The Democratic National Convention is packed with notable speakers and musical interludes, all focused on unity and moving toward a more hopeful future.
But this brightness is overshadowed by divisions within the Democratic Party related to Israel’s war in Gaza. Some delegates of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris are calling for support for ending U.S. military aid to Israel.
Although pro-Palestinian protests surrounding the convention were much smaller than some expected, Chicago police arrested at least 72 pro-Palestinian protesters on August 20, 2024.
These activists are calling for a U.S. arms embargo on Israel, but it is not included in the Democratic Party’s new national platform.
To better understand what’s behind the U.S.-Israel relationship and the strategic reasons why an arms embargo is unlikely at best, Conversation US political editor Amy Lieberman spoke with Israeli researcher Dov Lieberman. I spoke with Mr. Waxman.
Pro-Palestinian activists protest outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on August 19, 2024. Dominic Gwynne/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images
Do you think Kamala Harris is likely to agree to calling for an arms embargo against Israel?
I doubt she would agree with those calling for an arms embargo on Israel.
First, Kamala Harris, as vice president and before that as a senator, has consistently supported the United States providing military aid to Israel. This position is typical of most Republicans as well as most Democrats.
Opponents of U.S. military aid to Israel often argue that this aid is solely a function of domestic politics and reflects the power of the pro-Israel lobby, especially AIPAC. I think this view is short-sighted and overstates the power of the pro-Israel lobby. It ignores the fact that the United States has its own economic and strategic reasons for providing military aid. This is in the U.S. national interest, not just goodwill toward Israel, which is why there is broad bipartisan support for the continuation of this military aid.
While an arms embargo is unrealistic, there are more practical options, such as conditionalities and restrictions on military aid, that are being debated among Democrats.
What impact does U.S. aid to Israel have within the United States?
When the United States gives military aid to Israel, the Israeli government is not pocketing the money. A large portion of the funds that the United States allocates to Israel each year must be spent on American weapons. This generally applies to American military aid to other countries, such as Ukraine.
The American weapons that Israel buys are produced in factories across the United States. As such, many U.S. lawmakers are interested in continuing that aid because that money will eventually flow to their states and provide local jobs.
What did U.S. aid to Israel look like historically before the Gaza War?
Historically, Israel has received more foreign aid from the United States than any other country. In total, the United States has provided more than $300 billion to Israel, with this amount adjusted for inflation.
For the first ten years after Israel’s founding in 1948, the United States provided only economic aid to Israel, but began providing military aid in the 1960s under the Kennedy administration. The United States currently provides only military aid to Israel.
After Israel’s victory in the 1967 Six-Day War, demonstrating its ability to decisively defeat its Soviet allies in the region, the United States significantly increased military aid to Israel. This was in many ways a turning point for the US-Israel relationship, as the US has since considered Israel a valuable ally.
Another significant increase in U.S. military aid to Israel occurred during the Nixon administration in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This is notable because Nixon was not a good friend of Jews. However, he increased U.S. aid to Israel, citing strategic interests for the United States.
Since then, U.S. military aid has continued to steadily increase over the years, with an increase in the past year following Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel and the subsequent Israeli invasion of Gaza.
I think the main reason for continued military aid to Israel, both under Democratic and Republican administrations, is that it serves the national interest of the United States.
How does U.S. aid to Israel serve U.S. national interests?
A militarily strong Israel helps the United States confront a common enemy.
During the Cold War, Israel helped prevent the expansion of Soviet influence in the Middle East. For example, after Israel defeated Egypt in the 1967 and 1973 wars, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat left the Soviet Union and allied with the United States, marking the beginning of America’s long hegemony in the region.
As the Soviet threat receded after the Cold War, Israel’s strategic value to the United States declined. However, after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, its popularity rose again, thanks to Israel’s years of experience in counterterrorism and its vaunted intelligence gathering capabilities.
More recently, over the past decade or so, Israel has worked with the United States to counter Iran’s growing influence in the region and slow Iran’s nuclear program. Although the two allies disagree over tactics, particularly over the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, both see Iran’s growing power in the region as the greatest threat to regional stability, and both see Iran’s nuclear weapons possession as the greatest threat to regional stability. I want to prevent it. For the United States, a militarily strong Israel is seen as necessary to check Iranian expansionism.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used the diagram to explain Iran’s nuclear program during a speech at the United Nations in September 2012. Don Emmert/AFP via Getty Images
Not only does Israel have the most powerful military in the region, it is also, in my view, the only long-standing democracy there, albeit deeply flawed. Therefore, from the US perspective, Israel can help the US achieve its strategic goals in the region without the US military actually being on the ground and acting on its own. Israel is also seen as a more reliable and less problematic ally than other major US allies in the region, such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.
After all, while Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians and the war in Gaza have alienated and enraged many Democrats, especially progressives, most Democratic policymakers, including Harris, still support Israel. and believes it is still important to provide military aid to Israel. It is seen as the best way for the United States to achieve that.
The real question is whether the United States should exercise greater oversight and control over how its weapons are used.
