[News] Untold story of US aid to Israel

[Anti-Imperialist News]

https://arab.news/namey


  Untold story of US aid to Israel

Ramzy Baroud - December 28, 2020
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On Dec. 21, the US Congress passed the COVID-19 relief package as part 
of a larger $2.3 trillion bill intended to cover spending for the rest 
of the fiscal year. As usual, US representatives allocated a vast sum of 
money to Israel.

While unemployment and poverty levels in the US are skyrocketing as a 
result of repeated lockdowns, Washington found it essential to provide 
Israel with $3.3 billion in “security assistance” and $500 million for 
US-Israel missile defense cooperation.

Although a meagre $600 payment to help struggling American families was 
the subject of several months of intense debate, there was little 
discussion among US politicians over the large funds handed out to 
Israel, for which there are no returns.

Support for Israel is considered a bipartisan priority and for decades 
has been perceived as the most stable item on the US foreign policy 
agenda. The mere questioning of how Israel uses the funds — whether 
military aid is being actively used to sustain its illegal occupation of 
Palestine, finance Jewish settlements, fund annexation of Palestinian 
land or violate Palestinian human rights — is a major taboo.

One of the few members of Congress to demand that assistance to Israel 
be conditional on the latter’s respect for human rights is Bernie 
Sanders, the Democratic senator who has twice sought presidential 
nomination for the party. “We cannot give (aid) carte blanche to the 
Israeli government — we have the right to demand respect for human 
rights and democracy,” Sanders said in October 2019.

His Democratic rival Joe Biden, now president-elect, quickly countered. 
“The idea that I’d withdraw military aid, as others have suggested, from 
Israel is bizarre,” he said.

It is no secret that Israel has been the world’s leading recipient of US 
aid since the Second World War. According to the US Congressional 
Research Service, Israel has received $146 billion of US taxpayers’ 
money as of November 2020.

 From 1971 until 2007, the bulk of these funds proved fundamental in 
helping Israel establish a strong economic base. Since then, most of the 
money has been allotted for military purposes, including the security of 
Israel’s illegal Jewish settlement enterprise.

Despite the US financial crisis of 2008, money continued to be channeled 
to Israel, whose economy survived the global recession largely unscathed.

In 2016, the US promised even more aid. The Obama administration, often 
mistakenly seen as hostile to Israel, increased US funding by a 
significant margin. In a 10-year memorandum of understanding, Washington 
and Tel Aviv reached a deal whereby the US agreed to give Israel $38 
billion in military aid covering the financial years 2019-2028. This is 
a whopping $8 billion increase compared with the previous 10-year 
agreement, which ended at the end of 2018.

The new US funds fall into two categories: $33 billion in foreign 
military grants and an additional $5 billion in missile defense.

US generosity has long been attributed to the unmatched influence of 
pro-Israeli groups, lead among them the American Israel Public Affairs 
Committee. However, little lobbying has been required by these groups in 
the past four years as powerful agents within the administration itself 
became Israel’s top advocates.

    *Despite the US financial crisis of 2008, money continued to be
    channeled to Israel, whose economy survived the global recession
    largely unscathed.*

    Ramzy Baroud

Aside from the seemingly endless “political freebies” that the Trump 
administration has given Israel in recent years, it is now considering 
ways to accelerate the timetable of delivering the remainder of US funds 
as determined by the last agreement, which currently stands at $26.4 
billion. According to official congressional documents, the US also may 
approve additional sales of the F-35 fighter jet, and accelerate 
delivery of KC-46A refueling and transport aircraft.

These are not the only funds and perks Israel receives. Much more goes 
unreported since it is channeled indirectly or simply promoted under the 
flexible title of “cooperation.”

For example, between 1973 and 1991, $460 million of US funds was 
allocated to resettling Jews in Israel. Many of these new immigrants are 
now the very Israeli militants who occupy the West Bank illegal 
settlements. In this case, the money was paid to a private charity, the 
United Israel Appeal, which passes it on to the Jewish Agency. The 
latter has played a central role in the founding of Israel on top of the 
ruins of Palestinian towns and villages in 1948.

Under the guise of charitable donations, tens of millions of dollars are 
regularly sent to Israel in the form of “tax-deductible gifts for Jewish 
settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem,” according to The New 
York Times. Much of the money, falsely promoted as donations for 
educational and religious purposes, often finds its way to funding and 
buying housing for illegal settlers, “as well as guard dogs, bulletproof 
vests, rifle scopes and vehicles to secure (illegal Jewish) outposts 
deep in occupied (Palestinian) areas.”

Quite often, US money ends up in the Israeli government coffers under 
false pretenses. For example, the latest stimulus package includes $50 
million to fund the Nita M. Lowey Middle East Partnership for Peace 
Funds, supposedly to provide investments in “people-to-people exchanges 
and economic cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians with the goal 
of supporting a negotiated and sustainable two-state solution.”

Actually, such money serves no particular purpose, since Washington and 
Tel Aviv endeavor to ensure the demise of a negotiated peace agreement 
and work hand-in-hand to kill the now-defunct two-state solution.

The list is endless, though most of this money is not included in the 
official US aid packages to Israel and, therefore, receives little 
scrutiny, let alone media coverage.

As of February 2019, the US has withheld all funds to the Palestinian 
Authority in the West Bank, in addition to cutting aid to the UN Relief 
and Works Agency for Palestine refugees, the last lifeline providing 
basic education and health services to millions of displaced people.

Judging by its legacy of support for the Israeli military machine and 
the colonial expansion in the West Bank, Washington insists on serving 
as Israel’s main benefactor, if not direct partner, while shunning 
Palestinians altogether. Expecting the US to play a constructive role in 
achieving a just peace in Palestine shows not only indefensible naivety 
but also wilful ignorance.

  * /Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and the editor of The Palestine
    Chronicle. He is the author of five books, the latest being “These
    Chains Will Be Broken: Palestinian Stories of Struggle and Defiance
    in Israeli Prisons” (Clarity Press, Atlanta). Twitter: @RamzyBaroud/


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