Posted by Charleston Voice, 4.10.2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
No one can say the U.S. hasn’t been generous towards Israel since it was founded in 1948.
Over a period of 64 years (including the 2013 budget request), the U.S. has given Israel more than $115 billion in military and foreign aid, which averages out to about $4.9 million a day.
American and Israeli officials are currently negotiating a new aid deal that would provide more money for a new missile defense program, Iron Dome. Previous funding requests approved $205 million for the project, and Israel is trying to secure at least that much if not more for future years.
Although some Republicans have tried to portray President Barack Obama as soft on Israel, his budget for Fiscal Year 2013 includes $3.1 billion in military aid for Israel, the most in 13 years.
-Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky
To Learn More:
U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel (by Jeremy M. Sharp, Congressional Research Service) (pdf)
Israel Seeks Multi-Year US Missile Defense Aid (by Yaakov Katz, Jerusalem Post)