In the past few weeks the House Republicans introduced legislation to increase aid to Israel by half a billion dollars. Israel is the top foreign recipient of U.S. aid. This increase is on top of the $3.1 billion already provided to a country smaller than Rhode Island. Economists estimate that if the U.S. cut off aid to Israel, their economy would crash. Israel is a welfare nation. I ask, where is the personal responsibility of the Israelis, and how does their addiction to welfare fit into the Republican plan of "self reliance?"
This past month the House Republicans cut food stamps by $400 million, and this during a time when our economy is very weak. Over $100 million in food stamps was spent on U.S. military installations last year alone, because our military are paid starvation wages and qualify for food stamps. So, the Republican House cut funding for food stamps, but increased funding for Israel. At the same time, Israel uses our aid to commit crimes against humanity against their Palestinian neighbors. Does that make you happy? Does that make your blood run red, white, and blue?
I'm not anti-semitic. I have Hebrew ancestors, and do not wish for any harm to come to anyone, much less Israelis or Palestinians. However, the blatant double standard by the Republicans is repugnant and vile. It speaks volumes about their integrity, such as U.S. House Representative Scott Desjarlais, who has supported cutting Veterans Administration funding, yet his father was a life-long Veterans Administration employee and did not serve in the military. How about U.S. House Representative Paul Ryan, who is Gulf War age but never saw the need to volunteer and serve his country? What integrity can these people have?
Yesterday, a leading Israeli politician Naftali Bennett, who was so upset over the new agreement with Iran that he stated, "I hope the United States remembers this when an atomic bomb goes off in New York City, or Madrid." I don't know about anyone else, but this sounds like a veiled threat to me. I don't like threats, especially coming from countries no bigger than a couple of Tennessee counties.
The people of this country should stop just pointing to the pit, and start throwing people in.
Stephen Durham