Our responsibiiity here in the USofA

In the bowels of a Washington Post economics article, there was this:

How important is U.S. aid for the Israeli economy?

Very.

The United States gives Israel $3.8 billion in military support each year. The countries share defense technology to give Israel a strategic edge over its adversaries. The United States also sells Israel hundreds of millions of dollars in bombs, missiles and shells.

The White House is pushing a supplemental funding bill that would include $14 billion in aid to Israel in early 2024. The bill has stalled in Congress as Republicans and Democrats debate funding for the U.S. border.

Itai Ater, an economist at Tel Aviv University and a senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute, called the U.S. funding “crucial.”

“We are talking about approximately 50 billion shekels [$13.8 billion],” he said. “If the expenditure on the war reaches around 150 to 200 billion shekels, it would constitute a quarter of the war costs. This is a hugely significant sum and also provides the American government the option to exert diplomatic pressure on us, which is a good thing, considering our government.”

Zelekha added: “If we had to fund that ourselves, it would pose an even greater problem. Secondly, the very fact of receiving aid signals to financial markets that we have economic backing, which reassures the markets.”

“We need to send a big thank you to President Biden for this assistance,” he said.

If we want to curtail Israel's assault on Gaza -- and to push toward an end to oppression of Palestinians more generally -- this is our leverage point: working to stop funding by our tax dollars. Calling for "Ceasefire!" is obviously morally correct. Shouting "Free Palestine!" feels right; Palestinians and Israelis will have to work out what that means. 

But "stop paying for Israel's wars" is the useful demand for Americans. We need to be screaming bloody murder at Biden and the Congress to simply cut it out. 

This is depressing to those of us who've worked for peace for many years. Somehow action always comes down to boring old calls to Congress. But time has also vindicated so many of those seemingly fruitless cries in the violent whirlwind: Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam ... In a time of receding empire, this is our job.