Why Comparing Israel to Other U.S. Allies Gets It Wrong
The case for conditioning aid to Israel sounds simple. It isn't.
By Brian Romick, President and CEO, Democratic Majority for Israel
Source: Haim Goldberg
With negotiations on the future of U.S. security assistance to Israel expected to get underway soon, there’s a growing debate about what such an agreement should look like. Some in Washington are calling for the United States to place conditions on or abruptly cease security assistance to Israel, including for missile defense. They argue that Israel is a country “like all other allies of ours…” They point out that even Prime Minister Netanyahu told The Economist in January that he wants to taper off U.S. military aid within the next decade.
But conflating our support for Israel with how we assist other democracies with advanced economies is deeply misguided. Unlike Israel, countries like Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom are not facing persistent existential threats and calls for their destruction. These countries also host U.S. military bases and tens of thousands of American troops. These deployments cost hundreds of billions of dollars and put Americans directly in harm’s way. Israel has never asked for that. There is no permanent U.S. troop presence in Israel. On the contrary, Israel bears its own defense burden and uses a reserve system to power their armed forces. Treating Israel like “other allies” would require actually inserting Americans more directly into the conflict and cost billions more.
Let’s lay out the stakes. The Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and the Arrow system shield millions of civilians, including Jews, Christians, Muslims, Druze, and thousands of Americans living in Israel from missiles fired by Iran and its proxies. They save lives. They have done so thousands of times since Hamas’ October 7 attacks on Israel. Supporting these systems is consistent with calls to reduce harm to civilians. When incoming fire is intercepted, there is less pressure for large-scale retaliation.
Since October 2023, Israel has been fighting simultaneously against Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. Iran, which funds and directs these proxies to fight Israel on its behalf, is only recently a direct combatant. But its pursuit of long-range ballistic missile capabilities and nuclear weapons make it a threat to the U.S., and it has been and remains committed to Israel’s destruction. Iranian ballistic missiles can reach U.S. forces in the region in under 15 minutes.
U.S. military assistance is not a handout. It is a strategic investment intended to foster intelligence sharing, joint research and development, military interoperability, and battlefield-tested technologies that directly benefit U.S. forces. The consequences of suddenly ending security assistance would be the opposite of what proponents hope for. Aid is one of the few mechanisms that embeds American influence directly into Israeli defense planning and procurement. If U.S. aid ended without warning, Israel wouldn’t stop buying weapons. It would buy them elsewhere with zero American input into how and where they are used.
Let’s be clear: there is a significant difference between a thoughtful, phased evolution of our bilateral relationship and pulling the plug while Israel is fighting a multi-front war, its economy is under strain, and the region is more volatile than ever before. We can discuss how the U.S.-Israeli security relationship should change with the times, how our partnership must evolve as Israel’s own capabilities grow and its security needs change, and how we can align on a long-term vision for the region. But that debate must bring a sober, serious analysis grounded in prioritizing America’s interests and Israel’s security. It cannot shift with political changes or in the middle of a war, especially when American troops are actively deployed in the region.
The question is not whether the U.S.-Israel relationship should evolve — it should. But any changes must be grounded in America’s national security, ensure Israel’s security, and expand the economic, intelligence, and diplomatic partnerships that sustain long-term regional stability. Anything less risks trading an enduring strategic partnership for momentary political gain.
We passed the Leahy Law, which, oversimplified, says American weapons can’t be used to abuse human rights.
Ben Gvir’s goons are violating Palestinians’ human rights every day. Liberal Israelis call them pogroms.
Now, we can enforce the Leahy Law and stop letting our weapons be used this way, or we can create an Israel Exception. You guys pay lip service to opposing settler violence, but really you excuse it because of Hamas or Hitler or maybe your donor base. Most Democrats, including Jews, think the Exception means Israel can play as for freiers. That’s Israeli slang for “suckers”.
There’s an increasingly apt expression I've come across in the media: "God damn America!" America, and perhaps Britain, may be well on its/their way to being damned — never mind it/they somehow being God-blessed or the monarchy saved by Him. The Biblical Jesus Christ definitely would not approve of the almost systematic morbid greed and poverty rampant in “God's Own Country” — let alone the morbid atrocities it's committing or enabling internationally.
At the same time, the U.S. consistently militarily drinks the Israeli state's used bathwater. PM Netanyahu is the greatest warmonger of all yet still has the most powerful foreign connections acting as his puppets, notably the Trump administration.
President Donald promptly bends over for Netanyahu's Israel, gets back up, then unconditionally rearms the Israel Defense Forces with American state-of-the-art American-taxpayer-supplied weaponry to indiscriminately use against Palestine’s innocent non-combatants, notably children, and other foreign parties Israel deems a threat.
And Trump’s lame, immoral idea of creating peace is compelling one side or party that: “You’re not holding any cards.” However, human beings, both individualistically and collectively, want to feel a sense of self dignity, and therefor Trump’s you’re-not-holding-any-cards likely won’t work.