Survey: Low Support In America For Aid Package To Israel

The U.S. government has decided to give Israel the largest military aid package in history, totaling more than $35 billion, but most American people don’t believe all that money should be given away.

“[Israeli] Prime Minister Netanyahu and I are confident that the new [memorandum of understanding] will make a significant contribution to Israel’s security in what remains a dangerous neighborhood,” President Barack Obama said in a written statement, according to Reuters.

The largest aid package in history will be paid over 10 years and has some requirements for the Israeli government, including gradually forcing the Israeli government to use all of that money to buy weapons from U.S. manufacturers instead of Israeli manufacturers.

Nonetheless, American people are ambivalent about $38 billion being sent to Israel for weapons. According to a Google consumer survey, only 16 percent of respondents believe the money is well-spent. But 20.7 percent say it should be spent on caring for veterans; 20.1 percent said it should be spent on education; and 19.3 percent said it should be spent on paying down the national debt.

Despite the new Israel aid package being the biggest in history and Americans being not on board with the deal, Republicans said it’s still not enough for America’s top ally in the Middle East.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona, and Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas filed a measure that would give Israel an additional $1.5 billion and remove restrictions on how the money is spent, according to the Jerusalem Post.

“This is a very dramatic moment in the US-Israel relationship between Congress and the state of Israel. Congress is not going to sit on the sidelines,” Graham said.

Sources: Reuters, Jerusalem Post, Google/ Photo Credit: Pete Souza/WIkipedia