VERSE AND VOICE FROM SOJOURNERS 7AUG26

 

Forward this email to someone you know who would like it! Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here to receive this newsletter in your inbox every weekday. Verse of the day He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” - Matthew 17:20 Voice of the day Every action, no matter how small, is like drips on a rock – over time, they can carve a canyon through even the thickest, most immovable layer of rock. - Shannon Watts Prayer of the day Unfailing and Enduring Help, you know there is dignity inherent in all work. May the collective strength of our work fuel and foster even when it is initially difficult to see results. Advertisement Our Latest Stories Wendell Berry Comforted Me Through My Gender Transition (by Georgia Coley) Wendell Berry’s words were exactly what I needed to hear when I wanted to wish myself away. Read more The Most Welcoming Church Will Let You Leave (by Joshua W.B. Brown) Letting people walk into your church is easy. Letting them walk out is harder. Read more Idaho Pastor Found Guilty of Trespassing in Protest of Anti-Trans Bills (by Kyle Pfannenstiel, Idaho Capital Sun) A Unitarian Universalist pastor could face a prison sentence for occupying the governor's office during a protest this spring. Read more Wendell Berry, Voice for Land and Neighbor, Dies at 92 (by Mitchell Atencio) Berry was a tireless advocate for rural communities, farming, the natural world, and dissent from economies that prioritized productivity over land and neighbor. Read more Israel Denies Entry to Delegation With Palestinian Liberation Theology Center (by Sam Hsiaomei Lee) Sabeel brought more than 450 people to the Holy Land in the last three years, before a delegation was denied entry earlier this month. Read more Our Most Anticipated Movies of Fall and Winter (by Zachary Lee) “Try as my mother did to instill the chronology of the liturgical calendar in me, I’ve instead opted to track the passage of time by the movie release calendar. Right now, we’re in anything but Ordinary Time.” Read more Advertisements Faith Overcomes Fear: Donate Today Authoritarianism relies on an exhausted, fearful public. But faith calls us to action. Give to Sojourners’ fall fundraising campaign to fuel investigative reporting and equip local churches with tools to defend democracy, protect vulnerable neighbors, and organize for justice. Make your tax-deductible gift today! Tell Congress: End Federal Occupation in DC! Washington, DC was placed under federal occupation. Sign our SojoAction petition to tell Congress: defend DC home rule, end the militarization of law enforcement, and stop this threat to democracy before it reaches more cities. Donate Subscribe Copyright © 2026 Sojourners. All rights reserved. 611 Pennsylvania Ave SE #342, Washington, DC 20003 Email: sojourners@sojo.net | Tel.: 202.328.8842

MASSIE MOVES TO STRIKE $3.3B IN ISRAELI AID FROM THE BUDGET 24JUN26

Rep Thomas Massie R-KY, Rep Greg Casar D-TX, and Sen Bernie Sanders I-VT are some of the leaders in congress who are leading efforts to cut the funding for the Israeli Defense Forces while they continue their campaigns of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity on the Palestinian people in Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Lebanon. I called Rep Suhas Subramanyam's D-VA DC office about his continued support of military aid to Israel and his complicity in Israel's genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity on Palestinians demanding he support stopping funding for the IDF and all Israeli security forces until they stop committing genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity on Palestinians. Please sign Demand Progresses' petition to the US Congress telling them to cut the $3.3 billion from the NSRP and to stop supporting Israel until they stop committing genocide and these crimes and abuses on Palestinians, and then if you can e mail your representative and senators. Below is the e mail I sent to Rep Subramanyam and to Sen Warner D-VA and Sen Kaine D-VA. The articles are from Responsible Statecraft and Council on Foreign Relations.....

TELL Congress: Lawmakers have a chance to reject $3.3 billion in funding for Israel's military. We must send in a wave of pressure to break the pro-Israel consensus in Washington and end support for Israel's genocidal violence. Sign the petition: Vote YES to block $3.3 billion in taxpayer funding for Israel's military!

