Is it ethical for US to provide military aid to Israel when other countries are less wealthy and have a greater need for aid?

[ding]

Total U.S. aid to Israel is approximately one-third of the American foreign-aid budget, even though Israel comprises just .001 percent of the world's population and already has one of the world's higher per capita incomes. Indeed, Israel's GNP is higher than the combined GNP of Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza. With a per capita income of about $14,000, Israel ranks as the sixteenth wealthiest country in the world; Israelis enjoy a higher per capita income than oil-rich Saudi Arabia and are only slightly less well-off than most Western European countries.

Is it ethical for US to provide military aid to Israel when other countries are less wealthy and have a greater need for aid?

U.S. Aid to Israel

U.S. Financial Aid To Israel: Figures, Facts, and Impact UPDATES: FY ’14 “Omnibus” Appropriations Bill Includes Middle East Funds, Conditions Find out how...

www.wrmea.org

 

[Correll]

Yes. Of course. ALL of the points you raised are completely irrelevant. It is our money. We can give it to who ever we want, for whatever reason we want.

 

[Maxdeath]

Actually I think we should stop handing out money and materials on our credit card. Let other countries sink or swim on their own because we are going down in an ocean of debt.

 

[irosie91]

a few centuries short of 4000 years ago----a person named Jacob set up in what is today
called Beersheba (a desert town in the levant)
That man's name was changed to ISRAEL after
a wrestling match with an angel. The community he founded has been called ISRAEL
since that time (like rome is named after its founder ROMMULUS and "america" was named for AMERIGO VESPUCCI (according to my third grade teacher) Italians have been occupying the land for approximately 500 years

 

[ding]

Yes. Of course. ALL of the points you raised are completely irrelevant. It is our money. We can give it to who ever we want, for whatever reason we want.

Sure, but the question is one of ethics. Should we be giving it to them or giving it to others.

 

[ding]

a few centuries short of 4000 years ago----a person named Jacob set up in what is today
called Beersheba (a desert town in the levant)
That man's name was changed to ISRAEL after
a wrestling match with an angel. The community he founded has been called ISRAEL
since that time (like rome is named after its founder ROMMULUS and "america" was named for AMERIGO VESPUCCI (according to my third grade teacher) Italians have been occupying the land for approximately 500 years

Yes, all lands were taken by force at one time or another.

That's not really the question here.

 

[irosie91]

Yes, all lands were taken by force at one time or another.

That's not really the question here.

what was the question? It is not clear to me
that "palestine" was obtained by Jacob/Israel
by force from an angel. It was obtained by
force by Romans a bit more than 2000 years
ago, the ethnic group founded by Rommulus.

 

[ding]

what was the question? It is not clear to me
that "palestine" was obtained by Jacob/Israel
by force from an angel. It was obtained by
force by Romans a bit more than 2000 years
ago, the ethnic group founded by Rommulus.

The question was should the US continue to provide military aid to Israel.

It's in the OP.

 

[Correll]

Sure, but the question is one of ethics. Should we be giving it to them or giving it to others.

If the question is one of ethics, than saying we have the right to do as we wish, is the answer.

Asking "should" is a completely different question. That is subjective and depends on what the goal of the act of giving is.

 

[irosie91]

The question was should the US continue to provide military aid to Israel.

It's in the OP.

oh while I did serve in a Navy Hospital----I never understood the economics of the military in the USA and abroad. Our patient catchment included foreign bases.
I did learn that towns that harbor military bases are actually more affluent than towns that do
not, both here and abroad. Military economics is a very complicated issue. (my father was ship's bursar during world war II----but he is
no longer residing on the planet ) Aid to
Israel is so HUGE a topic that I read about it
since I was about 8 years old. The issue back then that showed up in pamphlets spread all over my town included "donations which are tax deductable" (I was 8 in the 1950s)----and then J F K seemed to get into military support in the 1960s. My mom donated two dollars to the hospital for crippled children in Jerusalem every year----but did not show it up on her tax return-----no doubt some people did claim the tax deduction

 

[LuckyDuck]

Total U.S. aid to Israel is approximately one-third of the American foreign-aid budget, even though Israel comprises just .001 percent of the world's population and already has one of the world's higher per capita incomes. Indeed, Israel's GNP is higher than the combined GNP of Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza. With a per capita income of about $14,000, Israel ranks as the sixteenth wealthiest country in the world; Israelis enjoy a higher per capita income than oil-rich Saudi Arabia and are only slightly less well-off than most Western European countries.

Is it ethical for US to provide military aid to Israel when other countries are less wealthy and have a greater need for aid?

