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Israel is by far the biggest recipient of U.S. military aid over the past 80 years. Is America getting its money’s worth? Advocates say it provides critical support for a small, embattled American ally. In any case, Israel must spend more than 90 percent of the aid on American weaponry (and the figure will soon rise to 100 percent) that has been used to great effect, enhancing the reputation of American arms. Much of the aid has gone to joint missile development that benefits both countries. But critics say that, today, Israel is rich enough to pay for its own defense and that the aid effectively discourages an over-armed Israel from reaching peace agreements with its neighbors or resolving the Palestinian issue. Israel’s growing violation of Palestinian human rights shouldn’t be funded by American taxpayers, the argument goes.

For Israel, the case for military aid is much clearer. It covers a good part of its defense budget, and because U.S. presidents have never seriously used it to pressure Israel to change policies, it comes with almost no political strings attached. Israeli leaders never seriously considered forsaking it. That is, until now. In an interview with the Economist on Jan. 9, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he wanted to “taper off” the military aid over the next 10 years to zero. In fact, he has been speaking along these lines for some time, but they now have real meaning as talks about a new 10-year aid package to take effect in 2029 have begun.

Israel is by far the biggest recipient of U.S. military aid over the past 80 years. Is America getting its money’s worth? Advocates say it provides critical support for a small, embattled American ally. In any case, Israel must spend more than 90 percent of the aid on American weaponry (and the figure will soon rise to 100 percent) that has been used to great effect, enhancing the reputation of American arms. Much of the aid has gone to joint missile development that benefits both countries. But critics say that, today, Israel is rich enough to pay for its own defense and that the aid effectively discourages an over-armed Israel from reaching peace agreements with its neighbors or resolving the Palestinian issue. Israel’s growing violation of Palestinian human rights shouldn’t be funded by American taxpayers, the argument goes.

For Israel, the case for military aid is much clearer. It covers a good part of its defense budget, and because U.S. presidents have never seriously used it to pressure Israel to change policies, it comes with almost no political strings attached. Israeli leaders never seriously considered........

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