Let's see: Israel is surrounded by 22 Arab states. So, of these 23 states, let us examine a few things.
Israel is:
1. The only nation that allows total freedom of religion to all citizens residing within the state. All 22 others require that non-Muslims be in various ways subject to Shariah.
2. The only nation with a fully functioning democracy. The other 22 are ruled by either (a) absolute (or near absolute) monarchs, (b) military men turned presidents, (c) men of some other royal title (such as emir), or (d) outright dictators calling themselves by various titles, usually "President" or "Prime Minister" who were put in power and are sustained there by the USA or other foreign governments.
3. Israel actually votes for their own leadership. The so-called "vote" that other countries give to their citizens matters little, since their governments can always override it. Try overriding the will of the King in Saudi Arabia (talk about arrogant; the bastards named the country after themselves).
Add to that the fact that Muslims have, as their stated goal in the Qur'an, the desire to subject all Christians and Jews to the Jizya tax, conversion, or death.
Israel is by no means perfect, and I never claimed it was. But they are human beings. The Arabs around them, not so much. Only the latest models can talk. The older variety are still swinging from their tails.
It should be noted that Lebanon is often cited by the anti-Israel crowd. Lebanon is a fucking mess. Its multi-confessional constitution guaranteeing that the President is a Christian, the Prime Minister one variety of Muslim, the Deputy Prime Minister another, the Parliament has so many Christians, Shias, and Sunnis in it, etc, has led to absolute chaos since 1975. The PLO presence didn't help any. Nor did the Syrian. But, you see my point.