False narratives about Israel obscure the real engine of conflict: Iran’s regime, its proxy armies, and the democratic future for Iran that could bring peace to the Middle East.

Myth.  Social media is all abuzz with the same recycled myth: Israel wants “Greater Israel,” Israel likes war, and if America simply cut off foreign aid to Israel, peace would magically break out across the Middle East within a month.

US aid is not the on/off switch for Israel’s defense. Israel’s broader wartime defense and security spending has been cited around $80 billion, while regular US military assistance to Israel is $3.8 billion a year.

Let’s talk about that aid. The United States is not simply handing Israel a bag of cash. The current US-Israel agreement provides $38 billion over ten years, or $3.8 billion per year, including Foreign Military Financing and cooperative missile-defense programs.

In other words, the aid works more like a credit account for American defense purchases. Israel uses it to buy American aircraft, munitions, missile-defense components, and other systems from American defense contractors. Israel also buys billions more beyond the aid package. In 2024, for example, the US approved a weapons package allowing Israel to spend more than $20 billion of Israel’s own funds on American defense........

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