AMERICAN-ISRAELI RELATIONSHIP ISN’T ONE-SIDED - Colonel (Ret.) Buccino is wrong about US influence on Israel
By: Joseph Puder
Friday, December 29, 2023
ITAI's WEEKLY MIDDLE EAST REPORT
In his recent (12/26/2023) The Hill opinion piece, Col. (Ret.) Joe Buccino contended that the US relationship with Israel is one-sided: The US gives, and Israel takes. No hint of reciprocity in Buccino’s piece. This assumption is erroneous and mean-spirited. Israel is and has been a steadfast and reliable ally of the US, but at the same time, Israel is a sovereign state with its own vital interests, particularly when it comes to dealing with existential threats it faces.
Israel gives to the US a great deal in return for what it receives in the form of military aid, and diplomatic cover. Israel has been one of the better American investments. The Jewish state has provided the US with billions of dollars’ worth of crucial intelligence, as well as passing on to the US its technological innovations.
Two examples of how Israel served US interests. In February 1956, Israel provided the US with a secret speech made by Stalin’s successor Nikita Khrushchev to the closed session of the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. It was at that time, the Holy Grail for Western intelligence.
On August 16, 1966, Israel’s Mossad lured an Iraqi air force pilot with his MIG-21 to land his plane in Israel. It was a sensational accomplishment at that time. In 1968, Israel transferred the MIG-21 to the US, and it proved to be a boon for the US. Studying the performance of the MIG-21 helped the US Air Force in dealing with hostiles in the Vietnam War.
Buccino’s claim that the US “has given Israel $300 billion in military aid since World War II” is factually wrong. According to the Congressional Research Service (2023), Israel has received $148 billion. since 1948 (Israel didn’t exist as a state during WWII). This is less than half the amount Buccino claims.
US aid to Israel between 1959-1973 was in the form of loans Between 1974-1984, aid from the US was in a combination of loans and grants. Only from 1984, to the present, was aid given as grants. Economic aid to Israel began to be phased out after 2001. In the early years of the State of Israel, economic aid (loans) averaged less than $50 million a year.
Buccino goes on to state that in Israel’s 75-years of statehood it has been the top recipient of US financial and military assistance. Moreover, he specifies that Israel is “smaller than Massachusetts,” which is incorrect, Israel is the size of New Jersey. But, as pointed out above, in the early years of the State of Israel, US economic support (loans) was negligible. During the post-WWII years, the countries of Western Europe were America’s top recipients of aid as part of the Marshall Plan. For the record: Israel’s military hardware came mostly from France. President Kennedy was the first to provide Israel with the sophisticated Hawk Missiles in the early 1960’s .
The suggestion by Buccino that Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition is “threatening” the shared values with the US, including “identification with democracy,” couldn’t be farther from the truth. Israel continues to be one of the most vibrant democracies in the world, and its civil society is performing at peak levels.
Since the October 7, 2023, massacre of 1,200 Israelis and the kidnaping of more than 240, mostly civilians, the nation has been strengthened and unified with a renewed sense of purpose. Israel was shaken by the brutality of the Hamas terrorists, and its young people are volunteering to serve in Gaza. The Judicial Reforms have been put on the backburner.
Israelis’ gratitude and love for the US has never been as demonstrable as now, with President Joe Biden becoming the darling of the Israeli mainstream media and the public at large.
As to Buccino’s point about the “pro-Israel lobby,” there needs to be some clarification - that support does not come blindly or artificially - it is coming from fair-minded people who recognize in the State of Israel the values they hold dear. Americans realize that Israel is a bastion of Western democracy facing Islamic jihadism, as well as undemocratic and anti-American forces in the Middle East.
Buccino’s criticism of the IDF conduct in the Gaza War is not only unfair, but borders on being hypocritical. The US collateral damage in Germany and Japan during WWII was far worse. More recently, American firepower leveled ISIS and Afghanistan. Conversely, Israel is doing its utmost to prevent casualties. Had Buccino sought the opinion of British Col. Richard Kemp, he would find out that “Israel is the most moral army in the world.”
Finally, Buccino is wrong about the US influence on Israel. America’s demand restrained Israel from attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities, and the Biden administration wishes have been dutifully fulfilled, even though they have run counter to Israel’s interests, including facilitating the humanitarian aid to Gaza Palestinians. Of note: while truckloads of food enter Gaza, we know from those hostages who were released that their daily ration of food was pitiful - 1/2 pita and there have been no price to be paid by the Gaza Palestinians for denying the hostages aid and their suffering families news regarding signs of life.