A while back, I wrote a post showing that Israel does not, in fact, need any formal aid from the United States to maintain its position against its neighbors. With an economy nearly the size of Switzerland's, and a slightly higher per capita income, it is a very wealthy country that would only need to shift some money out of its welfare programs to make up the meager $3B aid that we provide them.
One area that Israel has suffered grievously from its relationship with the United States is that it has been a pawn in our international disputes with Europe and Russia. A lot of supporters of Israel don't realize that the opposition to Israel in Europe and Russia is in large part due to a cynical desire to gain leverage and influence for self-aggrandizement. If they want to be power brokers and players, Europe and Russia need to seek areas where America has far less influence like the Arab world.
Obviously, anti-semitism will continue to be a motivation for a number of European and Russian politicians to continue to demonize Israel even if we cut off formal aid and completely back out of Israel's affairs. However, there are other, more subtle forms of help that can be provided. These include preferential trade and immigration policies that allow Israelis to simply come and go as they please for trade and education, provided they have no criminal record. For both countries' sake, we should really explore this option, since it would defeat the propaganda talking point that we arm and subsidize the Israeli war machine.
One area that Israel has suffered grievously from its relationship with the United States is that it has been a pawn in our international disputes with Europe and Russia. A lot of supporters of Israel don't realize that the opposition to Israel in Europe and Russia is in large part due to a cynical desire to gain leverage and influence for self-aggrandizement. If they want to be power brokers and players, Europe and Russia need to seek areas where America has far less influence like the Arab world.
Obviously, anti-semitism will continue to be a motivation for a number of European and Russian politicians to continue to demonize Israel even if we cut off formal aid and completely back out of Israel's affairs. However, there are other, more subtle forms of help that can be provided. These include preferential trade and immigration policies that allow Israelis to simply come and go as they please for trade and education, provided they have no criminal record. For both countries' sake, we should really explore this option, since it would defeat the propaganda talking point that we arm and subsidize the Israeli war machine.
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