My beloved grandfather dreamed all his life of getting to America. He was certain that the streets were paved with gold and all you had to do was bend and scoop up some. But even he would be amazed at the bizarre argument about America’s defense assistance to Israel. Is the money Uncle Sam is giving us a lot more than we got until now, or only a little more? Perhaps we could have gotten more? We sound like beggars who continue to delude themselves, and not just about the money.

So first of all, we’re not getting dollars from America. The military assistance to Israel is a U.S. administration subsidy for America’s defense industries. Israel is receiving the right to purchase American planes, missiles and bombs at American taxpayers’ expense, all due to complex American political considerations.

But wonder of wonders – even the United States has budgetary constraints and there are many, many people here who think there are better uses for the money than giving it to Israel to buy weapons in deals made by lobbyists. Given all this, the fact that Israel managed to extract such a large American commitment for a decade shouldn’t be taken for granted.

Read the full article in Haaretz.