How much American money should Israel ask for?

Discussion

Israel has started pondering a question that can't be avoided for long, and whose strategic significance is not in doubt: How much American money should Israel ask for?

To read all the facts, check out the news story I had in the paper this week.

Here is a synopsis:

The Bush administration this week asked Congress for $2.4 billion in financial aid for Israeli security needs, the highest amount possible under America's current agreement with Israel. As prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu said in 1997 that Israel was interested in reducing, to the point of eliminating, the American funds allocated for civilian purposes in Israel. The agreement reached at the time gradually altered the structure of the assistance.

At the time, Israel was receiving $3 billion, of which $1.2 billion was allocated for civilian purposes. Under the new arrangement, it was agreed that $120 million would be cut from the overall aid package every year, while the funds allocated for security purposes would increase by $60 million. As the agreement comes to an end, the civilian aid no longer exists.

Now the time has come to talk about the amount of aid Israel will receive in the future. The issue was raised in initial discussions with the Bush administration, and will be raised again at a meeting in Washington next month. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is due to make the final decision on the matter. Both the American and Israeli governments are interested in renewing the aid in an "orderly manner," as one person familiar with the issue put it.

Considerations

In the story, I mention three choices Olmert faces: renewing a request for civil assistance, asking for the current level of security assistance on a long-term basis, and requesting more funding for the security challenges Israel faces.

But there's also a fourth possibility: To say thank you, and give up on assistance altogether. I don't think it will happen, for many reasons - chief among them Israel's established habit of receiving financial aid, its actual needs, and the human tendency not to reject something that is offered.

But make no mistake: The assistance Israel is getting is not just a gift. It is a deal. It's American support given in return for Israel's deference. And I know some American readers might consider it "Israeli chutzpa," but more than one Israeli official told me in the last couple of months that it is actually the Americans who are getting the better part of the deal here. They are paying a low price for Israel's cooperation, one of them told me.

Israel is the only regional power in this important part of the world that the Americans can always count on for help. And yes, they give us some aid - but what they get in return is the most stable friendship such money can buy.

Decisions

So, how much money should Israel ask for? A year and a half ago, not long after I got here, I wrote an op-ed dealing with the Israeli request for financial help for the pullout from Gaza.

"Relinquishing is appropriate," I wrote back then. "Taking back the ridiculous request for a donation of $2.1 billion, most of [it] earmarked for 'developing the Negev and the Galilee,' and announcing there is no need for it. Israel will develop the Negev and the Galilee on its own, when it decides that the time has come to do so - and the billions will be distributed by the Americans to those who really need them. Or they will keep them in their own pockets. It is their money."

Of course, this was before Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf of Mexico and the city of New Orleans. Later in the year, as the cost of the recovery from this disaster became clearer, Israel withdrew its request, and never really tried to ask for it again. (It did test the water once or twice, but never in a very serious way. It was clear that the administration couldn't be receptive to such requests at the time.)

But this was a matter related to a one-time event, not to the annual allocations. Giving up on the annual support has an extra significance, and can't be taken lightly. I don't think Israel is ready to give up on it - and I don't think America would want it to stop.

Thus, the real question is not the continued support but rather the actual amount of money. Is it going to be more or less than it is today, or just as much? It will be money allocated for security purposes only. Short of disaster, natural or manmade, Israel will probably never renew its appeal for financial aid allocated for civilian purposes.

Requesting less money is an unattractive option, especially since the needs of the coming years seem like they could be quite debilitating.
The easy way is to ask for the same amount of money, to avoid rocking the boat by inviting debate over the necessity of supporting Israel.

However, some in Israel are advocating that the government request increased financial aid. The Bush administration is friendly and supportive; both parties in Congress want to show their support. This might be a good time to strike a deal for the next 10 years.