Opinion

AMB GORDON SONDLAND: America's aid to Israel isn't charity — it's a bargain for US security

if Israel did not exist, the United States would spend decades—and likely hundreds of billions of dollars—trying to recreate the strategic advantages it provides

By Gordon Sondland Fox News

Published August 5, 2026 5:00am EDT

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Every few years, Americans ask the same question: Why do we send billions of dollars to Israel?

Given a national debt approaching $40 trillion and an annual defense budget of roughly $1 trillion, it is a fair question. Every dollar spent overseas deserves scrutiny. But the debate almost always focuses on one side of the ledger—what America gives Israel—while largely ignoring the other: what America receives in return.

That is the wrong way to evaluate any investment.

THE US-ISRAEL STRATEGIC ALLIANCE – PARTNERSHIP, NOT CHARITY

Before making my case, let me disclose my own perspective. I am a cultural Jew, but not a practicing one. I don’t keep kosher. I rarely attend synagogue. I raised a family that is half Jewish and half Christian. I have no financial interests in Israel. My support for Israel has never been based on religion or ethnicity. It rests on a far simpler question: Does this alliance make America stronger?

After serving as a U.S. ambassador and spending a lifetime in business, I believe the answer is unequivocally yes.

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The United States has many indispensable allies. Britain provides extraordinary intelligence cooperation through the Five Eyes partnership. Japan anchors our strategy in the Indo-Pacific. South Korea deters aggression on the Korean Peninsula. Australia is an increasingly important military partner as China expands its reach. Poland has become one of NATO’s strongest front-line allies. Every one of those relationships advances American interests.

Yet Israel occupies a category almost by itself.

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