Poll: Majority of Americans oppose sending weapons, supplies to Israel
By richardbrown // 2023-10-25
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A recent CBS News/YouGov poll showed that majority of Americans are opposed to providing "weapons and supplies" to Israel amid its conflict with Hamas fighters in Gaza. The poll revealed that 52 percent of Americans do not support the idea of sending such aid to Israel, while 48 percent are in favor of it. Interestingly, CBS News chose to downplay this key finding in its report. In the article titled "Amid concern about wider war, Americans give mixed reactions to Biden's approach toward Israel-Hamas conflict," CBS News did not prominently mention the fact that more Americans are against sending "weapons and supplies" to Israel. Instead, the article made it appear that Americans are "split" on the issue. The opposition is particularly impressive since the respondents tended to indicate that they are more sympathetic to Israelis than to Palestinians. In the current conflict, 51 percent of the polled individuals said they sympathize "somewhat" with the Israeli people. Sympathy for the Palestinians came in substantially lower, with the “a lot” answer at 28 percent and the “somewhat” answer at 37 percent. On matters of three U.S. government actions: 72 percent of respondents support engaging "in diplomacy with countries in the region;" 76 percent favor sending "humanitarian aid to Israel;" and 57 percent also support sending "humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza." In a related development, the Biden administration recently requested an additional $105 billion in aid, with a significant portion earmarked for both Israel and Ukraine. Specifically, $61.4 billion would be allocated to Ukraine, and $14.3 billion to Israel. This request also includes $9.15 billion for humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, Israel, Gaza and other needs.

What Israel is set to receive

Israel is set to receive $10.6 billion for assistance through the Defense Department, including air and defense support, industrial base investments and replenishment of U.S. stocks. The aid aims to bolster Israel's air and missile defense system readiness and support its procurement of Iron Dome and David's Sling missile defense systems and components, as well as the development of the Iron Beam. The request also includes $3.7 billion for the State Department to strengthen Israel's military and enhance U.S. Embassy security. (Related: State Department issues rare "worldwide caution" advisory for Americans abroad as Middle East tensions grow.) It's worth noting that Israel typically invests the substantial aid it receives from American taxpayers in U.S. treasuries, essentially using U.S. aid money to purchase American government debt and accrue interest. Recent data from the U.S. Treasury reveals that Israel holds approximately $46 billion in U.S. treasuries. Some argue that Israel could utilize these funds to finance its activities, including its actions in the Gaza conflict, but the Biden administration still sought additional aid. The issue of U.S. support for Israel remains a subject of debate, as members of Congress have varying stances on the matter. While they may have differing views on domestic issues, some members of Congress have shown a united front in advocating for more U.S. financial and military assistance to Israel, despite the poll indicating that a majority of Americans hold a contrary view. Rep. Brad Sherman, co-chairman of the House’s Israel Allies Caucus, said Congress is committed to maintaining Israel's qualitative military edge and its ability to defend itself against persistent threats. "U.S. aid to Israel is only half of one percent of our national security budget, [and] is the best investment we can make in our own security," he said. He also claimed that U.S.-Israel cooperative missile defense programs are critical to saving countless Israeli civilian lives while preventing further escalation of hostilities. Watch this clip which asks which to support: Israel or Hamas? This video is from the New Patriot channel on Brighteon.com.

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