Why The Huge U.S. Aid Package To Israel?

U.S. and Israeli officials sign an unprecedented military-spending deal in Washington, D.C., on September 14. Gary Cameron / Reuters

Emma Green, The Atlantic: Why Does the United States Give So Much Money to Israel?

The two countries just signed a new military-aid deal—the biggest pledge of its kind in American history. It have may seemed inevitable, but the record-setting moment is also rife with irony.

The United States and Israel have made it official: The two countries signed a new 10-year military-assistance deal on Wednesday, representing the single largest pledge of its kind in American history. The pact, laid out in a Memorandum of Understanding, will be worth $38 billion over the course of a decade, an increase of roughly 27 percent on the money pledged in the last agreement, which was signed in 2007. The diplomatic and military alliance between the two countries is longstanding: Even prior to this week, Israel was, according to the Congressional Research Service, “the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign assistance since World War II.” In many ways, Wednesday’s deal seemed predestined.

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WNU Editor: Emma Green tries to discount the role that internal U.S. politics has in these discussions and agreements with Israel .... but I disagree. Internal U.S. politics is the main driving force to provide this aid, and both political parties are not interested in alienating a voting bloc that they believe play a critical role in Washington politics.