20 Feb HOW YOU CAN TURN $1,000 INTO $14 BILLION FOR ISRAEL

If you could give
$1,000 and turn it into
$14 billion for Israel,
wouldn’t you? If you

could prevent anti-
I s r a e l / a n t i s e m i t i c

candidates from getting
elected to Congress,

wouldn’t you? Well, you can!
In the first month following October 7th,
American Jewry raised over $1 billion for
Israel. Since then, the generosity and donations
have continued. While incredibly important
and certainly impactful, the current amount of
donations to Israel is a small fraction of what is
needed to fight this war, to address the
economic impact of it, and to fund the expense
of recovery from it.
Since the inception of the modern state, Israel
has been dependent on United States support.
Indeed, Israel has been the largest cumulative
recipient of US aid since its founding, having
received about $300 billion (adjusted for
inflation) in total economic and military
assistance.
Of course, America’s commitment to Israel’s
military superiority is not a favor or a gift, it is
in the United State’s security interest. As the
only liberal democracy in the Middle East that
shares values and foreign policy interests, a
strong, intimidating Israel is an American
interest. The United States has an expanding

military base in Israel but in some ways, all of
Israel serves as a US presence in a complicated
and dangerous region of the world, one that
threatens American values and Americans
themselves. In a Republican Presidential
debate, Nikki Haley put it well when she said,
“The last thing we need to do is to tell Israel
what to do. The only thing we should be doing
is supporting them in eliminating Hamas. It is
not that Israel needs America. America needs
Israel.”
There is no doubt that the US military aid to
Israel is significant but often unappreciated is
that most of the aid, approximately $3.3 billion
a year, is provided as grants that Israel must
use to purchase U.S. military equipment and
services. In other words, American gives
billions of dollars to Israel that Israel must
spend buying military equipment from
America, stimulating the American economy
while helping Israel.
While we long for a time that Israel is
financially, politically and security
independent, currently, US aid accounts for
about 15 percent of Israel’s defense budget.
Moreover, from a foreign policy standpoint,
Israel relies on America providing diplomatic
cover at the UN and elsewhere. While there
are greater steps Israel can take to gain
independence in these areas, that dependance
reality is part of the galus we still find ourselves
in and, given Israel’s relatively small size, it is

hard to believe that will change entirely before
Moshiach comes.
The cost of replenishing munitions to
continue to eliminate Hamas in Gaza and the
expense of being prepared for a prolonged war
in the north are enormous. It is for that reason
the Senate just passed a special $14.1 billion
aid package for Israel. While it passed 70-29,
there were Democrats and Republicans who
voted against it and it still needs to pass the
House where it may well encounter resistance.
Bernie Sanders voted against the aid and said,
“As I have said many times, Israel has the right
to defend itself against Hamas’ terrorism, but it
does not have the right to obliterate an entire
people.”
Peter Welch of Vermont opposed the package
saying, “I have always supported the free,
secure, and democratic State of Israel. I still
do. The Netanyahu government’s destruction
of Gaza won’t make Israel more secure or
more free.”
Jeff Merkley of Oregon explained why he
voted against the aid, saying, “I cannot vote to
send more bombs and shells to Israel when
they are using them in an indiscriminate
manner against Palestinian civilians.”
Only 22 Republicans, less than half of the
membership, voted in favor of the aid package,
likely more to do with the allocation to Ukraine
and their concern regarding the dangers of an
unsecured US border, but their votes are still
troubling.
Here is the bottom line. For better or worse,
Israel needs American support more today
than it has since the Yom Kippur war and
American support for Israel is less of a given
than it has been perhaps since Israel’s
inception.
Since October 7th, American Jews have
been working to find our place in this war.
Certainly davening, learning, financial
support, visits and missions are important,
they matter and make a difference. But, what
has not been as widely focused on or
emphasized is our role in ensuring formal,
state-sanctioned US support for Israel.
While soldiers are fighting on the front lines
of Gaza and the North and every Israeli is
holding down the fort on the front lines of
everyday life, our front line in America is
urging, advocating and using our support to
positively influence US-Israel policy.
Here are some things we can, and must do:
• Political Giving: Recently, AIPAC
shifted strategy significantly and,
through their PAC, now rate, endorse
and financially support pro-Israel
candidates. In the last election, this
effort helped defeat 13 candidates who
would have undermined the US-Israel
relationship. AIPAC has created a tool
called the Detractor’s Fund to push back
against The Squad and those who seek to
isolate and undermine Israel in
Washington by funding candidates
looking to defeat detractors of Israel in
Congress. Please contribute any amount
– www.aipacpac.org – and be part of
determining who determines US policy

towards Israel. The money you spend
supporting candidates can be the
difference of $14 billon of aid to Israel.
Where else can you get that kind of
return?
• Advocacy: AIPAC, ZOA, OU, and
Agudah regularly send out action alerts
asking people to send emails and make
calls to lobby for different pieces of
legislation having to do with Israel.
Don’t unsubscribe, delete the email, or
assume someone else will take the time
because you are too busy. Stop what
you are doing, spend a few moments
taking action and make your voice
heard. Congressional staff keep an
account of how many calls and emails
they get supporting and opposing
proposed legislation. Even those
representatives who will certainly vote
with Israel need to be contacted to
express gratitude and appreciation. Your
emails and calls matter, take the time to
make and send them.
• Primaries: Due to gerrymandering, the
overwhelming majority of Congressional
districts are predominantly Republican
or Democrat, and there are relatively
few genuine swing districts. That means
most elections are decided in the
primary. Don’t ignore primary elections
and stay home. No matter your true
political affiliation or identification,
register with the majority party in your
district so that you qualify to vote in the
primary and can influence who will vote
in Congress. You can still vote for either
party’s candidate in the general election
but by registering with the majority
party you ensure you will have a say in
the election that is more likely to
determine the ultimate member of
Congress.
When Yaakov confronted Esav he prepared in
three ways – prayer, gifts and war. Our
brothers and sisters in Israel are fighting this
war. We can and must contribute the prayer
and gifts/contributions.
The war with Hamas is not Israel’s war alone.
Defeating evil, defending our homeland, is the
responsibility of every Jew. There is much
work to do fighting for Israel in the US. This is
our front line and each of us is being called
upon to serve faithfully. Soldiers in Israel are
asked to be willing to sacrifice their lives.
Their families are sacrificing with severely
disrupted lives. Our sacrifice is to give the
time it takes to make a phone call and send an
email and the cost of being considered for
contributing to a campaign.
In Israel, they have reported to reserve duty at
over 100%. Will we report to fulfill our duty?