India, Nov. 8 -- How does a country of 10.3 million people command such sustained weight in the calculations of the world's most powerful nation?

Few bilateral relationships have proved as durable as the US-Israel partnership. Presidents change, Congress changes hands, American and Israeli leaders quarrel in public, yet Washington's commitment to Israel's security and military edge endures. That raises a legitimate geopolitical question: How does a country of 10.3 million people command such sustained weight in the calculations of the world's most powerful nation?

The answer goes beyond Jewish influence and wealth. It lies in the convergence of organised advocacy, electoral arithmetic, religious conviction and a strategic partnership bu...