Israel has had a formal commitment from the United States to supply it with $3.8 billion a year for ten years, beginning in 2018; that commitment would have ended at the end of 2028. Instead, President Trump, in almost off-the-cuff fashion, as if it were of little moment, announced that he would be ending all military aid to Israel by the end of this year. The consternation in Israel was immediate and widespread.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said the news hit him “like a bolt from the blue.” Many political leaders, like the head of Yesh Atid, deplored the cutoff as too sudden for Israel’s defense establishment to properly adjust its plans. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom Trump cited as having first adumbrated the idea, did not deny that claim, for which he has been reviled. It is one thing, many Israelis said, to have ten years to adjust to a cutoff in military aid; two months is quite another. And this is not peacetime; the embattled Jewish state has been fighting a five-front war, against Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, the forces of al-Sharaa in Syria, and against its most dangerous enemy, the Islamic Republic of Iran.
More on Trump’s announced cutoff of military aid to Israel within two months, and its repercussions in Israel, can be found here: “The true effect of Trump halting military aid to Israel – analysis,” by Sam Sokol, JTA, November 6, 2026:
The prospect of US military aid to Israel ending within months has alarmed Israelis, raising the specter of security vulnerability at a time when the country is still fighting enemies on all fronts.
But the ambassador to Israel said the decision was in the best interests of the US-Israel relationship, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hinted that moving to change the status quo may have been coordinated with Jerusalem….
Yes, it is true that Netanyahu, both in January and May of this year, did suggest that it would be a good idea to wean Israel off American military aid, but he was clear that he thought that should happen over a period of ten years, not two months. There is a difference.
Nonetheless, not wanting to be in a position of attacking Trump’s move, Netanyahu feigned that he was all for it, and hinted that yes, the move had been coordinated between Washington and Jerusalem.
“While we might like to think we can manage on our own, it’s important to understand that this military aid isn’t just a simple transfer of funds to Israel,” said Tur-Paz, a retired lieutenant colonel in the IDF reserves who recently served as a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee….
Israel cannot just do whatever it wants with that military aid. It is obligated to spend 90% of that aid on American weaponry and by 2028, that figure is intended to rise to 100%.
Again, to be clear, Netanyahu is going along with this claim — that he agreed to, rather than argued against — a two-month timeline, in order to avoid angering Trump, whose good will he needs if he wants to persuade him to again launch a “brief, sharp” attack on Iran.
The annual $3.8 billion sum is mostly spent [90%] in the United States to purchase weapon components or weapons systems manufactured in American factories. Huckabee noted the production has created American jobs. A memorandum of understanding between the two countries calls for that level of aid to continue through 2028….
So which is it? Is Huckabee for the cutoff of aid in two months when he knows that 90% of that military aid is required to be spent in the U.S., and 100% of the aid must be spent by Israel on American arms by 2028, and “has created American jobs”? And if that American military aid were cut off, won’t Israel, with its own funds, spend more of it outside the U.S., including on its domestic defense industry?
Certainly the anti-Israel brigade in Congress, now greatly expanded, will no longer be able to attack Israel for receiving a “free ride” on military aid. But they will have no difficulty finding other Israeli targets to deplore, and they can now work on their ultimate goal — imposing a total arms embargo on the embattled Jewish state.
We can only hope that Trump reconsiders — he’s given to mood swings and contradicts himself time and again — and decides that, after all, he’ll let the original agreement, $3.8 billion a year in military aid for Israel for ten years, from 2018 to 2028, remain in place.
“They’re not really cutting aid, just reprogramming it as ‘joint projects’ and hiding it in the defense budget. Americans will be paying more with even less Congressional oversight,” tweeted Matt Duss, the CEO of the Center for International Policy and a former foreign policy advisor to Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT)….
If the statement by the far-left Matt Duss is true, then some of the Israeli anxiety over Trump’s announced cut may diminish. Duss claims that the military aid will simply be reprogrammed as “joint projects” between the Israeli and American defense establishments.
Once Israel becomes “an integral part of a new regional security and commercial paradigm,” it would be able to “afford to phase out its military financing relationship with the United States,” the group argued in a 2025 position paper – adding that “from 2029 to 2047, the United States should transition its military financing of arms procurements to direct military sales to Israel,” just as it weaned itself off of direct economic aid in the 1990s.
