Israel wants out of America’s military embrace

Dr. Raphael BenLevi: I believe Israel should end its dependence on US aid, moving from a relationship based on patronage to a true partnership. It is eminently possible to move munitions production onshore; unfortunately, successive MoUs caused our domestic defense industrial base to wither because it was simply easier to buy from ‘Uncle Sam.

The added cost to our military budget of forgoing this aid would be manageable. By some calculations, it would add around 10 percent. However, it is better to calculate the cost of doing without American aid as a percentage of Israel’s GDP—currently 0.7 percent—a proportion that will only get smaller as our economy grows as forecast.

Published in The Telegraph, February 11, 2026.