ADD YOUR NAME

Democrats in Congress are split over a vote on $3.3 billion in funding for Israel's military.¹

For some, the choice is clear. Rep. Greg Casar stated that he would vote to block the funding. "The Israeli government committed war crimes in Gaza and helped drag America into war with Iran," he said. "Americans should not be financing more weapons" for Israel.²

Other House lawmakers remain undecided — though the tide seems to be turning even among historically staunchly pro-Israel Democrats. Why? Because American support for Israel is plummeting amongst the general public. Congress must take a stand and end U.S. complicity with Israel's atrocities in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran NOW.

Sign the petition: Vote YES to reject $3.3 billion in U.S. funding for the Israeli military!

ADD YOUR NAME

Israel has committed atrocities in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran with the full backing of the U.S. government despite only 16% of Americans supporting unconditional aid to Israel.³ Despite so-called ceasefires, Israel continues occupying large parts of Lebanon, and carries out near-daily attacks on Gaza.

The U.S. Senate has shown historic support for ending unconditional weapons sales to Israel in recent months. We need to carry that momentum to this House vote.

Our lawmakers must end U.S. support for Israel's relentless violence in the Middle East.

Sign the petition: No more U.S. tax dollars for Israel's genocidal violence!

Thanks for taking action,

Joey and the team at Demand Progress

DONATE

Sources:

1. Politico, "Democrats are 'looking for guidance' on Israel. Hakeem Jeffries isn’t giving any at the moment," July 6, 2026.
2. Common Dreams, "Progressive Caucus Leader Backs Amendment to Cut Off Billions in US Military Aid to Israel," June 30, 2026.
3. Responsible Statecraft, "Massie moves to strike $3.3B in Israel military aid from the budget," June 24, 2026.

 I demand you sponsor and support Rep Thomas Massie's amendment to HR 8595 removing $3.3 billion from the NSRP for the Israeli Defense Forces. You have been a long time participant in the murders of American Palestinians in the West Bank as well as a long time participant in the genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity being waged by the IDF and all other Israeli security services along with illegal Israeli settlers against Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Lebanon. It is time for you to end your complicity in these crimes, time for you to condemn the neo-nazi fascist Israeli reich no matter how much you have been paid by aipac and all other pro genocide, pro war crimes, and pro crimes against humanity pro Israeli pacs and organizations. I also expect you to work with the entire Virginia delegation to sponsor and support Rep Massie's amendment in the House and like legislation in the Senate.

MASSIE MOVES TO STRIKE $3.3B IN ISRAELI AID FROM THE BUDGET

Annelle Sheline

Jun 24, 2026

The House Rules Committee has advanced an amendment by Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) to strip $3.3 billion in funding for the Israel Defense Forces from the federal budget.

That means that as early as Thursday, every member of the House will have to vote on the proposal. Constituents will have the opportunity to see if their member will vote to end U.S. funding for Israel, or continue it.

The funds targeted would come out of the National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act (NSRP), the bill that funds the State Department, international development assistance, and global organizations.

Although the amendment is unlikely to pass, it will require members of Congress to decide if they want to be seen as advocating for a continuation of the U.S.-Israel relationship, or a new approach. As Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) tweeted, only 16% of Americans support unconditional aid to Israel.

For members on the right, they will have to explain to their constituents why they are voting to continue sending billions of taxpayer dollars to a foreign country that just dragged the U.S. into an unnecessary war with Iran, spiking gas prices for ordinary Americans before ending in military defeat. Even 51% of Republicans, in addition to three-quarters of Democrats, now say that Israel exerts too much sway over U.S. foreign policy. For Republicans who voted for an “America First” foreign policy, the blank check to Israel has become harder to defend.

For members on the left, they will have to justify why the U.S. continues to enable Israel’s horrifying violence against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, its occupation of Lebanon and Syria, and its attacks on seven countries over the past year, including Qatar, a major non-NATO U.S. ally. By providing Israel with billions in aid no matter how destabilizing its behavior, no matter how many international bodies and organizations accuse it of genocide and atrocities, Washington encourages Israel to behave even more aggressively.

Whereas if a significant portion of members vote in favor of the Massie amendment, even if it does not pass, this could send an important signal to Israel that it might want to rethink its bellicosity towards the rest of the region. This could be especially useful in an election year, as Israelis head to the polls to select a new leader, likely not Benjamin Netanyahu. In the absence of any such messaging from Washington, Israelis will continue their current trajectory: futilely trying to create security through violence.

