I stand with Massie (and Rand)!
Rand is yet to chime in on Israel aid but he will at some point...
He’ll be against, probably the only one.
How about for every other country?
AIPAC-—American Israel Public Affairs Committee
U.S. Security Assistance to Israel-—Briefing Book
The United States has long defined Israel’s survival and security as important to its own national interests. Israel helps the United States meet its growing security challenges through close cooperation and a range of innovative technologies. Through executive commitment and legislative action, America provides Israel with annual security assistance that helps the Middle East’s only democracy defend itself—by itself—against mounting security threats.
History and Terms
The United States has supported Israel politically since its reestablishment in 1948. But it was not until the late 1960s that it began to regularly provide security assistance to the Jewish state. Since then, America has consistently provided Israel with security assistance to help it stay strong and deter its enemies.
U.S. security assistance to Israel promotes our national security and our economy, and helps our ally defend itself against growing threats.
Security Assistance: By means of its annual foreign aid, U.S. security assistance to Israel is the most tangible manifestation of American support for the Jewish state. Assistance primarily takes the form of funding for Israel to purchase the arms needed to defend itself from its adversaries.
QME: A core element of U.S. policy is to maintain Israel’s qualitative military edge (QME)—the ability to counter and defeat any credible conventional military threat while sustaining minimal damages and casualties. In 2008, Congress wrote America’s longstanding commitment to Israel’s QME into law and required the president to continually assess whether it is being maintained.
Memoranda of Understanding: In 1998, the United States and Israel signed their first 10-year “Memorandum of Agreement on Security Cooperation” to increase security assistance to Israel while phasing out economic aid. Under the agreement, the United States committed to providing Israel $21.3 billion in security assistance. In 2016, America committed to provide $38 billion under a new 10-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
Serving American Interests
U.S. provides security assistance to key allies around the world. Current law ensures this aid can only be used for “internal security, for legitimate self-defense.”
Anchor of Stability: In an increasingly uncertain Middle East, Israel is the one stable democratic ally upon which America can consistently depend. Cooperation between the two countries in intelligence, homeland security, missile defense and counterterrorism has helped the United States meet its growing security challenges. U.S. support for Israel helps deter regional conflict by making clear to potential foes that they cannot defeat the Jewish state.
Israeli Innovation: As a result of the strong friendship between Israel and the United States, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the U.S. military share technologies and techniques that greatly benefit both nations.
Israel has pioneered cutting-edge technologies in cyber defense, unmanned vehicles, sensors and electronic warfare systems, and advanced defenses for military vehicles. In addition, Israeli battlefield medical technologies have saved countless American lives. The innovative use of U.S. military equipment by the IDF, coupled with shared know-how, has helped the U.S. military improve its own equipment and tactics.
Stockpiles: Established in the 1980s, the War Reserves Stock Allies-Israel program consists of up to $3.4 billion of U.S.-owned and -managed weapons and equipment stored in Israel for use by the U.S. military. The IDF may access these reserves during emergencies, if authorized by the U.S. government.
Crucial to Israel’s Security
Mounting Threats: The ongoing instability gripping the region directly threatens the Jewish state. To its north, Israel faces Hezbollah in Lebanon and a growing Iranian presence in Syria; to its south, Israel faces Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in Gaza while ISIS-affiliated terrorists roam the Sinai Peninsula; to its west, militant terrorist groups are gaining strength in the West Bank. Israel’s greatest threat remains Iran, which is attempting to surround the Jewish state with terrorist proxies while developing the capability to produce nuclear weapons.
Increasing Costs: To deal with the region’s mounting threats, Israel—a tiny nation the geographic size of New Jersey—has been forced to spend more on defense as a percentage of its GDP than any other nation in the industrialized world. The rising costs of advanced weaponry only compound Israel’s challenges. For example, a single F-35I “Adir” Joint Strike Fighter will cost Israel more than twice that of an F-16I fighter jet purchased under the first U.S.-Israel aid agreement in 1998.
THE WAY FORWARD
As part of its strategic alliance with Israel, the United States has agreed to provide security assistance through 10-year MOUs. Beginning in 2019, the new MOU stipulates an annual sum of $3.3 billion in foreign military funding and $500 million for cooperative missile defense. Congress must now fulfill this commitment by legislating full funding as called for in the MOU. Congress must also work to expand joint innovation, ensure Israel’s QME and consider upgrades to the value of U.S. stockpiles in Israel.
Click here to view a downloadable PDF: https://aipacorg.box.com/s/uawwyq8z73mxoejdgm3ozy66jn7bvygk
So, do you think babys were killed on the Oct 7 sneak attack?
FACTS ON FILE-——China sides w/ Hamas against Israel. As of 2022, China was Israel’s
2nd largest trading partner, with total trade value reaching a whopping $24.45 billion.
Both the Trump and Biden administrations had restricted sensitive technological exports to China. As a result, China turned to cooperative Israel. China’s direct investment in Israel’s IT industry, especially in chips and semiconductors, now has increased.
In 2017, Israeli PM Netanyahu said China accounts for one-third of the investment in Israeli high technology, which includes US military technology the US shares w/ Israel, its strongest ally. In the ’90s, Israel sold military equipment and technologies to China, including the Harpy missile system.
This incident chilled relations between the United States and Israel, with Israel being suspended from its status as Security Cooperative Participant in the Joint Strike Fighter program. However, on 6 November 2005, Israel stated that it has been re-admitted into the program.
The US had to pressure Israel to stop sharing US military technology w/ China. Yet Israel still doesn’t restrict China from acquiring dual-usage technologies that could have military implications against the US.
A succession of US administrations warned Israel about its growing tie with China, sharing concern about China using Israel as a backdoor to access sensitive technologies from the US.
The most vocal objection to Sino-Israeli ties came from the Trump administration. When former Secy of State Mike Pompeo visited Israel in 2019, he warned Israelis that the CCP “engages in spying through its commercial state-owned enterprises and presents risk through its technology systems. Pompeo said China’s actions posed a risk.
Unfortunately, Israel largely brushed aside the warnings. Like many other countries, China’s massive market has enticed Israel. Plus, the Israeli government hopes China’s good relationships with Arab nations may help Israel.
This year, Netanyahu was working on a Sino-Israeli free trade agreement and planned to visit China. But China’s siding w/ Hamas should wake up Israel’s leaders to the reality that Communist China’s relationship with Israel is purely transactional.