on Aug 21st, 2007The Israel Lobby and American Foreign Budget Policy
Forget the hurricane bearing down on Mexico. There’s a controversy swirling around two University of Chicago’s professors new book, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy by John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt. Essentially it argues that the relationship between the U.S. and Israel has turned into a rather peculiar financial beast.
Fact: “Since the October War in 1973, Washington has provided Israel with a level of support dwarfing that given to any other state. It has been the largest annual recipient of direct economic and military assistance since 1976, and is the largest recipient in total since World War Two, to the tune of well over $140 billion (in 2004 dollars). Israel receives about $3 billion in direct assistance each year, roughly one-fifth of the foreign aid budget, and worth about $500 a year for every Israeli.”
Let’s state that again. One-fifth of the U.S. foreign aid budget goes to Israel. What do we get in return? Mearsheimer and Walt wonder aloud themselves. Just remember, a democracy is predicated on free speech. I once read a discussion is two people exchanging knowledge; an argument is two people sharing ignorance.
Ground rules: It’s not an argument, it’s a discussion. Separation of synagogue and state is a sacred democratic principle.
Israel Lobby: Too Much Influence on U.S. Foreign Policy - video debate