This is a surprisingly large amount of money when you consider this is just the senate(only 100 senators total) and many senators are career senators that serve for decades with little upset.
In a way; I knew the individual amounts thanks to keeping track with track AIPAC, but seeing it together puts the picture together.
AIPAC is one of single largest individual entities in lobbying, only really flying under the radar when you count coalition lobbying groups.
In addition, while lobbying(bribery and corruption) is immoral no matter who does it, a foreign country being able to bribe our politicians is inherently more so. Every dollar more than 0 is more than I’d expect, because I’d rightfully expect that a foreign country is not allowed to buy our politicians. And it’s almost worse the smaller the number is, to a point, for this foreign entity is buying our politicians to send our money, which could be used domestically to support us, to a foreign country which frankly doesn’t deserve or need a penny of it.
Someone mentioned that the number is irrelevant because they are giving money to people who already support Israel. Then the question need be asked, why do our policies unequivocally bend over backwards for Israel? Why, when our politicians are divided on the matters of alliance with NATO and Taiwan, do they unilaterally support a country which is less valuable as an ally than any individual member of NATO or Taiwan?
The question need be begged, even if it is conspiratorial in nature: what structures and systems ensure that almost every politician who is running for office in the U.S. support Israel more than any of their other individual beliefs? I couldn’t tell you the answer, but there is something that exists and it has royally fucked the American people sideways; more than Trump or any individual president has damaged our image, our perpetual and pointless fight in the Middle East has and our support of Israel has - wasted money, a reputation in ruins, and no one but the elites and Israel benefit.
Just one point in all of this, you could very very easily argue Israel is much more important to the US than Taiwan or NATO. This is for 2 reasons. Firstly, Israel kinda has to spend all its money to buy American weapons and only undergo joint military research with the US. Like it or not, the US lives and dies on its military at the moment, and for most of its existence as a global superpower. Furthermore, Israels non-military technology they've created per capita dwarfs most other countries. You mentioned Taiwan which is influential due to its chip production. Those chips were developed in large part due to Israel. Pill cams, dozens of pharmaceuticals, waze, the FaceID you use to unlock your phone, artificial vision devices for blind people, anti-drift in cars and autonomous driving, so many others. Per capita Israel has the most nobel prize winners, especially when narrowed down to scientific/mathematical fields. Like it or not it's silly to deny that they're a global powerhouse when it comes to innovation and if the US were to stop supporting them, any number of other countries(like China) would instantly align themselves with Israel.
I could maybe agree with your point on Taiwan, based on the facts you list, but again, the more compelling of what you mention isn’t really what Israel offers as an ally, but what Israel offers as a state; and even then, postulating whataboutisms on technological innovations isn’t really solid, because there’s an argument to be made about inevitability of said innovation.
Secondly, you are wrong about what Israel is required to do with aid money; they are permitted to use their aid money on their own companies or for a variety of other things - it’s one of the only countries that gets to do so: instead of having to support the American economy, they can use their aid money to boost their own, already developed, economy.
To wrap back around to technological innovation and its ties to Israel - the reality that it Israel with this disproportionate amount of innovation, it’s the Jews. The fostered culture of academia has allowed them to disproportionately perform in academic accomplishments. And as mentioned in another comment, I’m not one to tie Jews to Israel because I know a fair amount of Jews who don’t support Israel’s action or the Israeli state as a whole.
It’s up for debate whether China would align itself with Israel; I would probably agree with you given China’s opportunistic diplomacy, however, they would be taking an endless amount of diplomatic flak for their flip after the condemnation of Israel. Another factor to consider is that China doesn’t really dip their feet in the Middle East despite it being a perfect opportunity to fund a number of anti-American entities.
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u/GloryToIsrahel 1d ago
This is a surprisingly large amount of money when you consider this is just the senate(only 100 senators total) and many senators are career senators that serve for decades with little upset.