But note: in that 2025 position paper, the authors had in mind a much longer time line for phasing out military aid — ending only in 2047 — when the transition from military financing to Israel for procuring arms to direct military sales, without such financing, would be complete.
If Israel is no longer receiving direct military aid, it will be harder for Congress, about to be dominated by anti-Israel democrats, to harm it by threatening to do what has already been done, by Trumpian fiat. Israeli officials may deplore the unexpected rapidity of the aid cuts, but will at least be glad that that aid will no longer be the object of Congressional pressure. And they can still count on the planned increase in cooperative projects between the Israeli and American defense establishments, including “bilateral defense technology research, development, testing, evaluation, integration, and industrial cooperation,” where the exact amount that will benefit Israel will be difficult to disentangle.
Horatio says
It shouldn’t come as a surprise. It’s consistent with his overall policy such as not supporting Ukraine. But giving military support to Ukraine and Israel is in the self-interest of the United States as well. If Ukraine and Israel are defeated and overrun it will be a horrible setback for our own country. But in the world of postmodern irrationality the insane is normal.
Beans🫘 says
The Muslims , including Abdul Sayed are celebrating and praised Trump for cutting Israel off. And they’re already calling for the next step, to cut off all weapon sales.
Just today, Trump cited Muslim Americans as to why he cut the aid. Unbelievable. He used Abdul’s name to say they’re taking too many people into the pro Palestine camp, and we have to take this talking point away to re gain votes.
Here is the problem. You are going to have a competition now, who can be more anti Israel to get the votes. It don’t stop here. By cutting aid, Trump entered the Republican Party into this competition, but he doesn’t even know it.
Republicans will say “we cut aid to Israel”, so you see? We aren’t controlled by Israel. But the democrats will say “we will do more, we will put sanctions and stop all sales to Israel”… so What will we do then to get the woke Reich votes back? Won’t the woke Reich demand we also match the democrats and put sanctions?
You really won’t get the anti Israel vote back unless you’re more anti Israel. You opened the door for future candidates to chase these votes .
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Beans
It’s a double edged sword. In the past, whenever people on the Right would call for the elimination of foreign aid, their detractors on the Left would ask, “What about aid to Israel?” The answer used to be that the aid that was given was something that Israel had to spend for US weaponry alone – they didn’t have the liberty of taking that money and going to Russia, for example. We even saw that during the DOGE exposure of USAID. However, the moment one would start explaining it to them, they were losing, and the argument over foreign aid got lost in the weeds
But now, that’s a whipping boy that they no longer have. So the next time anybody demands an end to all foreign aid, there can’t be a “But Israel gets it – what about the Joooooooos? Trump is taking orders from Netanyahu”.
Let’s see the “Libertarians” – the Thomas Massies and their ilk – now demand an end to all foreign aid, as a part of balancing the budget
Beans🫘 says
I don’t think Trump truly understands what’s going on right now. People have lost their minds.
Israel funding is not some small issue for them, it’s their whole life and all they talk about is Israel, they’re obsessed. They are looking for very radical actions, not stopping funding. And this movement is much bigger than even we think. It’s growing.
To think we will gain votes by this is lunacy. You only opened the door for future republicans to try to chase down the radical left to gain anti Israel woke Reich, and independents who are confused on foreign policy and they only know Israel.
Whether we like it or not, we need the woke Reich vote somehow or our country is finished…. It’s a tough spot for us.
abu taleb says
It is not Biden administration but Trump administration who ends the military aid. This should open the eyes of Trump’s supporters.
Taffy says
“So which is it? Is Huckabee for the cutoff of aid in two months when he knows that 90% of that military aid is required to be spent in the U.S., and 100% of the aid must be spent by Israel on American arms by 2028, and “has created American jobs”? And if that American military aid were cut off, won’t Israel, with its own funds, spend more of it outside the U.S., including on its domestic defense industry?”
The current 90% spending of the aid on purchasers from US defense contractors has a high fiscal multiplier meaning that for each dollar the government injects into the economy by this method, the fiscal benefit to the US economy is the amount of money injected times the multiplier. Also, defense contractors such as Lockheed-Martin and Raytheon can keep everyone at their plants fully employed, so that if the US gets into a war, there is no delay setting up for increased production.
