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PaperclipPerfector  1d ago (text post)   7662 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of November 2, 2026

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So apparently after 40-some odd years, US military aid to Israel is ending. (Or at least Trump announced he is ending it. Arguably it's a decision for Congress)

In any event, this is interesting to me for a couple of reasons. First, even though I am generally pro-Israel I am against US military aid to Israel. With its advanced economy, Israel doesn't really need it, it gives ammunition to various people who like to claim that (AIPAC; the Jewish Lobby; da Jooz; etc.) control everything, and it allows the US to exercise a lot of control over Israeli military spending and sales.

Unfortunately, I am not optimistic that those who harp on the issue of this military aid will dial down their complaints about Israel. It seems to me that the military aid is more of an excuse to attack Israel as opposed to the actual objection.

I would analogize these criticisms to Trump's famous they/them attack ad. Spin doctors may have claimed that the ad was really about budgetary priorities, but it was pretty obvious that in reality, Trump was capitalizing on widespread American opposition to gender ideology.

So I guess my question is this: Among people who complain a lot about US military aid to Israel (and in fact there have been complaints here just in the last week or so), and assuming that the aid is stopped, to what extent will this satisfy them?

First, even though I am generally pro-Israel I am against US military aid to Israel.

Same, the only steelman I could give for aid is that is allows the US to exert leverage over them (particularly their military actions). But that only works if you're actually willing to pull the plug, and Israel has made it clear that they don't really give a damn what the US wants them to do.

It’s better for Israel to get out of the direct aid game in the current political environment. American politics are very partisan now and you don’t want Israel to be an issue. Quiet support when they need it is probably better. The old game where everyone supported Jews because of Holocaust is dead.

And honestly as a Republican I asks myself why do we support Israel? Jews mostly hate Republicans. I saw a favorability ranking of Evangelicals among Jews and it’s -40%. Evangelicals have long heavily supported Israel and it’s not even that Jews don’t vote with Evangelicals…..they hate them.

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