Campus groups weigh in on U.S. aid deal with Israel

The United States and Israel struck the largest military aid deal in American history last week — totalling $38 billion over 10 years — and sparking a conversation among UNC groups. 

The deal, called the Memorandum of Understanding, will go into effect in 2019. It follows an earlier deal for $30 billion that was adopted in 2007. The agreement includes $33 billion in Foreign Military Financing funds and $5 billion for missile defense assistance, like Israel's Iron Dome.

Danielle Adler, president of Heels for Israel, said the funding makes her feel more secure about family and friends who live in Israel. 

“I’ve met with IDF soldiers who worked on the Iron Dome, and I’m not sure what other functioning democracy like Israel has to deal with daily threats of incoming rocket attacks on its citizens,” she said.

Paul Scham, an Israel Studies professor at the University of Maryland, said the conditions of the new agreement are more strict. 

“It changes the terms somewhat in that originally, Israel was allowed, unlike in most such agreements, to buy a certain significant percentage of the arms from its own manufacturers,” Scham said.

Because Israel now has a flourishing arms industry that’s in competition with the U.S., there’s no reason for the U.S. to subsidize the competition, Scham said.

But there's been a strain on the relationship between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu, said Brooke Davies, a UNC senior and the National Student Board president of J Street U, a student organization advocating for a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine. 

During Netanyahu’s visit to the U.S. last March, Obama declined to invite him to the White House, and several representatives refused to attend his speech before Congress. 

"I think personally J Street U really welcomes Obama pushing the Israeli government, especially around discriminatory policies in the West Bank," Davies said.

For some the agreement was another reminder of how dire the conflict between Israel and Palestine remains.

“This aid package — and others before it — signify to Palestinians and people everywhere that building armies is higher on the American agenda than investing in opportunities for peace,” said Zaid Khatib, president of the UNC chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, in an email. 

Khatib said the $38 billion investment seems especially ludicrous considering the problems the U.S. has at home.

“So long as the U.S. grants the Israeli military absurd amounts of money to sustain its occupation of the West Bank and siege on Gaza, there can be no just and peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Khatib said.

Davies said she understands the military aid seems antithetical to creating peace, but Israel has very real enemies to contend with.

"Israel feels it might be decimated if it attempts to make peace," she said. "The relationship between the U.S. and Israel is necessary and strategic, so Israel feels safe enough to achieve peace."

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