WOW. This is a strategic shift we’ve needed for years—and now it’s finally being said out loud.
As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently stated, “In the coming decade, we will add 350 billion shekels to the defense budget…to produce these weapons domestically and not be dependent on foreign countries…and we will develop groundbreaking aircraft made in Israel. This will change the entire picture.”
This is huge!
That’s not just another policy update, that’s a declaration of independence.
I heard support for this direction firsthand on Capitol Hill last year together with Likud MK Amit Halevi, when we made the case to members of Congress and the Senate that it is in both Israel’s and America’s interest to end traditional U.S. foreign aid to Israel and replace it with joint strategic development projects.
One congressman told us bluntly: Israel has a narrow window, two years, to begin this process and become as self-reliant as possible, because the political winds in Washington are shifting fast, and reliable support from either party cannot be taken for granted. What was fascinating is that he said that out of concern for America, not just Israel. Because as he admitted to us quite clearly, a vulnerable, weak Israel ultimately weakens the United States and makes it vulnerable, because Israel is the frontline of the whole freedom-loving world against jihadist Islam. So with a weak frontline, America is in more danger.
Let’s also be honest about what “U.S. foreign aid” to Israel has really been.
For decades, foreign “aid” functioned as golden handcuffs, a mechanism that gave Washington leverage to shape Israeli policy at critical moments.
And it’s a misnomer. The vast majority of that “aid” never left the United States; it was earmarked to be spent on American defense companies, American R&D, and American manufacturing.
In other words, it sustained U.S. jobs and strengthened the American defense industry while equipping Israel.
Those who shout “stop giving money to Israel” either don’t understand, or choose to ignore, that reality. If anything, it’s been a mutually beneficial arrangement.
But the label “foreign aid” has been weaponized to fuel resentment against Israel and drive anti-Israel sentiment on both sides of the U.S. political map.
It’s time to retire the myth and, with it, the leverage it created.
We’ve been here before. Israel once began developing its own fighter jet, the IAI Lavi, only to be forced to shut it down under U.S. pressure.
That kind of leverage exists only as long as we are dependent.
The moment Israel eliminates US foreign “aid,” that leverage disappears, and with it, the ability of any administration to dictate our security boundaries.
No country can be 100% independent, but the closer we get, the safer we are.
We cannot afford a repeat of the early days of this war, when the Biden administration effectively imposed an unofficial arms embargo on Israel that directly impacted our ability to fight the war in Gaza and defend Jewish lives.
“Never again” cannot just be a slogan about the past, it must guide how we prepare for the future.
And the reality is clear: support for Israel is eroding on both sides of the aisle. The only responsible path forward is strength, independence, and the ability to defend ourselves, by ourselves, no matter what.
The future of the Jewish people in Israel is bright and getting brighter everyday.
Strengthen your faith. We have unbelievable times ahead. Still ups and downs, but the trajectory is beautiful!
Am Yisrael Chai!!!