By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Pew PatriotsPew PatriotsPew Patriots
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
  • Home
  • News
  • Tactical
  • Guns and Gear
  • Prepping & Survival
  • Videos
Reading: Direct aid to Israel should be phased out to ‘reduce US leverage,’ influential conservative groups argue
Share
Font ResizerAa
Pew PatriotsPew Patriots
  • News
  • Tactical
  • Guns and Gear
  • Prepping & Survival
  • Videos
Search
  • Home
  • News
  • Tactical
  • Guns and Gear
  • Prepping & Survival
  • Videos
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
Direct aid to Israel should be phased out to ‘reduce US leverage,’ influential conservative groups argue
News

Direct aid to Israel should be phased out to ‘reduce US leverage,’ influential conservative groups argue

Jimmie Dempsey
Last updated: March 13, 2025 9:04 pm
Jimmie Dempsey Published March 13, 2025
Share
SHARE

A new report from the conservative Heritage Foundation calling for the U.S. to phase out direct aid to Israel in favor of a “strategic partnership” is facing backlash from pro-Israel advocates.

But the report’s authors tell Fox News Digital they’ve been misunderstood. The “best thing” for Israel would not be to leave them at the mercy of U.S. policymakers who can choose to withhold direct aid, they say. 

“Our goal is actually to reduce U.S. leverage over Israel. I don’t want to force them to do stuff,” said Victoria Coates, deputy national security advisor to President Donald Trump during the first administration and co-author of the report.

“We want them to do stuff because we have a strong partnership and they have confidence that the United States is their best partner, but we don’t want that to be because we bought and paid for them,” she explained in an interview with Fox News Digital. 

TRUMP SOFTENS GAZA STANCE, SAYS PALESTINIANS WILL NOT BE EXPELLED FROM THE WAR-TORN TERRITORY

A current memorandum of understanding [MOU] signed in 2016 stipulates that the U.S. provides Israel $3.8 billion in foreign military financing per year until 2028. Congress allocated a supplemental $9 billion in 2024 for Israel’s war against Hamas.

The memorandum must be renegotiated in 2026, which Heritage argues will allow Israel’s relationship with the U.S. to evolve from “primarily a security aid recipient” to that of a “true strategic partnership.”

The Heritage plan calls for a new MOU that increases Israeli aid to $4 billion from fiscal year 2029-2032, and requires all of it be spent on equipment made in the U.S., before decreasing that number by $250 million per year until it ends in FY 2047. 

But the call to wind down military aid raised some eyebrows when it was first reported by Jewish Insider on Tuesday.

Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said it was, “wrong, dangerous, and gives comfort to those who seek [Israel’s] destruction.”

House Foreign Affairs Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., and Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter had been slated to headline an event at the Heritage headquarters Wednesday to discuss the report, but they abruptly withdrew the day before. An Israeli embassy spokesperson said the ambassador would not be able to attend due to a “miscommunication regarding the format for the event,” but “looks forward to future engagement” with Heritage.

Still, the idea of reorienting the Israeli relationship got the backing of Jonathan Schanzer, executive director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a hawkish pro-Israel think tank.

Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets

“It’s a legitimate debate that I think needs to unfold,” Schanzer told Fox News Digital. “What happened over the last year with the Biden administration withholding military assistance to Israel… must not happen again.

“I believe that is the impetus for the discussion that is now taking place. There does need to be discussion about making sure that America’s closest ally in the Middle East does not find itself in a position where it’s begging for the assistance that it expects.” 

Biden halted arms transfers to Israel last year amid frustrations over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the war on Gaza. 

“There is a legitimate debate about whether this is healthy for Israel to continue down the path of total reliance on the U.S.,” Schanzer asserted. 

GOP LAWMAKERS PUSH TRUMP TO RECOGNIZE WEST BANK AS ISRAELI TERRITORY

“Some are trying to cast us as alt-right isolationists. It’s so disingenuous as to be laughable,” said Coates, who last year authored a book entitled ‘The Battle For The Jewish State: How Israel – And America – Can Win.’ 