What will end up happening is that Israel will produce its own aircraft and electronic warfare systems and ordnance. Back in the 1980’s Israel Aircraft Industries made two working Lavi fighter jets, but major US pressure (among other things) led to the cancellation of the project, and Israel ended up buying F-16s from then General Dynamics.
If Israel is truly able to be self-sufficient in its defense industry, the US companies (and US taxpayers) will be the ones to suffer. Israel will end up getting ordnance and aircraft sales instead of US companies. Also, Israel will not be beholden to the US for its defense.
James Lincoln says
Taffy,
The IAI Lavi fighter jet prototypes, if further developed, likely would have been excellent.
Israeli test pilots apparently spoke highly of the 3 prototypes.
Beans🫘 says
If I was Israel, I would begin stockpiling spare parts right now. They don’t know how extreme of a presidency may come their way. They should stockpile enough to survive one presidency.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Beans
The right response is to look for new partners. Although one twist is the parents that prevent them from being made anywhere else but the US or Israel. Given that Israel has a thoroughput issue when it comes to manufacturing and assembling the interceptors, they should demand full rights to allow other countries – such as India – to manufacture it for them. That would solve the thoroughput issue in the war
Beans🫘 says
Israel could face South Africa like sanctions that India wouldn’t dare defy. I was really referring to their Air Force, of which most of these parts can’t be manufactured by anyone else but the USA.
Tooling, parts etc, these planes go under constant maintenance and are the heart and soul of the Israeli military, and most of their weapons systems also buy important parts from here that others simply can’t make.
A plane such as the F35, you would order parts from every single nato partner, including anti Israel nations Turkey, Spain, Netherlands, who under a woke president would not be pressured to sell these parts only they can manufacture. I never liked the f35 program for this reason. Every country essentially holds a veto, but USA pressure has forced them so far to sell spares to Israel.
Important parts for their air defense also come from USA. Odds at the moment say a woke president should be the winner. I don’t like Vance much, but I’d take him any day over a woke.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Well, in 2018, Israel did have a formal commitment for 10 years, so that was the time they should have started the weaning. To an extent, they have: they do have great deals going w/ India. So instead of 2028, this “aid” is going to end in 2 months, so it’s not as hard, as they should have been transitioning the last 10 years. Granted, they are now caught up in a 5 front war, but the islamic republic’s elements, even while random factions have been lobbing missiles at Hormuz shipping, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq & Jordan, do not dare lift a finger against Israel. B’cos they know that that would just give Israel to do what it was stopped from completing the last time – toppling the regime
Israel should take a salutary lesson from this and diversify its sourcing. Don’t just depend on India, and get hoodwinked by India’s 1.4 billion people: India is not China, and its per Capita GDP is nowhere near China’s. Besides, while Hindus are overwhelmingly pro-Israel, at the political level, India does not have a party that says that it will de-recognize “Palestine” or solely pick Israel’s side in its disputes w/ its Arab neighbors and islamic enemies. Under the BJP government, most Indian votes at the UN are anti-Israel, and even in 2023, at the height of the war against Hamas and Hizbullah, Delhi declined Jerusalem’s request to declare Hamas a terrorist organization. On the opposition side, the Congress is still beholden to the Nehru clan, and Nehru used to goosestep w/ Nasser, and Indira w/ Arafat. During the Gaza war, Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra, Indira’s granddaughter, was spotted w/ a bag that said “Free Palestine”. If that clan ever gets to power again (which they can, given the caste reservation turmoil currently roiling India), Delhi will be back to the 50s to 80s, when it had no diplomatic relations w/ Jerusalem. If US turned out to be an unreliable long term ally, India would be even more unpredictable, despite the population being overwhelmingly pro-Israel and pro-Jewish. So yeah, cultivate ties w/ India, but don’t make them your only ally, their great population notwithstanding
So Israel should take this opportunity to expand first military, and then commercial trade ties w/ other East Asian countries – Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand, Nepal and Sri Lanka. While Indonesian ties w/ Israel have been improving, I don’t see much evidence of them de-islamizing, so I’d put them in next priority, while Malaysia and Brunei are deep within the OIC. Israel should be careful about its relations w/ Azerbaijan: although Baku recently broke w/ Ankara over their own ban on hijabs in schools, their territorial claims on Iran’s provinces by the same name could cost Israel the support of a freed Iran
