Throughout the Cold War Israel did play a role as a proxy state in the region, counter to the Soviet backed Arab states. It was useful in terms of its strategic location and as a conduit for arms to other states in the region (Iran-Contra!). But aside from the Cold War geopolitics, Israel has historically seemed like a much less "foreign" country than the Arab states to the casual American viewer.
Culturally and religiously, Israel is more familiar to the average American than the Arab states. Most Christians, especially in the US are much more familiar with Judaism than Islam. Jews have been in the US since before the American Revolution. The US has also been seen historically as a haven for many Jews that were persecuted throughout Europe and Russia. Jews did face discrimination in the US, but in spite of that many were able to rise to prominence in government, academia, finance, the media, and the sciences. And of course some of them did play a crucial role in the Zionism movement. The Holocaust also made the cause more sympathetic and understandable - and there were great religious undertones for evangelical Christians as well, who in latter years especially have become very supportive of Israel. And it was mostly bipartisan. Jews were a crucial part of the New Deal coalition as well. So the state had unwavering support of Democrats, with only slightly less enthusiastic support of Republicans (Eisenhower did try reigning them and the French in during the Suez Canal conflict in the '50s). It was not really until GW. Bush that the GOP was viewed as the uber-pro Israeli party.
Yes, there has also been a fair amount of propaganda as well. The Israelis at first seemed like the underdog, fighting back against the entire Arab world.
US familiarity with Islam is much more recent, and the perception is much more negative. Much of the impression grew out of the Arab-Israeli conflict, during an era in which the PLO hijacked airplanes and went after other Western targets, including the Munich Olympics. Then there was the Iranian Revolution, which had a major impact on how Americans saw Islam. Following that there was The civil war in Lebanon (where American Marines were killed) and Libya Pan Am bombing, the First Gulf War (remember, Iraq had launched scuds into Israel at one point) and a whole bunch of other terrorist attacks culminating with 9/11, that to many, made Israel look even more like a victim of fundamentalists hell bent on destroying western civilization.
Israel, on the surface looks more like a European nation, where women in bikinis hang out at the beach and it has a parliament (remember, "They hate us for our freedoms!"
. Granted all this hides the ugly and fundamental fact that the Israelis are an occupying power, controlling the territory and resources of the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. The settlements have also expanded, which have made Israel less and less democratic as it rules over an increasingly repressed people. This is the ugly truth.
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