showed support over 72% for joining NATO. Finland is a possibility. Others as well.

Why doesn’t Israel join the coalition against ISIS?

It’s been answered, but neither Arab nations nor Iran (which is not Arab) would participate. Turkey, which is also not an Arab nation, has been clashing with Israel over Gaza, and so in spite of past cooperative efforts there may be challenges there, too.

A reasonable goal, to me, would be to secure cooperation–however minimal at first–between Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia on the questions of ISIS and Kurdistan. That will be hard enough. Israel makes it impossible.

Why are no Arab countries part of NATO?

What part of “North Atlantic” did you miss?

Why doesn’t Israel join NATO? This would be in Israel’s best interest because this would deter Hamas and Hezbollah from attacking Israel because then they would be at war with all NATO states.

Israel is one of few US allies that has full control of its military as a truly sovereign state. A sovereign will act in the best interest of its people, which may not coincide with that of the US. No sovereign states want to become a servile vassal if they have a choice, which is exactly what NATO is under the command of a US military general.

Why is Turkish in NATO but Israel isn’t?

Israel is in the NATO. (De facto)
But not officially in the NATO.
Turkey has a highly-important geo-strategic position so it is in NATO.
If there is a God then he really made the Jews superior!
None of the countries can not be against them !
All of them are just their modern slaves!
Jewish people! You! You! You guys! You guys are really treacherous!

Why doesn’t Israel have its own fighter jet which it can use and also export to other countries?

Israel has built its own fighters ( as already noted the Kfir, a fairly basic but quite capable fighter), and it tried to build a “next generation” fighter in the cancelled Lavi fighter. The bottom line is that the development and deployment of a fourth generation fighter is very expensive and any aircraft built by Israel would have relatively few airframes built, even with foreign sales, to absorb the development costs.

Why is India not a member of NATO?

India is not in the North Atlantic or anywhere close to the Atlantic. NATO stands for North Atlantic Treaty Organization. At best India could have joined the CENTO (Baghdad pact) or the SEATO (Manila pact) – NATO’s equivalents for central and southeast asia.

However, India’s historic stance was always to avoid formation of allied groups to gang up on other countries. India is not a part of any military alliance group and domestic political opinion is unlikely to allow any such alliances. Thus, even when India was a closer partner of the USSR it avoided joining the Warsaw pact and other rival groups of NATO.

Finally, many of the treaty organizations come up due to an existential fear of big powers. Europe fears Russia. Pakistan (that was a part of CENTO and SEATO) feared India. India has not faced such existential threats. The China conflict in 1962 might have briefly alarmed the Indian populace, but its operation was limited to a couple of weeks of skirmishes at the border.

Can any country join NATO?

Before applying for NATO membership, countries can approach NATO.

Let’s take Kazakhstan as an example.

On the NATO website, you can discover the nature of the links between NATO and Kazakhstan:

Relations with Kazakhstan started in 1992, when the country joined the North Atlantic Cooperation Council. This forum for dialogue was succeeded in 1997 by the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, which brings together all Allies and partner countries in the Euro-Atlantic area.
Practical cooperation began when Kazakhstan joined the Partnership for Peace (PfP) programme in 1995.
Kazakhstan sets out its reform plans and timelines in its Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP), which is agreed for a two-year period. NATO supports Kazakhstan in achieving these reform goals by providing focused, country-specific advice and assistance.
The NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia conducts high-level political dialogue with Kazakhstan’s authorities through regular visits to the country.

Finland and Sweden have also had privileged links (even more than Kazakhstan) with NATO for a long time, which makes their request for integration totally logical.

That of Finland has already been acted upon. For Sweden, it is dragging on because of Turkey, which is paying something in exchange … But this is geopolitics.

In the end, any country can apply, but it is better that this country already has privileged links with NATO member countries to facilitate this membership.

Finally, it will always be necessary to have the agreement of all NATO member countries.

What would happen if Israel joined NATO?

NATO would gain a huge amount of muscle. Israel is world’s 8th most powerful military in the world, and the second most powerful in terms of air force and cyber capabilities.

Why isn’t Ireland part of NATO?

Same reason the Republic wasn’t (ostensibly) involved in WWII; Ireland has a long-standing policy of neutrality:

Why can’t countries like Saudi Arabia join NATO?

NATO member countries are located in Europe and North America. This is where NATO usually operates with its defensive alliance.

The geographical location of Saudi Arabia is not conducive to being part of NATO.

On the other hand, it is obvious that Saudi Arabia does not want to be part of NATO. Saudi Arabia had a tacit defense agreement with America for decades until now. An agreement of this type: we denominate our oil export contracts in dollars in exchange for your military protection as a last resort.

No need in these conditions to be part of NATO.

Nevertheless, things are changing and we see that MBS wants to free itself from this American yoke by getting closer to the China of Xi Jinping with whom he shares the same authoritarian values…

MBS agreed to denominate oil export contracts in yuan, which is already an important fact for Xi Jinping’s China. MBS is getting closer to China and Russia on many other issues, which has a way of irritating America.

We will see how America will react if this continues for a long time because it would eventually threaten the hegemony of the American dollar over the world… Something that Washington cannot accept!

Finally, even if Saudi Arabia had wanted to join NATO, the values of the country would have prevented any unanimous adherence of the country by the other members.

Can Russia ever join NATO?

In theory, any European nation can join NATO. There was a lot of talk about Russia joining NATO back in the 1990s.

Practically speaking, Russia would have to change drastically to qualify for NATO membership. It would have to be more democratic, less corrupt, and less nationalist.

The purpose of NATO is to keep the peace of Europe. NATO members have integrated defensive capabilities. Their armies, navies, and air forces share data and conduct military exercises together. If the military in your country believes that a neighbor is planning to attack you, or if your neighbors believe you are platting to invade them or annex your territory, you are not going to be able to function as a NATO member.

Russian leaders give the impression of intense paranoia concerning the other nations of Europe. They believe “the West” and the United States want to invade them and . . . take things from them. Vladimir Putin, the current Russian leader, is quite open about his desire to re-incorporate old Soviet republics back into the Russian nation. That, of course, puts Russian foreign policy in opposition to the existence of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, all of them NATO members. Putin is also on record in demanding a Russian “security zone” or “sphere of influence” be created in Eastern Europe. That makes Russia a threat to Poland, Slovakia, Czechia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria, all NATO members, all of whom were part of the “sphere of influence” of tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union.

Russia joining NATO would require a great deal of work on Russia’s part to reassure Europe that it does not want to resurrect the glories of the days of the tsars or the time of Josef Stalin

Why doesn’t Israel join the coalition against ISIS?

If the plan is to get Arab states to do the actual fighting you can see where the membership of Israel may not make this easier.
Some Arab leaders may support Israel in private but direct involvement is not helpful.

The Value of Roofing Upgrades: Benefits and Cost Savings

Why isn’t Israel a NATO member as it seems to be that one nation in need of military friends?