Susan Rice wants to give $40 billion to Israel
On Monday, President Obama’s National Security Advisor, Susan Rice, spoke to the American Jewish Committee Global Forum and told the audience that the U.S. should pledge $40 billion to Israel. Rice said the money would be military aid and go to Israel over a period of ten years. Rice, the former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, said Israel needs this aid to defend itself against Hamas, Lebanese fighters, al-Qaeda, and ISIL. U.S. military aid to Israel requires the country to use up to 75% of those funds for purchasing American-made weapons. Rice celebrated her proposal by saying this is could be the largest amount of aid given to any country in U.S. history. Many are left wondering how Rice can consider this proposal an accomplishment, considering many factors: there are many other countries in much more dire need of aid than Israel; there are many Americans who could use that tax money for domestic programs; increasing military aid to Israel, despite the country’s unchecked growth in illegal settlements and discriminatory laws, sends a clearly biased message; and if the U.S. is supposed to be neutral in Israel-Palestine negotiations, then why don’t the Palestinians get just as much?
By Ed Adamczyk
UPI
WASHINGTON, June 14 (UPI) — U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice said the proposed military aid package to Israel is larger than any the United States has ever offered to any country.
The 10-year aid program would give Israel up to $40 billion to upgrade its military aircraft and missile defense systems, and to defend against militants in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, and al-Qaida and Islamic State affiliates in Syria and Egypt.
Speaking Monday in Washington to the American Jewish Committee Global Forum, Rice said the pact would “constitute a significant increase in support.”
With $3.1 billion in 2015, Israel is the biggest beneficiary of U.S. foreign aid. Officials from Israel and the United States have said a $4 billion package for 2016 is under consideration. A sticking point in the long-term aid package is the strained relationship and mistrust between President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Some of Netanyahu’s advisers, worried about Obama’s replacement, have urged him to accept the U.S. offer soon. They cite Donald Trump‘s indecisiveness on issues, including relations with Israel; Hillary Clinton‘s objections to construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and Bernie Sanders‘ left-leaning influence on Democratic Party politics, leading to the party’s concern over the welfare of Palestinians and exasperation with Israeli occupation policies.
In her address, Rice said: “Israel’s security isn’t a Democratic interest or a Republican interest. It’s an enduring American interest.” She also denounced Israel’s insistence on building communities in the West Bank, saying the ideal approach to “sustainable security for Israel, and to dignity and self-determination for the Palestinians, is two states for two peoples,” a policy the Netanyahu administration opposes.
source: upi.com