The United States is Israel’s closest ally, defending its actions at the UN and providing $150 billion in bilateral assistance  over the years.  Between 1971 and 2007, Israel received economic assistance from the US. But at present, nearly all the aid the US gives Israel is in the form of military assistance, a large part which of which is used to purchase US weapons.  

In 2016 the Obama Administration signed a 10-year Memorandum of Understanding with Israel under which the US agreed to provide a total of $38 billion in military aid for the period 2019-2028, subject to Congressional appropriation. The share paid by Massachusetts taxpayers annually is in the range of $130 million. In 2022 an extra $1 billion was given to Israel by Congress for Iron Dome funding. 

There are laws on the books that tie US military aid to human rights. Section 502B(a)(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act (FAA) states that “no security assistance may be provided to any country the government of which engages in a consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights.” An amendment to the FAA known as the Leahy Law provides for human rights vetting to see what foreign security units are ineligible to receive US aid or training because of their human rights violations.  The Arms Export Control Act requires arms provided by the US to be used only for “legitimate self-defense” and gives the Departments of State and Defense the responsibility to monitor how they are used.  

But although domestic public opinion is increasingly in favor of conditioning aid on Israel’s human rights record, Congress and successive Administrations have shown little appetite to do so or even to monitor how Israel is using US weapons. 

Israel benefits from US support in the United Nations as well. Although 138 of 193 member states have recognized the state of Palestine, the US has not. Indeed, the US consistently vetoes UN resolutions that are critical of Israel. As one of five permanent Security Council members with the power to block any Council action, the US has since 1972 vetoed at least 53 Security Council resolutions critical of Israel, including four condemning Israeli settlements.  

Mainstream media in the US, by echoing the bias of US policy, continues to obscure the facts about Israel’s occupation of Palestine. One-sided coverage that echoes Israeli talking points prevents genuine understanding and free-flowing debate. 

In the film The Occupation of the American Mind: Israel’s Public Relations War in the United States, Noam Chomsky states that “as long as the United States supports Israel, [no change] is going to happen” and “the US government will support [Israel] as long as the US population tolerates it.”

But the mainstream media no longer dominates the flow of information, and as more people are acquiring facts, reports, and analysis from a wider array of Internet sources, US public perceptions about the Occupation are changing.