Apparently nearly all of the aid we give Israel now is in the form of money which they are required to spend on weapons made by the US. They are then allowed to resell the weapons to whomever they wish, which they do, making them the 9th largest arms dealer in the world. Here's their special arrangement: There are at least three ways in which aid to Israel is different from that of any other country. First, since 1982, U.S. aid to Israel has been transferred in one lump sum at the beginning of each fiscal year, which immediately begins to collect interest in U.S. banks. Aid that goes to other countries is disbursed throughout the year in quarterly installments. Second, Israel is not required to account for specific purchases. Most countries receive aid for very specific purposes and must account for how it is spent. Israel is allowed to place US aid into its general fund, effectively eliminating any distinctions between types of aid. Therefore, U.S. tax-payers are helping to fund an illegal occupation, the expansion of colonial-settlement projects, and gross human rights violations against the Palestinian civilian population. A third difference is the sheer amount of aid the U.S. gives to Israel, unparalleled in the history of U.S. foreign policy. Israel usually receives roughly one third of the entire foreign aid budget, despite the fact that Israel comprises less than .001 of the worldÿs population and already has one of the world's higher per capita incomes. In other words, Israel, a country of approximately 6 million people, is currently receiving more U.S. aid than all of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean combined when you take out Egypt and Colombia. http://www.wrmea.com/html/usaidtoisrael0001.htm
Since Bush/Cheney, they are not even prevented from re-selling them to other countries for profit, which is what they now do with most of them.
I can't find any evidence at all to back up the claim in Denny's link about any specific financial aid committment Carter made to Israel. In fact, everything I find says we only made loans under Carter, and they were repaid in full. Maybe someone else has some?
In 1979, Congress authorized $7.8B for Israel and Egypt, split 3:2 Israel:Egypt (Special International Security Assistance Act of 1979 - google it). The US also paid to rebuild within Israel all the Israeli air bases that had been built in the Sinai. As well, from 1979 on, Israel received at least $2B in aid and Egypt the same amount. Additionally, any loans made to Israel caused an economic meltdown for the country and were converted to outright grants in 1985.
From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_David_Accords The agreement also resulted in the United States committing to several billion dollars worth of annual subsidies to the governments of both Israel and Egypt, subsidies which continue to this day, and are given as a mixture of grants and aid packages committed to purchasing U.S. materiel. From 1979 (the year of the peace agreement) to 1997, Egypt received military aid of US$1.3 billion annually, which also helped modernize the Egyptian military.[11] (This is beyond economic, humanitarian, and other aid, which has totaled more than US$25 billion.) Eastern-supplied until 1979, Egypt now received American weaponry such as the M1A1 Abrams Tank, AH-64 Apache gunship and the F-16 fighter jet. In comparison, Israel has received $3 billion annually since 1985 in grants and military aid packages.[12] http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33222.pdf Page 22: 1979 Israeli-Egyptian Peace Treaty The 1979 Camp David Peace Treaty between Israel and Egypt ushered in the current era of U.S. financial support for peace between Israel and her Arab neighbors. To facilitate a full and formal cessation of hostilities and Israel’s return of the Sinai Peninsula, the United States provided a total of $7.5 billion to both parties in 1979. The “Special International Security Assistance Act of 1979” (P.L. 96-35) provided military and economic grants to Israel and Egypt at a ratio of 3:2, respectively.68 Page 25: Aid to Israel: 1979 $4.888B 1980 $2.121B 1981 $2.413B 1982 $2,250B
Also from page 22 (you always stop quoting before the evidence contradicts the point you're trying to make): In 1985, the United States significantly increased U.S. assistance to Israel, with Congress passing a special economic assistance package of $1.5 billion in order to help the Israeli economy cope with soaring inflation and economic stagnation.70 As part of the assistance agreement, the United States and Israel formed the U.S.-Israel Joint Economic Development Group (JEDG) in order to support Israeli economic reforms.71 In addition, all U.S. military aid to Israel was converted into grants in 1985.72 U.S. economic aid had been converted to a cash grant transfer in 1981. During times of domestic unrest in Israel and regional instability, U.S. aid to Israel has increased. In 1991, Congress provided Israel $650 million in emergency grants to pay for damage and other costs from Operation Desert Storm. In addition, Israel was given Patriot missiles to defend against Iraqi Scud missile attacks. After the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union and the ensuing increase in migration of Russian and other Eastern bloc Jews to Israel, Congress approved $10 billion in loan guarantees for Israel to help it absorb immigrants and provide them with adequate social services. Finally, in the aftermath of the 2003 Iraq invasion, Congress passed the FY2003 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act (P.L. 108-11), which included $9 billion in loan guarantees over three years for Israel’s economic recovery and $1 billion in military grants. It's clear Reagan and Congress are the culprits who twisted a wisely constructed loan program of Carter's which greatly benefited American Industry into a $3 billion yearly giveaway to Israel.