U.S. Aid to Israel

U.S. Financial Aid To Israel: Figures, Facts, and Impact UPDATES: FY ’14 “Omnibus” Appropriations Bill Includes Middle East Funds, Conditions Find out how...

www.wrmea.org

Always give greater aid to those nations that are closer allies to our nation, especially in Israel's case, as it is surrounded by nations that would seek to not only end its existence, but kill all those residing there.

 

[ding]

If the question is one of ethics, than saying we have the right to do as we wish, is the answer.

Asking "should" is a completely different question. That is subjective and depends on what the goal of the act of giving is.

I disagree that ethics imply doing whatever we wish. Ethics and morals are effectively standards which exist for logical reasons and are independent of what one wishes to do.

There is nothing subjective about logic and reason by definition they exclude subjectivity and are based upon objectivity. So the question the OP is asking is asking for an objective response.

Is it ethical or moral to give aid to a rich nation for the purpose of strengthening their military power when there are poor nations who need humanitarian aid?

 

[ding]

oh while I did serve in a Navy Hospital----I never understood the economics of the military in the USA and abroad. Our patient catchment included foreign bases.
I did learn that towns that harbor military bases are actually more affluent than towns that do
not, both here and abroad. Military economics is a very complicated issue. (my father was ship's bursar during world war II----but he is
no longer residing on the planet ) Aid to
Israel is so HUGE a topic that I read about it
since I was about 8 years old. The issue back then that showed up in pamphlets spread all over my town included "donations which are tax deductable" (I was 8 in the 1950s)----and then J F K seemed to get into military support in the 1960s. My mom donated two dollars to the hospital for crippled children in Jerusalem every year----but did not show it up on her tax return-----no doubt some people did claim the tax deduction

Thank you for your background information.

Is it ethical or moral to give aid to a rich nation for the purpose of strengthening their military power when there are poor nations who need humanitarian aid?

 

[Anathema]

The United Ststes should not be providing aid to ANY foreign country... military or otherwise.

 

[Correll]

I disagree that ethics imply doing whatever we wish. Ethics and morals are effectively standards which exist for logical reasons and are independent of what one wishes to do.

There is nothing subjective about logic and reason by definition they exclude subjectivity and are based upon objectivity. So the question the OP is asking is asking for an objective response.

Is it ethical or moral to give aid to a rich nation for the purpose of strengthening their military power when there are poor nations who need humanitarian aid?

The question seems to be assuming a premise that the US has some obligation to take care of those other nations, as though they are our responsibility.


They are not. Indeed, many of them are quite hostile to US. We own them nothing. Their needs are not our responsibility and do not count as factors in the calculation of the ethics of our giving or not giving.

 

[Desperado]

Total U.S. aid to Israel is approximately one-third of the American foreign-aid budget, even though Israel comprises just .001 percent of the world's population and already has one of the world's higher per capita incomes. Indeed, Israel's GNP is higher than the combined GNP of Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza. With a per capita income of about $14,000, Israel ranks as the sixteenth wealthiest country in the world; Israelis enjoy a higher per capita income than oil-rich Saudi Arabia and are only slightly less well-off than most Western European countries.

Is it ethical for US to provide military aid to Israel when other countries are less wealthy and have a greater need for aid?

U.S. Aid to Israel

U.S. Financial Aid To Israel: Figures, Facts, and Impact UPDATES: FY ’14 “Omnibus” Appropriations Bill Includes Middle East Funds, Conditions Find out how...

www.wrmea.org

The US should not be providing military aid to any countries!
None, Nada We can;t but friends easy lesson that the US has not learned

 

[jwoodie]

Is it ethical for US to provide military aid to Israel when other countries are less wealthy and have a greater need for aid?

Is it ethical to post phony all-or-nothing questions?

 

[ding]

Is it ethical for US to provide military aid to Israel when other countries are less wealthy and have a greater need for aid?

Is it ethical to post phony all-or-nothing questions?

How so?

 

[jwoodie]

Is it ethical for US to provide military aid to Israel when other countries are less wealthy and have a greater need for aid?

Is it ethical to post phony all-or-nothing questions?

How so?

Is it ethical for US to provide aid to any country other than the one that is the least wealthy and has the greatest need for that aid? Yes or no?

 

[ding]

Is it ethical for US to provide military aid to Israel when other countries are less wealthy and have a greater need for aid?

Is it ethical to post phony all-or-nothing questions?

How so?

Is it ethical for US to provide aid to any country other than the one that is the least wealthy and has the greatest need for that aid? Yes or no?

It depends on what they are providing. In general, aid should be provided on an as needed basis. The need depends on the specific situation. Such as is there a dire and immediate need.

Providing military aid to a wealthy nation doesn’t fit the bill.