Weekly Commentary: Drop US Aid Now!

Dr. Aaron Lerner 10 April 2025

=E2=80=9CDon=E2=80=99t forget we help Israel a lot. We give Israel $4 billio=
n a year. That=E2=80=99s a lot.=E2=80=9D =20
President Donald Trump - Q&A with PM Netanyahu 7 April, 2025

These days President Trump is turning the American public against a world wh=
ich, as he sees it, rips off America.

This message has already had a profound impact on the attitude of Americans o=
f all stripes - both Trump supporters and detractors.

We here in Israel can=E2=80=99t afford to ignore this dramatic shift.

It=E2=80=99s only going to get worse.

We have to recognize that all our excellent explanations that our synergisti=
c relationship in the development of military technology critical to America=
is worth far more than the American aid don=E2=80=99t move the needle in ou=
r favor on the American street.

I am not writing this in a vacuum.

Americans I interact with who, until days ago, were strong supporters of the=
Jewish state, share with me their distress that Israel is ripping off the U=
S in trade.

I=E2=80=99m not going into that the 25% duty Israeli manufacturers of steel=
and aluminum products face is magnitudes greater that the minor duty we had=
on some agricultural products.

The American street isn=E2=80=99t looking for explanations.

I would be the last to claim that we aren=E2=80=99t in difficult financial t=
imes.

Nonetheless, we can afford to forfeit the American aid.

President Trump would welcome it and the American street would most definite=
ly be aware that we made this dramatic move.

The money we pay for military equipment will help close our balance of trad=
e gap.

And more importantly, the move will remove the dangerous disincentive which w=
e have to rush as quickly as possible to reach strategic independence from A=
merican military supplies.

Mr. Trump may like us, but he has many other friends.

=E2=80=9CI said that to [Erdogan]. I said, =E2=80=98Congratulations, you=E2=80=
=99ve been able to do what nobody has been able to in 2,000 years. You=E2=80=
=99ve taken over Syria.=E2=80=99=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=9CAny problem that you have with Turkey, I think I can solve. I mean,=
as long as you=E2=80=99re reasonable, you have to be reasonable. We have to=
be reasonable.=E2=80=9D =20
President Donald Trump - Q&A with PM Netanyahu 7 April, 2025

Does Mr. Trump think it=E2=80=99s =E2=80=9Cunreasonable=E2=80=9D for Israel t=
o oppose Turkish airforce bases in Syria?

No. We can=E2=80=99t build F35=E2=80=99s.

But we urgently need to implement a program which anticipates that the next m=
an in the White House may cut off supplies at a critical moment.

It is not going to be easy.

But if we act now, these days may also ultimately mark our own =E2=80=9CInde=
pendence Day.=E2=80=9D