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U.S. Aid to Israel
On May 15, 1948, leaders of the Zionist Organization in Palestine proclaimed independence. A few hours later, President Harry S. Truman extended U.S. diplomatic recognition to the newly created Jewish state, a move not approved nor recommended by the President’s closest advisors. Virtually all of Truman’s foreign affairs advisors, including the Secretaries of State and Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, opposed the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine from the standpoint of American interests. Originally opposed to the idea of a Jewish state in Palestine, Truman justified his political move by saying, “I am sorry gentlemen, but I have to answer to hundreds of thousands who are anxious for the success of Zionism. I do not have hundreds of thousands of Arabs among my constituents.”1 At the time of Israel’s creation, its military forces had already taken over a larger portion of the land of Palestine than the U.N. Partition Plan of 1947 had provided. A few days after the U.S. officially recognized the Jewish state, the Truman Administration gave Israel a $100 million loan. At the same time, it deprived the estimated 800,000 Palestinians, who were driven from their homes, both immediate economic assistance and moral and political support. U.S. recognition of and aid to Israel in 1948 represented a commitment to help the Jewish state defend the Palestinian land it had captured. Such a commitment, however, was limited until the mid-1960s to insuring Israel’s continued existence within the 1948-49 borders established by the armistice agreements with neighboring Arab states. In 1956, for example, President Eisenhower pressured the Israelis and practically forced them to withdraw from the Sinai and Gaza Strip which they had occupied during the Suez Canal war of that year. The Johnson Administration, in contrast, sanctioned the Israeli invasions of three Arab countries in 1967 and the occupation of substantial portions of the invaded territory. In fact, the U.S. Government used the veto at the U.N. Security Council to ensure that the U.N. Resolution calling for a cease-fire would not include a call for a return to the pre-war lines. Thus, the Johnson Administration’s Middle East policy extended the U.S. commitment to Israel far beyond securing its 1948 borders and moved into the realm of accommodating its expansionist ambitions. President Johnson, who desperately needed public support for the war in Vietnam, had earlier sought help from the leaders of the American Jewish community, who in turn sought strong assurances that the U.S. would support Israel in any future crisis. Consequently, aid levels were increased, credit was extended and the U.S. President was forced in 1967 “to cover up the facts concerning one of the most astonishing disasters in the history of the United States Navy, the Israeli attack on the USS Liberty.” 2 While Israel received less than $24 million of U.S. aid in 1967, it received more than $106 million in 1968, a 450 percent increase in only one year. In 1969, U.S. aid to Israel was increased again to $160.3 million, more than half of which was in military assistance. See Table 1, page 3, PDF version, for details.) In 1973, the Nixon Administration moved quickly to save Israel from defeat when the combined forces of Egypt and Syria attempted to liberate their occupied territories. During the first days of the October 1973 war, the U.S. provided Israel with advanced military equipment, including 40 F-4 Phantoms, 38 A-4 Skyhawks, 12 C-130 transport aircraft, 20 tanks, and much more. In fact, more than 22,000 tons of military equipment and supplies were airlifted to Israel in less than two weeks. In addition, the U.S. Congress passed emergency legislation giving Israel another $2.2 billion in financial assistance, two-thirds of which was an outright grant. On the other hand, Israel’s friends in Congress, who had supported this $2.2 billion emergency aid, voted soon after to lower the U.S. defense budget.3 America’s liberal members of Congress, in fact, have: consistently voted for lower defense budgets for U.S. forces, but higher military aid to Israel; condemned human rights violations in Latin America, yet overlooked Israeli human rights violations against Palestinians; and voted for sanctions against South Africa, while supporting Israel, South Africa’s major partner. The Jewish Lobby During the 1950s, U.S. assistance to the Jewish state remained modest. In the 1960s, aid levels increased gradually, and economic assistance represented more than 70 percent of the total. The 1970s, however, saw a tremendous increase in both economic and military aid to Israel and witnessed the emergence of a strong Jewish lobby representing the most hawkish Israeli view. Israel’s capacity to influence the political decision-making process in Washington increased, and more Americans became susceptible to Israeli propaganda and pressure tactics. In the wake of the 1973 war, aid levels were increased and more emphasis was placed on military aid. Military assistance, which represented less than 30 percent of the U.S. aid in the 1960s, exceeded 70 percent of the total in the 1970s.
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