“And the Lord changed the fortune of Job, when he prayed for his friends; and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before” (Job 42:10)
With the Jewish month of Elul upon us, the last month of the year before the Jews observe Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, the Days of Awe, where each and every person is judged, the words of Rabbi Akiva can be heard echoing through the corridors of every Jewish institution and household world-wide; “Love thy friend as thyself, this is a greater command than Torah”. The interpretation of the saying is, of course, treat others as you would like to be treated, or simply, be a good friend. Israel is certainly trying to fulfill the words of the late great sage by helping out the United States with its budgetary problems.
According to The Times of Israel, automatic budget cuts are coming to the Pentagon and Congress and the White House are in the midst of a difficult dispute over where the cuts should come from. With the US Armed Forces looking at a $50 billion slash in 2014 alone, “Israel has waived its ostensible protection from the sequestration cuts, and will thus be eligible to forgo some $55 million in missile defense aid,” Defense News reported.
This comes despite the fact that President Obama, as well as key Congressmen, had promised Israel that Israel’s Iron Dome Program, which protects the Jewish state from the daily barrage of missiles launched at their civilian population, would be protected by any cuts.
“Our position is we must bear the burden that our American friends are bearing,” the Israeli ambassador in Washington, Michael Oren, told Defense News.
According to Arutz 7, sources from both countries said that this is “a painful, yet pragmatic price for the goodwill to be generated among longtime supporters in Washington.”
Alan Makovsky, who recently retired as senior staff member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, was surprised by the news, even using the analogy of “man bites dog” to express the novelty of the idea. “Assuming this is accurate,” he said, “it’s a very magnanimous, yet very wise decision on their [Israel’s] part. It shows friendship, appreciation and sympathy for our fiscal difficulties … even to the point of giving up special favors which it’s fair to say Congress would have been willing to grant, considering the threats they face.” He added, “The goodwill they will engender will be far more valuable than the funds they forego.”
During Obama’s visit to Israel last March, he said he was “pleased to announce that we will take steps to ensure that there is no interruption of funding for Iron Dome.” At a joint press conference with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Obama emphasized that he intends to work with Congress for funding Israel’s defenses against a growing rocket and missile threat.
According to sources cited by Defense News, “the amount that would be shielded from some 9 percent in automatic cuts triggered by sequestration is $607.3 million for Iron Dome over the 2013-2015 three-year budgetary period. That means Israel is voluntarily forgoing some $54.7 million given the 9 percent sequester.”
Beyond that pledge, however, there is no clear indication that Israel has in fact been offered shielding from the sequestration cuts. Rep. Peter Roskam, a Republican from Illinois and co-chair of the House Republican Israel Caucus, told The Times of Israel earlier this year that Congress’ friendliness to Israel will not save it from cuts to military aid and joint missile defense projects. Asked whether Israeli security assistance should be exempted from sequestration cuts, as AIPAC has asked, he said, “They can’t. We’re all in it together.” The Israeli Defense Ministry was unable to respond, saying only that “the matter is still being checked.”
Netanyahu has long been preaching the importance of Israel weaning itself off of America funding but this is his first official action to do so.
