So after reading this excerpt, there are still FReepers who side with the anti-Israel crowd for many of the same reasons. Unbelievable.
Military aid to Israel is really welfare for the US defense industry. Think military industrial complex. Think Thomas Jeffersons war on the Barbary pirates.
Israel is a very tiny country, about the size of NJ, making up about 0.1% of the Middle East area. It is surrounded by 22 Arab countries. Even though it has to spend a disproportionate amount of its budget on defensive arms, it still is a technology and medical powerhouse, giving the world (including the U.S.) dazzling new technology and pioneering medical procedures. It is the only stable democracy in the Middle East and has been a reliable ally for the U.S. for decades. Israel has also been willing to do what the U.S. was not; for example, they greatly retarded the development of Iran's nuclear program with computer viruses they introduced. Yet I see FReepers making stupid, uneducated comments here about "Israel can buy their own arms", "We shouldn't give money to any foreign country", etc. Sure, we shouldn't just hand out money carte blanche to countries from which we derive no benefit, such as Haiti, Yemen, etc. but for such a staunch ally as Israel has been? Of course they deserve our support.