She claimed the plan was “non-controversial” among the Israeli officials Heritage had circulated it to.

“The Biden administration used their control of Israeli resupply to try to coerce their behavior,” she said. 

Once Trump leaves office, “we can’t assume we’ll have another friendly president to this alliance, and if we have started a process like this now, we’ll be all the further along to having a more equal footing between Israel and the United States.”

Coates said the goal was for the U.S. to have the same sort of relationship it has with Israel as it does the United Kingdom.

“We want to continue to invest in joint programs, the way we do with the U.K. Do joint exercises, station stuff in the country which gives them a lot of confidence, but not necessarily direct aid.

“Given the scale of their economy, they don’t actually need $4 billion a year from us.” 

Oketz canine troops

The report also calls for an increase in spending on U.S.-Israeli joint programs, like developing missile, rocket, and projectile defense capabilities for both nations, to $2.25 billion. 

Beginning in 2039, the plan calls for a $250 million per year increase in the amount of weapons the U.S. sells to Israel, until Israel is buying $2.25 billion worth of U.S.-made defense goods by 2047. 

 

Heritage also calls for an increase in intelligence sharing and joint counterterrorism measures, establishing a cybersecurity partnership, loosening export controls and establishing “high-level economic dialogue.”

It also said the U.S. should condition aid to Palestinians on “robust deradicalization and disengagement programming in Palestinian territories to undo decades of antisemitic and anti-Israel propaganda.”

In response to the backlash against the report, Coates added: “The outburst of antisemitism here in the United States, you know, the attacks on Israel, showed that there’s a lot of work to do here.”

“Rather than trying to tear us down for contributing, you know, maybe, maybe we should look more to getting after the substance of these issues, instead of instituting a circular firing squad.”

Read the full article here

You Might Also Like

Abortion research group opposes state reporting requirements amid ‘weaponization’ by lawmakers

Judge blocks Trump from revoking legal status for 530,000+ migrants who flew into US via Biden program

Meghan Markle, Prince Harry slammed by Justine Bateman for their ‘aggressive Victim Olympics campaign’

Kate Middleton fashion policy sparks backlash, forces Kensington Palace to clarify

Justice Department memo reveals seismic changes in how we treat illegal immigration

Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Email Print
Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

We Recommend
Los Angeles taxpayers to foot millions for ‘peaceful’ anti-ICE protests
News

Los Angeles taxpayers to foot millions for ‘peaceful’ anti-ICE protests

Jimmie Dempsey Jimmie Dempsey June 22, 2025
Why You’re NOT Safe Without These 15 SURVIVAL Gear & Gadgets?
Mega-yacht with 400 passengers crashes into New York City dock, injuring nearly a dozen
Why Patrick Star is the blue falcon of Bikini Bottom
Giants pitcher Sean Hjelle accused by wife of ‘affairs’ and ‘abuse’
Israel says it killed Iranian commander who helped fund, arm Hamas
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams takes harsh jab at Packers fans
News

Bears quarterback Caleb Williams takes harsh jab at Packers fans

Jimmie Dempsey Jimmie Dempsey June 21, 2025
Trump demands special prosecutor investigate ‘stolen’ 2020 election, loss to Biden
News

Trump demands special prosecutor investigate ‘stolen’ 2020 election, loss to Biden

Jimmie Dempsey Jimmie Dempsey June 21, 2025
Senator Alex Padilla slams JD Vance after VP called him ‘Jose’ during a press conference
News

Senator Alex Padilla slams JD Vance after VP called him ‘Jose’ during a press conference

Jimmie Dempsey Jimmie Dempsey June 21, 2025
Pew Patriots
  • News
  • Tactical
  • Prepping & Survival
  • Videos
  • Guns and Gear
2024 © Pew Patriots. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?