Yet instead of sending that signal to Israel, many in Congress will likely stick to their AIPAC provided talking points.

For example, AIPAC asserts that the U.S. and Israel share security interests in the Middle East. This point is harder to make in the midst of the Trump administration’s efforts to avoid a return to open conflict with Iran by implementing the MOU, while the Israeli Defense Minister stated that Israel will continue to occupy and attack Lebanon, a clear attempt to reignite the war.

Another talking point asserts that the U.S.-Israel relationship is good for American jobs. However even according to the American Jewish Committee, the relationship only directly enables 20,000 jobs, or .012% of the U.S. workforce.

Moreover, supporters like to argue that without $3.3 billion from Washington, Israel would be defenseless. Yet Israel recently overtook the U.K. to become the seventh biggest exporter of arms and weaponry. Israel has broken its own record for arms exports every year for the past five years, reaching $19.2 billion in sales in 2025. Clearly, Israel has more than enough spare defense capacity.

The perception that Israel needs U.S. support or it will face an existential threat is fading, replaced with concerns about what U.S. money has enabled Israel to do and whether that reflects U.S. interests. Poll after poll has demonstrated a fundamental shift in American opinions. A Sienna/New York Times poll in May showed that almost three-quarters of Democratic voters oppose U.S. military aid to Israel. While a majority of Republicans continue to support the aid, younger Republicans increasingly question the scale.

In terms of the U.S.-Israel relationship more broadly, in April, the Pew Research Center found that a record 60% of American adults now have an unfavorable view of Israel, up from 53% just last year. Massie’s amendment reflects this shift.

And yet this may be the last time such a vote is possible. Proponents of Israel aid are pushing to remove it from the category of direct military assistance, which is appropriated through the NSRP, to the category of defense contracts, which Congress does not vote on. Massie, along with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and co-sponsors Jim McGovern, Chuy Garcia, Rashida Tlaib, and Don Beyer, are trying to strip that amendment, section 219 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), in order to prevent the integration of the U.S. and Israel defense industrial sectors.

It is precisely the shift in public opinion, and the desire to reduce aid to Israel, that is driving the effort by Israel to shield funding for Israel’s military from public opposition. The vote on Massie’s amendment, to be taken up as early as Thursday, even if it doesn’t pass, will be revealing — for who does and who doesn’t vote for it.

Annelle Sheline

Annelle Sheline, PhD, is a Research Fellow in the Middle East program at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. She previously served as a Foreign Affairs Officer at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor’s Office of Near Eastern Affairs.

The views expressed by authors on Responsible Statecraft do not necessarily reflect those of the Quincy Institute or its associates.

U.S. Aid to Israel in Four Charts

Israel has long been the leading recipient of U.S. foreign aid, including military assistance. That aid has come under heightened scrutiny over the course of Israel’s conflicts with Hamas and Iran.

Updated

October 7, 2025 5:12 p.m.

• Jonathan Masters

  Deputy Managing Editor
• Will Merrow

  Senior Editor, Data Visualization

The United States was the first country to recognize the provisional government of the state of Israel upon its founding in 1948, and for many decades it has been a strong and steady supporter of the Jewish state. Israel has received hundreds of billions of dollars in U.S. foreign aid in the post–World War II era, a level of support that reflects many factors, including a U.S. commitment to Israel’s security and the countries’ shared foreign policy interests in a volatile and strategically important part of the world. Israel is also a leading buyer of U.S. weapons systems via traditional arms sales.

The two countries do not have a mutual defense pact, as the United States has with allies such as Japan and fellow members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). However, Israel is among a short list of “major non-NATO allies” and also has privileged access to the most advanced U.S. military platforms and technologies.

In 2024, U.S. military aid to Israel soared to its highest level in decades during Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza. The conflict was sparked by Hamas’s October 2023 attack that killed approximately twelve hundred Israelis—the deadliest in the country’s history. More than sixty-five thousand Palestinians, including a large share of civilians, have died in the conflict,according to the United Nations and the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. U.S. military support also proved essential during Israel’s recent hostilities with Hezbollah in Lebanon and with Iran, helping Israel significantly degrade the military capabilities of its longtime rivals.

