More pressure from the US? Senior U.S. analyst Nicholas Christophe called on the administration to reconsider military aid to Israel, citing the political situation in Israel and arguing that Israel is a wealthy country that does not need U.S. aid to maintain its security.
Christoph, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and commentator who specializes in human rights and diplomacy, made the remarks in a personal column in The New York Times. At the beginning of his remarks, he wrote: "Israel is once again in the headlines and creating a heated debate. However, one issue remains hess not to mention. So let me bring it up quickly: Is it time for us to start thinking about ending U.S. aid to Israel?"
Christophe says he doesn't think big changes should happen at once, but says: "This is not an attempt to hit Israel. But does it make sense that the United States provides a whopping $38 billion a year to another rich country?"
Journalist and commentator Nicholas Christophe,
"The reason to rethink aid to Israel is not to gain a bargaining position with Israel, although I think we should be tougher with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is extinguishing all hopes for a two-state solution and, as Ehud Barak said of him, 'determined to turn Yishael into a corrupt and racist dictatorship.'"
Christophe's words are not heard in a vacuum. Last month, senior analyst Thomas Friedman said the U.S. administration was "reconsidering its relationship with the Israeli government." In a column titled "Reassessment of relations with Israel has already begun," Friedman accused Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government of extremism and argued that Netanyahu "does not care about damage to relations with the United States and is willing to risk civil war inside Israel."
"The Biden administration sees Israel's far-right government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, engaging in irreparable extremist behavior — under the cloak of legal reform — that undermines our common interests with Israel, our shared values," Friedman wrote
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