U.S. To Increase Aid for Israel; Union Calls for Boycott

After meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister Olmert recently, President Bush announced that the United States government will provide additional aid to the Israeli military. At the same time, Britain's largest trade union has called for a boycott of Israeli products, leading to harsh condemnation from Israeli and Jewish groups.

According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, "senior political sources" have indicated that Olmert persuaded Bush to increase the aid while meeting with him. The newspaper reported that the U.S. currently provides Israel with $2.4 billion dollars per year in military aid, but this will increase to $2.9 billion over the next ten years.

The newspaper also stated that the Israeli Prime Minister asked that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates speed up the handling of Israeli Defense Forces requests for supplies and equipment, attributing the need for this to the depletion of such items during the last conflict involving Lebanon. It indicated that Gates pointed out that an "orderly procedure" exists for this, but President Bush became involved, asking that Gates "expedite" approval of the Israeli requests.

As reported by the Jerusalem Post, the United Kingdom's largest trade union announced support for a campaign to boycott Israeli products on Wednesday. It quoted various Jewish organizations in Britain as criticizing the boycott, and indicated that the boycott resolution called for Israel to withdraw to its borders as defined in 1967, including withdrawal from Syria's Golan Heights. The Israel News Agency website (5) responded by running a long commentary calling the boycott "anti-semetic" and claiming that Israel is making the greatest per-capita contribution to society of any country in the world, while boasting of various Israeli achievements. According to the public service union's website, it has over 1.3 million members and includes employees of the U.K. government, utilities, and contractors working for the government.

Meanwhile, according to Israel's ynetnews.com, 32 U.S. senators submitted a letter to Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice calling on her to pressure the Egyptian government to stop Egyptians from supporting Palestinian Hamas militants. It indicated that the Senate is considering a suspension of $200 million in yearly "financial aid" provided to Egypt, out of over a billion in total aid.

In addition to the military assistance, the CIA World Factbook indicates that Israel also receives $240 million in economic aid from the United States. Other major recipients of U.S. military aid include Colombia and Egypt.

Sources:

1. Haaretz, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/873556.html
2. Ynetnews, http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3416020,00.html
3. Jerusalem Post, http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1182409610646&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
4. CIA World Factbook, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/is.html
5. Israel News Agency, http://www.israelnewsagency.com/britishboycottisraelunionsacademicjournalistsjewishpalestine4848062007.html
6. UNISON, http://www.unison.org.uk/about/about.asp