How much U.S. aid does Israel receive?

Israel has been the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign aid since its founding, receiving over $300 billion (adjusted for inflation) in total economic and military assistance. While the United States has also provided large foreign aid packages to other Middle Eastern countries, particularly Egypt and Iraq, Israel stands apart.

Israel Is the Largest Cumulative Recipient of U.S. Aid Since 1946

Total aid from fiscal years 1946 to 2024 (constant 2024 dollars)

A bar chart of the largest cumulative recipients of U.S. aid, showing Israel as the largest recipient with over $300 billion since 1946, most of which has been military aid

Economic

Military

Israel

Egypt

Afghanistan

South Vietnam

Iraq

Ukraine

South Korea

United Kingdom

India

Turkey

France

Pakistan

Notes: Military aid for Israel includes missile defense funding starting in 2006, using data from the Congressional Research Service. All other data is from foreignassistance.gov. Aid to Ukraine for fiscal years 2022 to 2024 is reported by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy as being around $16 billion higher than figures from foreignassistance.gov. South Vietnam existed as a country until the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. Data for 2024 is partially reported.

Sources: foreignassistance.gov; Congressional Research Service

The United States provided Israel considerable economic assistance from 1971 to 2007, but nearly all U.S. aid today goes to support Israel’s military, the most advanced in the region. The United States has provisionally agreed via a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to provide Israel with $3.8 billion per year through 2028, including $500 million per year for missile defense. 

Israel has been using American-made weapons against its foes—including Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran—for decades. The Israeli military has reportedly received expedited deliveries of weapons from a strategic stockpile that the United States has maintained in Israel since the 1980s.

What military aid has the United States provided Israel since the October 7 attack?

Since the start of Israel’s war with Hamas on October 7, 2023, the United States has enacted legislation providing at least $16.3 billion in direct military aid to Israel. The aid was authorized in three pieces of legislation: a supplemental appropriations act in April 2024 which provided $8.7 billion, and appropriations acts in 2024 and 2025 which provided $3.8 billion per year in line with the MOU. Of the total, $6.7 billion is for missile defense.

In May 2025, the Israeli Defense Ministry said since October 2023 the United States had delivered ninety thousand tons of arms and equipment on eight hundred transport planes and 140 ships. The extraordinary flow of aid has included tank and artillery ammunition, bombs, rockets, and small arms. 

How does Israel use the aid?

Most of the aid is provided as grants under the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program, which funds  countries’ purchases of U.S. military equipment and services through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program or in some cases through direct commercial contracts. 

Israel has historically been one of the top recipients of U.S. arms sales. In April 2025, it had 751 active FMS cases with the U.S., worth a total of roughly $39 billion. Israel has also been permitted to use a portion of its FMF aid to buy equipment from Israeli defense firms—a benefit not granted to other recipients of U.S. military aid, which are required to buy from American firms. However, this domestic procurement benefit is set to be phased out in the next few years.

U.S. aid reportedly accounted for around 20 percent of Israel’s defense budget in the years prior to the Israel-Hamas war. Israel, like many other countries, also buys U.S. military products outside of the FMF program.

Currently, $500 million per year is slated for Israeli and joint U.S.-Israeli missile defense programs, in which the two countries collaborate on the research, development, and production of defense systems used by Israel, including the Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Arrow, Arrow II, Arrow III, and Iron Beam. While the Iron Dome was solely developed by Israel, the United States has been a production partner since 2014. David’s Sling and the Arrow system were developed jointly by Israel and the United States. Iron Beam development was begun by an Israeli company, with the U.S. contractor Lockheed Martin later joining development.

While Israel does purchase some arms from other countries, the large majority of its arms imports come from the United States. In recent years, the remainder have come primarily from Germany, although in August 2025 the German government announced it would stop providing military equipment that could be used in Gaza.

How Israel’s Imports of U.S. Arms Stack Up

Estimated military value of arms imports*

Israel

Israel is not the largest importer of U.S. arms, but 78% of its arms imports since 2000 have come from the United States.

 

78% from U.S.

3B

2B

1B

From other countries

From United States

0

2000

2005

2010

2015

2020

Egypt

Iraq

34% from U.S.