All this is just Asia. Cultivate ties w/ Latin America as well. Israel has done well by flipping its support on the Falkland Islands from Britain to Argentina. Now create the same opportunities in Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Panama. Suddenly, the world map when it comes to support of Israel looks less green and more blue
Renew the war in the time that’s left in eliminating the leadership of the islamic republic – be it Pezeshkian, Mohsen Rezaei, Md Ghalibaf, Abbas Araghchi, Ahmad Vahidi, Paydari and all 60 national and regional commanders of the IRGC and Basij. Blow up their checkpoints and police stations all over the country, which don’t maintain normal law & order but are just persecution centers of the regime. And work w/ Pahlavi’s NUFDI to enable their transition team to take over in Iran, so that that country doesn’t plunge into chaos. At the end of it all, a liberated Iran, now de-islamzed, will break the continuity of the ummah. If the ummah considers 1948 a naqba for the loss of Palestine, imagine what they’ll think of 2027 as the loss of Iran, which was a major battlefield of islam for close to 10 centuries. That would be a great complement to India when it comes to alliances and support
࿗Infidel࿘ says
A couple of things I forgot to mention above:
1. Israel should also stop identifying as an European country, and instead participate more w/ Asia. Granted, they are a frontier country on the border of Asia and Africa, but culturally, they seem to have more in common w/ East Asian countries than w/ Europe. For instance, a few months ago, in a world baseball championships, they were in the European group w/ Hungary & others. But the Asian group wasn’t Arab or muslim countries like Qatar or Turkey: they were countries like Japan, Korea and Philippines. Israel should have been part of that
2. The early termination of the agreement is a blessing in disguise. Israel is no longer obligated to do what Trump wants them to do – and now, the only weapon that the US has wrt them is tariffs, which wielded the way it has been by Trump, is very unpopular. Unless the US wants to go to war, but haven’t the Dems been busy telling us that Americans overwhelmingly voted against war? Even if they’re all antisemitic, why would they want to go to war against Israel?
Israel should stop sharing intelligence w/ the US, particularly now the Abdul el Sayed is a senator, w/ potential access to it. Given how supportive the US has been of rogue countries like Turkey and Qatar, they should keep their cards very close to their vest and be more independent w/ their decision making, whether it’s annexation of Judea, Samaria, Gaza, South Lebanon, expelling all Palestinians, and so on. The Uniparty Centrists will point out how Jerusalem was more on a leash when this aid was there, but now it’s gone, and Israel won’t be going back
Beans🫘 says
I think a president such as AOC would choke off Israel from all international arms sales with strict sanctions on violators.
During this time, the barbaric Houthi pillagers, Hezbollah, Hamas, the Iraq militias and the Democrat heroes, Iran would re arm fully and drain Israel’s air defense to zero.
The socialist president would say we are neutral and we put arms sanctions on all sides. This scenario is pretty realistic and this may be their plan to tear Israel apart.
But from my deep knowledge on these topics, I do not believe this can succeed without a major military invasion of Israel, and i do not believe Turkey would do it even in my scenario. Iran can not get there, nor sustain such an invasion.
Israel would be deeply battered by these strikes but survive. This is the worst case scenario. And I do believe the Democrats socialist presidency will realistically look for creative subtle ways to destroy Israel. Iran will absolutely sense this opportunity as will the horde of Muslims all around.
Only strict sanctions against India can stop them from helping Israel. India would have to submit to these demands, as would all others. I fear these Dem Socialist Islamists… I think about them everyday.
Tony says
When you have 50+ Islamic Countries as enemies of Israel, America, and all Non-Muslims, Israel would like as much help as possible from America. This USA action may encourage Israel to a future peace agreement like the Abraham Accords with Turkey and other Middle East nations.
Huh!?! says
No matter what happens, Israel and the Jews will remain. The God of Moses has stated as much. God has the final word. Not the politicians, not Islam.
Brenrod says
Israel should make its own arms, food and energy. It should adopt a policy of seizing resources from nations and entities that funded and enabled war and terror on Israel. Make the enemies pay the price of forced militarism on Israel for decades. The oil rich funders of war and terror don’t even run their oil industry. Israel could send them back to the desert and even continue to employ the foreigners. Nations funding and supporting the terrorists have no sovereignty and their lands should be seized. Chaos is best in the lands of the enemies.