Why Hagel was tight with Israel

Philip Hughes knocked down by brutal bouncer by mohammadkamranrao
The consensus among observers of Israeli politics is that Hagel was well-loved among the Israeli leadership.

"It is a real shame Hagel is leaving — he was great with us," an Israeli official told Israeli reporter Barak Ravid.
"The Israeli defense establishment, with which Hagel maintained excellent ties, may be the most sorry to see him go," Ha'aretz's Chemi Shalev says. Channel 2's Udi Sagal writes that Hagel's departure is "is bad news for Israel," citing Hagel's close personal relationship with Ya'alon.
It makes sense that Hagel would be Israel's favorite American: he's basically the Israeli military's Santa Claus. The US gives Israel about $3 billion worth of aid every year; it's overwhelmingly military aid. Hagel's office is in charge of that.
US defense officials also cooperate with Israelis in other ways, including information sharing and joint research and development. "During my nearly three years at the Pentagon, I traveled to Israel 13 times and participated in more than 100 meetings with senior Israeli civilian and military officials," former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East Colin Kahl recalls. "Although Israel was only one of 14 countries in my portfolio, no other country received that level of attention."
The point, then, is that Hagel got to supervise some of the most positive elements of the US-Israel relationship. Unlike President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry, whose political positions forced them to work on contentious disputes such as the Israel-Palestine peace process and Iran nuclear talks, Hagel merely had to give Israelis what they wanted. Which he did — and the Israelis loved him for it.