Should the US give more than 3 billions to Israel when Israel economy is booming?

The US government has recently approved an increase of aid to Israel.
From http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3415479,00.html
US to bolster economic aid to Israel in new 10-year agreement, says US President Bush after meeting with Prime Minister Olmert.

Currently, Israel is the largest recipient of US aid.
Total U.S. aid to Israel is approximately one-third of the American foreign-aid budget, even though Israel comprises just .001 percent of the world's population and already has one of the world's higher per capita incomes. Indeed, Israel's GNP is higher than the combined GNP of Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza. With a per capita income of about $14,000, Israel ranks as the sixteenth wealthiest country in the world; Israelis enjoy a higher per capita income than oil-rich Saudi Arabia and are only slightly less well-off than most Western European countries.
Source: http://www.wrmea.com/html/us_aid_to_israel.htm

Current US aid to Israel stands at more than 3 billion dollars/year (which is about $500/year for every Israel citizen), courtesy of the US taxpayer.

At the same time, the Israel economy is booming.
From http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2104440,00.html
Israeli economy booming like it's 1999, with a roaring stock market and growth rates nearing China's

Meanwhile, the US economy is experiencing a slow down, the national debt is at an all-time high, sub-prime borrowers are loosing their homes, millions are without health insurance, and the US dollar is reaching an all-time low against the euro today. (Dollar falls to another euro low)

The question is:
Should the US government give more than 3 billions of our tax dollars to Israel when the Israeli economy is booming???

I don't get it!

 

Israel pwns the USA therefore it will always get exactly what it wants.

Conversely, without the US money Israel would be f*ck all.

 

I voted yes.

They are the good guys.

Practically speaking, our meddling in the Middle East has only intensified strife and conflict. American tax dollars have militarized the entire region. We give Israel about $3 billion each year, but we also give Egypt $2 billion. Most other Middle East countries get money too, some of which ends up in the hands of Palestinian terrorists. Both sides have far more military weapons as a result. Talk about adding fuel to the fire! Our foolish and unconstitutional foreign aid has produced more violence, not less.

Congress and each successive administration pledge their political, financial, and military support for Israel. Yet while we call ourselves a strong ally of the Israeli people, we send billions in foreign aid every year to some Muslim states that many Israelis regard as enemies. From the Israeli point of view, many of the same Islamic nations we fund with our tax dollars want to destroy the Jewish state. Many average Israelis and American Jews see America as hypocritically hedging its bets.

This illustrates perfectly the inherent problem with foreign aid: once we give money to one country, we have to give it to all the rest or risk making enemies. This is especially true in the Middle East and other strife-torn regions, where our financial support for one side is seen as an act of aggression by the other. Just as our money never makes Israel secure, it doesn’t buy us any true friends elsewhere in the region. On the contrary, millions of Muslims hate the United States.

It is time to challenge the notion that it is our job to broker peace in the Middle East and every other troubled region across the globe. America can and should use every diplomatic means at our disposal to end the violence in the West Bank, but we should draw the line at any further entanglement. Third-party outsiders cannot impose political solutions in Palestine or anywhere else. Peace can be achieved only when self-determination operates freely in all nations. “Peace plans” imposed by outsiders or the UN cause resentment and seldom produce lasting peace.

The simple truth is that we cannot resolve every human conflict across the globe, and there will always be violence somewhere on earth. The fatal conceit lies in believing America can impose geopolitical solutions wherever it chooses.

 

That's more or less true. What does that tell you?

World GNP:
http://www.studentsoftheworld.info/infopays/rank/PNB2.html

 

Here are a few facts some of you may not know, others (AGS) just ignore:

- Over 400,000 families in Israel suffer from "nutritional insecurity," a euphemistic term for "hunger."

- 28% of Israeli citizens, or 1,600,000 people are living in poverty.

- About 24% of Israelis are forced to make choices between food and other expenses such as mortgage, rent, medicine, heating and electricity. About half choose to get along with less food.

- The number of children living in poor families has reached 700,000.


Over 1.4 million people, or 22.4 percent of the Israel population, were classified as poor last year. That number included 652,000 children, representing 30.8 percent of the country's children. After six years of stability, the number of poor families rose sharply last year from 18.1 percent to 19.3 percent of all families.

source http://www.israelnewsagency.com

AGS - you are blind !

 

is not an aid, it's a tribute to the master

 

Seriously, if we didn’t finance the middle east they would still be throwing rocks at Israel for the most part. Bigger players like Russia and China hate Israel almost as much as most Muslims nations do now. Which gives us good reason to make donations from time to time to Israel’s nuclear weapons program. But for the most part Israel can take care of herself. If anything we need to stop funding Egypt and other terrorist prone countries, which is nothing but Hypocrisy really...

 

That is correct.
These fools cannot see these things. It requires them to read a little bit further and investigate the situation, which of course we know AGS's intelligence is not capable of such.

 

The zionist in me says it should be doubled with the UK donating the same amount too

 

Can't say, since I'm neither an American nor an Israeli.
But one thing I know for sure, that is Israel is not going to be a threat for me or US or UK for any time in future we imagine.

 

Israel not a threat? We're supposed to invade Iran because they might make a bomb one day, Israel has 100+ nukes.

The important thing is to trade with other countries. When they either buy our goods, or sell us goods, there is a lot less incentive for the countries to fight or go to war. Money always talks.

 

So you guys are saying that it is ok for the US to give 1/3 of its foreign aid to Israel, a country that is so tiny (0.001% of the world population), a rich country (16th wealthiest country in the world with a higher per capita income than Saudi Arabia), and which economy is booming?????

US gives foreign aid to Egypt to reward Egypt for making peace with Israel. So, the egyptians are getting paid for having made a peace treaty with Israel.
One could agree that the foreign aid that Egypt is getting is ultimately for the benefit of Israel.

 

So?

UK and France also have nukes, are they classified as threat? Dont think so. Only Muslims/Muslim sympathizers see Israel as a threat.

 

Yes because they are gods choosen people

 

Are jews still givin ablaye a wedgie? He seems to have a disturbing fixation.

 

I think we need to cut foreign aid to all of Israel's enemies or those supporting Israels enemies. That should help our economy some.

 

what if they drop a bomb on iranians nuclear facilities and there is a mishap like all of the gas that they have is released and blown over to india and fry your ass
any war and conflict is a treat to the whole world and can have unintended consequences
stop talking about wars as it is a party

 

The US should give $3b to the homeless veterens in the US.

I couldn't care less about Israel....I say F. 'em! What have they EVER done for us?

 

agreed 100%

 

Yeah, as much as I like the guys who rock the establishment boat, the anti-semitic threads are starting to get to be a little much.

Rob, you would make a lousy NeoCon. What a crazy idea to spend American taxpayer money on Americans. Where do you get off coming up with wacko ideas like this!