Sequestration: Israel Could ‘Gradually’ Lose $500 Million in US Aid

Loss Would Mostly Come in Special Aid for Missile Programs

While Democrats and Republicans continue to trade blame for sequestration, while predicting doom and gloom for their assorted pet projects, the focus of many continues to be on Israel, and the notion that the several billion dollars of annual aid could be trimmed a bit.

It’s a shocking idea to many, since Israel aid is among the most sacrosanct items in the US budget, and officials just assume growth in any given year as a matter of course, with special boosts of “emergency” aid whenever Israel happens to start a war.

AIPAC has been loudly lobbying against any cuts against what Secretary of State John Kerry has referred to as the “vital mission” of throwing billions of dollars at Israel annually, but barring a deal Israel will “gradually” see its stipends getting a little smaller.

This could potentially bring the already ugly sequestration battle to an even uglier point, since Congressmen on either side of the aisle, when presented with an “Israel or something else” choice are always going to choose what they perceive as the pro-Israel move, and anything, whether devastating tax hikes or deeper cuts to other programs will almost surely come first if officials have anything to say about it.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.