Israel’s Urgent Need to Boost Defense Spending
Israel’s Imperative: Fortifying Defense in a Perilous Era
Israel’s survival hinges on its ability to confront existential threats with unrelenting resolve. Already allocating an extraordinary 5.3% of GDP—$30 billion annually—to defense, a 60% surge since the October 7 atrocities, Israel must further escalate investments in its military capabilities. This urgency persists despite ranking 15th globally in defense spending and receiving $3.8 billion in annual US military aid, supplemented by wartime emergency packages. The Jewish state faces an unparalleled convergence of adversaries: Iran’s regime—armed with nuclear ambitions, ICBMs, and drone swarms—orchestrates proxy wars through Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, while the United Nations and global anti-Zionist movements wage diplomatic and ideological warfare.
The Gravity of the Threat
Iran’s apocalyptic regime, fortified by mountainous redoubts and deeply buried nuclear facilities, poses an existential danger. Its proxies........
© The Times of Israel (Blogs)
