What have they done for us lately?

An anonymous commenter dropped a brief note in on my post on Israel as a base for attacking Iraq last night.
I found it interesting, and suspect others may as well. Here it is, in its entirety:

This will not happen for the simple reason that Israel is not our ally
and never has been.
What have they ever done for us?

I think the basic answer is, “they’ve survived”. And surviving as the only functional democracy in that neighborhood is no small feat, and one that I do believe benefits U.S. interests, even when viewed from a purely selfish standpoint.
However, beyond that, I’m not historian enough to answer the commenters question with authority — but I think it does deserve a full answer.
So: Examples of direct actions by Israel which have benefited or supported the U.S., anyone?