Some months back, I posted an article
on how Israel influences America's federal political theatre through
the use pro-Israel "industry" which includes a number of lobbyists
and individuals who donate to election candidates of their choice. As a reminder and for
your information if you missed the posting, here is a list of lobbyists who were active
on the pro-Israel file during 2017:
Here is a graphic that shows how much was
spent by the pro-Israel lobby over the past two decades:
...and here is a table showing how much
the pro-Israel lobby spent on lobbying on behalf of the Netanyahu government
during 2017:
Other than gaining the unconditional
love of Washington, what has been the result of Israel's efforts to sway the
opinion of those that American voters elect? A recent
publication by the non-partisan Congressional Research Service
provides us with a detailed examination of America's aid to Israel.
The author of the report, Jeremey M.
Sharp, notes that Israel is the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign
assistance since the end of World War II, receiving $134.7 billion (in current,
non-inflation adjusted dollars) in bilateral assistance and missile defense
funding. It is important to note that a very significant portion of America's aid to
Israel is in the form of military assistance, something that must make U.S.
defense contractors extremely happy since U.S. aid to Israel is put directly into
their "corporate pockets".
Here is a table showing the total U.S.
foreign aid to Israel from 1946 to 2017:
It is this military aid that has
allowed Israel to develop one of the most sophisticated militaries globally
with America's aim to allow Israel to maintain a "qualitative military
edge" or QME over its neighbours, allowing Israel, with its smaller land
mass and population", to maintain an advantage over its Arab adversaries.
QME harkens back to the Cold War era where, in Europe, the United States
was competing with a much larger Warsaw Pact military machine, stressing the
need for technological superiority. This concept was then applied to
Israel with respect to the Arab nations surrounding it. This is very
clearly stated in S.2165 aka "United States - Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act of
2012" from the 112th Congress which states the following:
"United States-Israel Enhanced
Security Cooperation Act of 2012 - (Sec. 3) States that it is U.S. policy to:
(1) reaffirm the commitment to Israel's security as a Jewish state, (2) support
Israel's right to self-defense and help Israel preserve its qualitative
military edge, (3) expand military and civilian cooperation, (4) assist in a
negotiated settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that results in two
states living side-by-side in peace and security, and (5) veto any one-sided
anti-Israel U.N. Security Council resolutions.
(Sec. 4) Expresses the sense of
Congress that the United States should take specified actions to assist in
Israel's defense, including: (1) enhancing development and production of joint
missile defense systems, (2) providing appropriate defense articles and
services, (3) strengthening security initiatives and bilateral training
exercises, and (4) encouraging an expanded role for Israel with the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)....
(Sec. 6) Directs the President to
submit reports to Congress regarding: (1) the status of Israel's qualitative
military edge; (2) actions that could improve the process related to Israel's
purchase of F-35 aircraft; (3) cooperation between the United States and Israel
in homeland security, counter-terrorism, maritime security, energy,
cyber-security, and other related areas; and (4) actions to integrate Israel
into the defense of the Eastern Mediterranean."
Since 1999, U.S. assistance to Israel
has been outlined in ten year-long intergovernmental Memoranda of Understanding
(MOUs). Since MOUs are not legally binding, they do not require
concurrence from the Senate. Here is a graphic showing how U.S. military
aid to Israel has grown over the decades:
On September 14, 2016, a new MOU was
signed between Israel and the United States covering the period between fiscal
2019 and 2028 with the U.S. pledging $38 billion in military aid. This is
up from the current MOU which provided total aid of $30 billion between fiscal
2009 and 2018. Under the new MOU, the Administration will request $500
million in annual combined funding for missile defense programs that are shared
between the two nations including Iron Dome, David's Sling, Arrow II and Arrow
III.
A great deal of aid to Israel is in the
form of Foreign Military Financing (FMF). Israel gets the lion's share of
total U.S. worldwide FMF funding, receiving 61 percent of all requested
funding. Annual FMF grants to Israel represent 19 percent of the overall
Israeli defense budget, allowing Israel to have one of the highest defense
expenditure as a percentage of GDP ratios in the world:
Interestingly, Congress has mandated
that Israel receive its Foreign Military Financing in a lump sum during the
first month of the fiscal year; once disbursed, Israel's military aid is
transferred to an interest-bearing account at the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank.
Israel uses the interest collected on its military aid to pay down its
bilateral debt to U.S. government agencies which totalled $148.8 million in
December 2015.
The much-beleaguered F-35 is one of the
key components of military trade between the two nations. Israel has
purchased the following F-35s with the option to purchase up to 75 aircraft:
...and will install its homegrown C4
systems in their F-35s. As part of the F-35 deal, the United States
agreed to make reciprocal purchases of Israeli-made equipment manufactured by
Israeli defense companies.
Not only is Israel benefitting from the
latest in U.S. military technology, Israel is eligible to receive
outdated American military equipment under the Excess Defense Articles program;
between 2007 and 2017, Israel received a total of $374.399 million (in current value
dollars) worth of equipment at reduced or no charge.
Let's close by looking at a key
component of Israel's defense, its multi-faceted missile defense system.
Here is a graphic showing the history of how much was requested for
Israel's missile defense and how much Congress increased that amount by between
fiscal 2010 and 2017:
To date, the United States has
contributed the following to Israel's missile defense:
Iron Dome - $1.397 billion
David's Sling - $1.39 billion
Arrow, Arrow II and Arrow III - $2.914
billion
Here is a summary table showing the
annual defense budget appropriations for the U.S. - Israeli missile defense
system between fiscal 2006 and 2019 (request):
As though all of this isn't enough, in
1989, the United States military also established munitions stockpiles in
Israel for use by the United States and, and with permission, by Israel in
emergency situations. The War Reserves Stock Allies - Israel (WRSA - I)
program does not require 60-day congressional notification and there is no
waiting time for delivery. These weapon stockpiles were used during the
July 2014 military operations in Gaza when Israel used 120 mm tank rounds and
40 mm illumination rounds fired from grenade launchers. The current value
of U.S. materiel stored in Israel under WRSA - I stands at $2.2 billion.
As you can see, the pro-Israel lobby
has been very successful at getting Washington to see things its way.
There is no doubt that the military aid given to Israel has tipped the
delicate Middle East balance in Israel's favour. It is also interesting
to see how U.S. taxpayers' generosity is, once again, funnelled directly into
the pockets of the defense industry who no doubt play a key role in
Washington's unfettered beneficence towards Israel.
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