Washington – Tea party-backed Republican Sen. Rand Paul favors cutting U.S. aid to Israel as part of a deficit-driven effort to slash government spending by $500 billion this year, drawing criticism from Democrats and Republicans who argue the U.S. must be unwavering in its support for the longtime Mideast ally.
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The freshman Kentucky lawmaker unveiled his budget proposal this week that would make significant cuts in education, housing and energy while reducing money for wars in Afghanistan and Iraq by $16 billion. Paul’s plan also would cut some $20 billion in overseas aid, and he said he wants to eliminate the $3 billion the United States provides to Israel annually in foreign military assistance.
“The overwhelming majority of Americans agree with Senator Paul — our current fiscal crisis makes it impossible to continue the spending policies of the past,” Paul spokesman Gary Howard said in a statement responding to the criticism. “We simply cannot afford to give money away, even to our allies, with so much debt mounting on a daily basis.”
The latest economic forecast puts the deficit at a record $1.5 trillion.
Paul explained his position in an interview with CNN on Wednesday, saying he respects Israel as a Democratic nation but feared funding an arms race in the Mideast. His proposal drew a swift response from Republicans and Democrats.
“We share Senator Paul’s commitment to restraining the growth of federal spending, but we reject his misguided proposal to end U.S. assistance to our ally Israel,” said Matthew Brooks, executive director for the Republican Jewish Coalition, in a statement Thursday. The organization counts several former senior Bush administration officials on its board of directors.
Rep. Nita Lowey of the New York, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees foreign aid, said the United States cannot renege on its commitment to the only Democratic nation in a dangerous region.
“Using our budget deficit as a reason to abandon Israel is inexcusable,” Lowey said in a statement. “It is unclear to me whether Rand Paul speaks for the tea party, the Republican Party or simply himself. I call on all those who value the U.S.-Israel relationship to make it clear that our nation will not abandon our ally Israel.”
The United States has stood staunchly with Israel for decades, through various governments in Washington and Jerusalem. The United States and Israel signed a memorandum of understanding several years ago to ensure Israel’s military edge in the region. Under the agreement, Israel received $2.8 billion in U.S. dollars in the last fiscal year and is slated to get $3 billion in the current year.
The agreement calls for $3.1 billion in U.S. funds to Israel over a five-year period beginning with the next budget.
Last November, Vice President Joe Biden met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and told the Jewish Federation of North America that the Obama administration “represents an unbroken chain in American leaders who have understood this critical strategic relationship.”.
The steadfast support for Israel is widespread in Congress and Paul’s proposal is certain to face strong opposition. In a fresh example of that support, six senior members of the House sent a letter to President Barack Obama imploring him to promise a veto of a pending U.N. resolution that condemns Israel and urging him to pressure Palestinian leaders to negotiate directly with Israel.
Signing the letter were House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va.; House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md.; Foreign Affairs Chairwoman Ilena Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla.; the panel’s top Democrat, Rep. Howard Berman of California, and the heads of the committee’s subcommittee on the Middle East, Reps. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio and Gary Ackerman, D-N.Y.
Of course pro-Israel supporters will never admit that the US is going broke, since that would indicate that the money going to the State of Israel is borrowed money. They can persecute Rand Paul and his father, but others will admit the same thing. So what’s the answer? Persecution of people who want aid to the State of Israel cut will not help.
Wait until he proposes eliminating the Earned Income Credit, food stamps, Medicaid, public housing, WIC, and Head Start. I can’t wait to see how all the phony “conservatives” on this site react then.
He is a Ayn Rand idelogue for whom he is named and Liberalism is a Disease I am sure concurs with Senator Rand Paul. I am sure Ms. Bachmann will support him in the house and maybe few others. I am all conservatives applaud
And so it begins… in veiw of current events, we should be INCREASING support to Israel both in $$$ & direct military supplies!!
What’s going to happen if Eygpt falls to extremist elements as now seems likely?
Arugably Israel would be better off financially without US aid as it anyway must spend it in the US and it has to use it to maintain its edge against the US backed eygptian army due to the aid itself and also the US uses it as leverage against Israel to stop it selling to its competitors.