52% from U.S.

3B

2B

1B

0

Qatar

Kuwait

49% from U.S.

65% from U.S.

3B

2B

1B

0

Saudi Arabia

United Arab Emirates

62% from U.S.

54% from U.S.

3B

2B

1B

0

2000

2005

2010

2015

2020

2000

2005

2010

2015

2020

*Military value is expressed as “trend-indicator-value,” a unit developed by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) that represents the military capability of arms sales.

Note: Countries included are the largest recipients of U.S. arms sales in the Middle East.

Source:  Stockholm International Peace Research Institute

Are there any conditions or restrictions attached to the aid?

Transfers of U.S. military equipment to Israel, as to other foreign governments, are subject to relevant U.S. and international law. The president must notify Congress [PDF] before selling foreign powers major weapon systems or services valued above a certain dollar threshold, and lawmakers are allowed a period to review the sale. For transactions with Israel (and other close U.S. allies), the threshold that triggers a fifteen-day congressional review ranges from $25 million to $300 million, depending on the defense articles or services.

Congress can block a sale through a joint resolution, although this has never happened. In special cases, the president can bypass congressional review if they deem that a national security emergency exists. President Biden used this expedited waiver process for both Israel and Ukraine, and President Trump used it for Saudi Arabia in his first term and Israel in his second. For smaller transactions that don’t meet the dollar threshold, no congressional review is required.

The United States cannot provide security assistance to foreign governments or groups that commit gross human rights violations, a red line enshrined in the so-called Leahy Law. Some legal scholars and other critics have alleged that the United States has not applied the Leahy Law with regard to Israel as it has with other Middle Eastern countries.

Any military aid that the United States provides to recipients must only be used according to agreed-upon terms and conditions, and it is incumbent on the U.S. government to monitor the end use of the equipment it provides. For instance, the Ronald Reagan administration banned transfers of cluster munitions to Israel for several years in the 1980s after it determined that Israel had used them on civilian targets during its invasion of Lebanon.

Israel has agreed to use U.S. weapons only in self-defense. Outside of this, Biden administration officials said in mid-October 2023 that they had not placed further limitations or constraints on how Israel uses U.S. weapons, although they said that Israel should observe international law. In February 2024, four months into the Israel-Hamas war, Biden issued a national security memo requiring recipients of U.S. military aid to give written assurances that they would observe international law in their use of the aid, and that they would facilitate the delivery of U.S. humanitarian assistance in the area of armed conflict where the U.S. military aid is being used. In February 2025, the Trump administration rescinded the memo.

What is Israel’s qualitative military edge (QME)?

QME has been a conceptual backbone of U.S. military aid to Israel for decades, and it was formally enshrined in U.S. law in 2008 [PDF]. It requires the U.S. government to maintain Israel’s ability “to defeat any credible conventional military threat from any individual state or possible coalition of states or from non-state actors, while sustaining minimal damage and casualties.” QME is based on NATO military planning vis-a-vis a potential conflict with the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact countries during the Cold War.

Under the 2008 law, the United States must ensure that any weapons it provides to other countries in the Middle East do not compromise Israel’s QME. In several cases, this has required the United States to provide Israel with offsetting weaponry as part of larger regional arms sales. QME has also ensured that Israel is the first in the region to receive access to the most sophisticated U.S. military weapons and platforms, such as the F-35 stealth fighter, of which Israel has fifty.​

Has U.S. support for Israel changed in response to the death toll and humanitarian crisis in Gaza?

Israel received widespread support from the West immediately following Hamas’s October 7 attack, but pro-Israel sentiment in the United States and many other countries has weakened as the humanitarian situation in Gaza has deteriorated. International alarm over the conditions in the enclave grew after a UN-backed monitor declaring famine in August 2025.

Many humanitarian groups have voiced concerns about Israel’s heavy air and ground assaults on Gaza, as well as its obstruction of aid to the densely populated enclave. Israel claims the high death toll is a result of Hamas using people as “human shields.” In December 2023, South Africa filed a case at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide, a claim Israel and the United States both denounced as unfounded. In May 2024, the prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC) charged both Hamas and Israeli leaders with multiple war crimes and crimes against humanity. Israel and the United States rejected the charges against Israeli leaders.

