On May 12, 2026, influencer and congressional candidate Dan Bilzerian told Alex Jones that if he were president, he would declare war on Israel and cut all ties with the Jewish state to watch it be exterminated by Iran.
“I would let the problem take care of itself,” he said, adding: “If we stop defending Israel, I think they would get what they deserve.”
Bilzerian then accused Israel of being a “terror state” for supposedly possessing nuclear weapons and refusing to sign a nuclear proliferation treaty.
Israel Is Not a Charity Case — It’s a Military Powerhouse
The premise that Iran would simply “destroy” Israel if America stepped back doesn’t survive the facts.
Yes, Iran has more troops on paper — roughly 960,000 versus Israel’s 634,500. It has more tanks and more missiles. But raw numbers don’t win modern wars. Capability does.
Israel fields some of the most advanced military technology on earth, including stealth F-35 fighter jets, elite special operations forces, and world-class intelligence services that have repeatedly penetrated the highest levels of the Iranian government. Israeli pilots are among the best-trained in the world. Its cyber warfare capabilities are in a league of their own.
The evidence is there. During the 12-Day War in June 2025 and Operation Epic Fury in 2026, Israel achieved air superiority over Iranian airspace without U.S. forces fighting alongside them. It struck deep inside Iran, hitting military installations and nuclear sites, while absorbing limited damage at home. Perhaps most remarkably, Israel eliminated approximately 250 Iranian military and political leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei himself. That is not the track record of a country that needs to be rescued.
On defense, Israel’s layered missile shield — Iron Dome (short-range), David’s Sling (medium-range), and the Arrow system (ballistic missiles) — has intercepted the vast majority of Iranian rockets and drones in every major exchange. Iran has thrown everything it has at Israel and failed to break through decisively.
Then there’s the nuclear question — the one Bilzerian himself raised. Israel is widely believed to possess roughly 90 nuclear warheads, with multiple delivery systems including aircraft, submarines, and land-based missiles. Iran has no confirmed nuclear weapons, and its program has been repeatedly sabotaged by Israeli intelligence and cyberattacks.
Bilzerian claims to believe Israel has nukes and would use them. If that’s true, a full-scale Iranian assault on Israel would end the same way Japan’s war with the United States ended in 1945 — in catastrophic, one-sided destruction. Iran’s leadership knows this.
Geography adds another obstacle for Iran. The two countries are over 1,000 miles apart, with no shared border. Iran cannot invade by land. It is limited to missiles, drones, and proxy forces — all of which Israel has been systematically degrading. A sustained conflict would expose Iran’s oil fields, ports, refineries, and command infrastructure to Israeli precision strikes that Iran has no reliable defense against.
Israel also doesn’t stand alone diplomatically. The Abraham Accords brought peace with the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan, with Saudi Arabia widely expected to follow. The Gulf states share Israel’s fear of Iran. Iran is not fighting one small country — it is increasingly isolated in its own region.
Furthermore, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has himself called for sunsetting American military aid, stating publicly that Israel does not need to depend on it. That is not the statement of a nation on the verge of collapse.
The Takeaway
Israel is not the vulnerable charity case Bilzerian portrays it to be. It is a military powerhouse with superior technology, elite forces, layered missile defenses, and a nuclear deterrent. It has repeatedly struck deep into Iran, degraded its capabilities, and eliminated top leaders without U.S. combat support. Cutting ties won’t let Iran “finish the job”; it would betray a self-reliant ally and weaken America’s position.
Sources
X, White House, AJC, Britannica, New York Times, CSIS, FDD, Arms Control Center, Pentagon, Middle East Institute, 60 Minutes, The Ettinger Report, Hylton, JINSA, Israel Truth Network
