Ayn Rand on the Arab-Israeli conflict

The Arabs are one of the least developed cultures.  They are typically nomads.  Their culture is primitive, and they resent Israel because it's the sole beachhead of modern science and civilization on their continent.  When you have civilized men fighting savages, you support the civilized men, no matter who they are.  Israel is a mixed economy inclined toward socialism.  But when it comes to the power of the mind—the development of industry in that wasted desert continent—versus savages who don't want to use their minds, then if one cares about the future of civilization, don't wait for the government to do something.  Give whatever you can.  This is the first time I've contributed to a public cause: helping Israel in an emergency.

~ Ayn Rand, Ford Hall Forum Lecture, 1974 

(As quoted in "Ayn Rand v. Murray Rothbard: A deep dive into the Libertarian view of Israel/Palestine," Daily Kos, March 31, 2015)