Yeah I said it before and I will say it again – the extreme right is just as bad as the extreme left
I would love to see foreign aid cut across the board, but specifically to countries that we have no benefit from. Israel is at least a country that helps America. Foreign aid to them is self serving and therefore appropriate. Foreign aid to Africa can be eliminated!
When Shimon Peres was Prime Minister of Israel, back in the 1980’s, he was interviewed on CNN, and specifically stated that “there will come a time, when we won’t need a penny from the United States (in foreign aid)”. After 62 years, it is about time that Israel stand on its own two feet, and manage its budget without depending on handouts. As an Israeli taxi driver told me “The people in Israel have money, but the Government doesn’t”. In addition to EY, we have spent nearly One trillion dollars on Iraq and Afghanistan, and what do we have to show for our investment? Bupkis! The Iraqi people can’t wait until we have left their country, and the same goes for the Afghani people. Would any profit making business, be able to stay solvent, after spending a trillion dollars, on no win investments? I think not.
There are many things on which Rand Paul and I agree (get rid of welfare, section 8, food stamps, etc) but this is not one of them. Israel’s financial and military strength is critical to our own security. Period. That is what we are paying for.
If we are going to cut, lets start by getting rid of our European military installations. We need a base in Germany today for what reason? None. Why do we send money to Pakistan? I’m told it is “deterrence” from expanding their nuclear capabilities. The deterrence should be that we will cut off all commerce with Pakistan and if they try to build more reactors we will destroy them. Why do we need to spend money when fully-qualified THREATS can work just as well.
The tea party is the new communist china!!!!!! Honestly, did anyone expect Mr. Rand Paul to be useful in office? No worries though, its more like a nail in the coffin of the tea party.
Moshe Feiglin, who heads the religious block of Likud states:
Israel should stop taking American aid – both military and economic.
We feel that it costs Israel 100,000 jobs and also costs Israel billions
of dollars from lost weapons sales. We feel that the combination of
these factors actually means that Israel loses money every year by
taking the American aid. Ron Dermer, one of Bibi’s top aides, publicly
agreed with me on these points at an AIPAC meeting 4 years ago.
Most importantly though, taking this aid costs Israel her perceived
sovereignty. Israel is now viewed as the 51st State of the Union by most
of the world, and Israeli leaders use the imagined need of the aid to push
more concessions on the Israeli populace.
Continued………
Continued from last comment…..
Ariel Sharon’s most famous
justification for his 2005 Expulsion from Gaza was “if we don’t do this,
they (America) will make us do something worse”, meaning “we have
to do this or something worse, or we will lose the American aid, which
everyone knows we can’t live without.”The Jerusalem Institute for Market
Studies (JIMS), an independent, nonprofit economic policy think tank which
aims to promote individual liberty and economic freedom in Israel,
issued a report this week stating that “every dollar granted to Israel
costs Israel between 1.06 and 1.39 dollars”.
paul is a faulted politician yet palin who has more tea in her cup then paul is pro israel.apparently she sees an advantage to the united states in this stance that paul is either to ignorant or to clever to see.
Why is only Israel on the discussion table? what about foreign aid to other countries like Egypt?
Israel first lived off the German reparations and survivors were cheated. Then came U.S. military assistance, helicopters and F 15. This weird social/fianancial situation made it possible that American olim bought million dollar condos , and an army of yunge leit sat in the yeshivas and when Intel and now GE are planning factories the first cry is if these companies will keep shabbes. IsRAEL would much less American aid if all those brainy men instead of worrying about a Suga would become productive
Just walk down the ladder steps on a Zim line ship. There in the engine room mare big metal plaques built by Blohm&Voss; , a big ship yard in Bremen
Germany and delivered free of charge under the reparations.
Rand Paul proposed a huge cut in food stamps just this past week.
I am proud to say that I contributed to his opponent in the last election.
I am with rand on this one. Cut foreign aid to all foreign countries and israels arab neighbors will also be cut putting them ahead of the game. Foreign aid isn’t something we should be doing. But bartering goods and services with allie’s militaries, america should do.
with all being said pro and con its just rhetoric.nobody is cutting aid for awhile coming.if paul intends getting a rise out of folks he’s succeeded.