US-Israel Relations: Beyond the $38 Billion | Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The MOU signed last week which grants Israel $38 billion of military aid over a ten-year period demonstrates the robust nature of the US-Israel special relationship. However, in strictly financial terms, the aid is far less significant that it was in the past. While the deal was designed to insulate Israel from domestic American politics, it could have the opposite effect. The aid is valuable, but less so than other aspects of the US-Israeli strategic relationship. Nor does the agreement address the most significant strategic challenge: the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran. The first order of business with the new administration should be to seek to coordinate a joint approach to that issue.