Recent Economist/YouGov polls find declining support among Americans for military aid to Israel over the past year, with a plurality now favoring a decrease in aid. A 2024 Pew Research Center poll also found Americans voiced greater support for the Israeli people than for the Israeli government. Polls have consistently found that support for Israel varies by age, skewing highest among older Americans.

How Have the Biden and Trump Administrations Supported Israel?

Both the Biden and Trump administrations have provided Israel with critical military support, including aid and weapons sales. 

While Biden was an ardent supporter of Israel’s right to self-defense and provided significant military and diplomatic support, he was critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the war and his government’s plans for postwar Gaza. Biden warned in December 2023 that Israel’s “indiscriminate bombing” of Gaza risked costing Israel its international support. In early 2024, the Biden administration paused a shipment of large bombs to Israel, effectively acknowledging that Israel was using American-made weapons in a manner that caused civilian deaths in Gaza and risked violating the laws of war.

The Biden administration expanded the already large U.S. military presence in the Middle East to protect U.S. installations and ships, as well as to help defend Israel. U.S. forces helped Israel neutralize two separate Iranian missile and drone attacks, in April and October 2024. U.S. forces have also been protecting merchant shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden against regular Houthi attacks. 

Trump criticized Biden for not being sufficiently supportive of Israel, and in early 2025 his administration rescinded the Biden administration’s conditions on aid, saying it had “imposed baseless and politicized conditions on military assistance to Israel at a time when our close ally was fighting a war of survival on multiple fronts against Iran and terror proxies.” 

Following the outbreak of war between Israel and Iran in June 2025, the Trump administration deployed U.S. bombers to target Iran’s nuclear sites, coordinating its military campaign with Israel. Trump has occasionally expressed disagreement with Netanyahu, stating that there is “real starvation” in Gaza after Netanyahu denied that Israel was causing hunger. 

Meanwhile, some lawmakers—primarily Democrats—have sought to condition U.S. military aid to Israel or to block sales altogether. 

Prior to the war, the U.S.-Israel relationship had experienced strains over the rhetoric and policies of Netanyahu’s government, including its plans to curb the Israeli Supreme Court’s powers and its approval of more Jewish settlements in the West Bank. The so-called two-state solution had been a long-running U.S. foreign policy goal, although the Trump administration has not pursued it. At the UN General Assembly session in 2025, some U.S. allies announced their recognition of a Palestinian state over the objections of Israel and the United States.

In recent years, some U.S. and Israeli analysts have said that U.S. aid to Israel should be reevaluated because Israel is now a wealthy country—the fourteenth richest per capita—with one of the most advanced militaries in the world. Unlike Cold War-era Israel in the 1970s, when large amounts of U.S. aid started to flow, modern Israel is more than capable of providing for its own security, and the U.S. aid unnecessarily distorts the bilateral relationship and the countries’ respective foreign policies, these observers say. CFR Senior Fellow Steven A. Cook wrote in May 2024 that U.S. military aid should be phased out over ten years and replaced with a series of bilateral agreements on security cooperation, a move he says would benefit both countries and help normalize their relations.

The late Martin S. Indyk, former U.S. ambassador to Israel and CFR Distinguished Fellow, also called for reductions in U.S. aid. “The U.S.-Israel relationship would be a lot healthier without this dependence. Time for Israel at seventy-five to stand on its own two feet,” he wrote on X in June 2023.

Some experts argue that U.S. aid actually weakens Israel’s defense industrial base while serving primarily as a guaranteed revenue stream for U.S. defense contractors.

On the other hand, supporters of continued aid say that it fosters ongoing, important collaboration between U.S. and Israeli defense industries and experts, and in the end helps the countries counter shared threats in the Middle East, particularly Iran. U.S. aid remains a “vital and cost-effective expenditure” that enhances U.S. national security, and it should not be reduced or conditioned, wrote more than three hundred Republican lawmakers in 2021. Ending U.S. military aid today “would send a message to all of Israel’s enemies that Israel’s greatest friend was stepping away, so they should double down on their plans for more, and more deadly, assaults on the Jewish state,” wrote CFR Senior Fellow Elliott Abrams in September 2023.