U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel Explained | Unpacked
Americans tend to overestimate how much the U.S. gives to other countries in foreign aid. Many assume that the U.S. gives 25% of their budget to other countries through foreign aid, but in reality that budget is less than 1%, around $40 billion, and is split into three categories: humanitarian, economic, and military.
Unlike other countries in the Middle East, U.S. foreign aid to Israel is almost exclusively military aid that functions kind of like “gift certificates”. The U.S. produces military equipment and gives money to other countries, like Israel, to use to purchase equipment from American manufacturers. This helps boost the U.S. economy, creates jobs and strengthens its military relationships with these countries.
1973 was the first year the U.S. provided $492 million in military aid to Israel, but just a year later that raised to $2.6 billion due to the Yom Kippur war, when Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel. The U.S. launched Operation Nickel Grass to help Israel and sent them 22 thousand tons of ammunition, helping them win the war. The historical events that have transpired since then have raised awareness to U.S. politicians on the importance of having Israel as their active ally in the Middle East.
Overall, U.S. foreign aid given to Israel has bipartisan support, however not everyone approves this policy. Some Americans on the progressive left feel that aid to Israel should be conditional, while some Israelis have argued that receiving this aid makes Israel too dependent on the U.S.
Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:13 U.S. Foreign Aid - perceptions and reality
00:30 Strings attached - US arms industry
01:01 US-Israel military relationship
01:30 Other countries receiving US Foreign aid
02:04 Foreign aid or US military spending?
02:38 The Yom Kippur War
03:12 Qualitative military edge
03:58 Active military force in the Middle East
04:08 9/11
04:17 American public's opinions
04:35 Conditional foreign aid
05:01 Israeli public's opinions
05:13 US foreign aid tied to Middle Eastern peace deals
05:36 Mutually beneficial relationship
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Image and footage credits:
– ABC News
– AP
– BBC News
– Belfer Center
– The Borgen project
– Carter Center
– CCTV America
– C-SPAN
– DefenseNews
– Florida Memory
– Forbes
– Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum
– The Hill
– IDF
– ILTV
– Israel Missile Defense Organization/MAFAT
– ITN
– Knesset Channel
– Military Times
– NBC News
– Israel GPO/Omer Meron, Ben Peretz
– Richard Nixon Foundation
– Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute
– U.S. Air Force
– U.S. Army
– U.S. Department of Defense
– WhiteHouse.gov
– William J. Clinton Presidential Library
– YouTube/historycomestolife, Elias Félix da Silva
– Ynet
– Ze'ev Galili
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