Empire, Exodus, and Erasure:

The United States has pumped billions into Israel through military aid, trade deals, and strategic partnerships, reinforcing a powerhouse alliance that keeps both nations at the top of the geopolitical game. This financial backing isn’t just about friendship—it’s about maintaining power, influence, and military dominance in one of the world’s most volatile regions.

Military Aid: The Billion-Dollar Bond**

Since its founding in 1948, Israel has been the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign aid, cashing in on approximately $310 billion (adjusted for inflation). The current U.S.-Israel memorandum of understanding locks in $3.8 billion per year** in military assistance through 2028.

After the October 2023 Gaza conflict, Washington upped the ante with additional aid, bringing total military support to $17.9 billion, while broader U.S. regional operations rack up costs around $22.76 billion. This funding fuels Israel’s cutting-edge defense arsenal, including the Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow missile systems, which get an extra $500 million annually in joint U.S.-Israel funding. In short, American tax dollars keep Israel’s military on the cutting edge.

Economic Ties: Big Money, Bigger Moves

The U.S.-Israel Free Trade Agreement (1985) supercharged economic relations, pushing U.S. exports to Israel up 538% since its inception. The industries? Everything from defense tech and pharmaceuticals to agriculture and cybersecurity.

Meanwhile, Israeli foreign direct investment in the U.S. hit $10.6 billion in 2022 , channeling funds into real estate, manufacturing, and tech startups. This isn’t just trade—it’s a deep economic entanglement that fuels industries and innovation on both sides.

Strategic Power Moves: Mutual Benefits in Defense and Tech

U.S. military aid doesn’t just make Israel stronger—it feeds the American war machine, too. A big chunk of those billions gets spent on U.S.-made military hardware, keeping over 20,000 American defense jobs intact.

On the intelligence front, Israel plays a key role in cybersecurity, counterterrorism, and weapons development, giving the U.S. access to some of the sharpest military tech and intel in the game. The collaboration is airtight—because power respects power.

Revolutionary Parallels: The American Playbook and Israel’s Creation

The blueprint for Israel’s establishment? It’s got striking echoes of the American Revolution. Both relied on a mix of guerrilla warfare, global alliances, strategic land grabs, and propaganda to secure their existence.

1. Framing the Fight as a Battle for Freedom

- American colonists cast their rebellion as a fight against British tyranny.

- Zionist leaders presented Israel’s birth as a life-or-death necessity for the Jewish people, especially post-Holocaust.

2. Securing Global Power Players

- The U.S. wouldn’t exist without France and Spain bankrolling the revolution.

- Israel gained crucial backing through the Balfour Declaration (1917) and heavy post-WWII U.S. support.

3. Settler Colonialism and Land Acquisition

- America’s westward expansion came at the expense of Native American land.

- Israel’s early settlers acquired land, built settlements, and later displaced 750,000 Palestinians during the Nakba (1948).

4. Guerrilla Warfare Against the Superpower

- American militias waged asymmetric warfare against the British.

- Jewish paramilitary groups Haganah and Irgun used similar tactics against British forces and Arab opposition.

5. Winning the Propaganda War

- The American Revolution had *Common Sense by Thomas Paine.

- Zionist leaders leveraged media and political narratives to build global support for Jewish statehood.

6. Religious Justifications for Land Claims

- American settlers believed they were fulfilling a divine mission.

- Zionist ideology invoked biblical promises to justify Jewish settlement in Israel.

From Native America to Palestine: The Erasure Playbook

The parallels between Native American displacement and Palestinian expulsion are undeniable. Different places, different times—same devastating playbook.

- Displacement & Land Loss: Native Americans were systematically pushed westward, while over 750,000 Palestinians were expelled or fled their homes in 1948.

- Violence & Suppression: Indigenous tribes faced massacres and forced removals, just as Palestinians endured ethnic cleansing, home demolitions, and occupation.

- Cultural Erasure: Native American identities were systematically erased through forced assimilation; Palestinian towns were renamed, and history rewritten to serve a settler narrative.

Settler Colonialism: A Global Franchise

This isn’t just a U.S.-Israel phenomenon. The settler-colonial playbook is universal—a well-worn strategy of conquest and erasure. Here are some major historical players:

1. North America (United States & Canada) - Indigenous lands were seized through broken treaties and wars, backed by policies like the Indian Removal Act (1830).

2. Australia - British settlers displaced Aboriginal communities and stole generations of children to erase their cultural identity.

3. South Africa - The Dutch and British set the stage for Apartheid, enforcing racial segregation and Indigenous displacement.

4. French Algeria - France colonized Algeria in 1830, suppressing local resistance and expropriating land for European settlers.

5. Palestine (Israel/Palestine) - The Israeli settlement movement continues, with Palestinian land confiscation, forced evictions, and a system resembling apartheid.

6. Western Sahara - Morocco’s settlement policies mirror Israel’s, displacing Indigenous Sahrawis in defiance of international law.

7. Liberia - Even African Americans engaged in settler colonialism, establishing Liberia and ruling over Indigenous Africans in the 19th century.

The Takeaway: History Repeats, but Who’s Listening?

The U.S.-Israel relationship isn’t just about military aid and trade—it’s a modern extension of a centuries-old settler-colonial playbook. The tactics used to build empires, displace Indigenous peoples, and rewrite history remain strikingly similar across time and space.

Understanding these patterns isn’t about picking sides—it’s about recognizing the machinery of power, the cycles of history, and the forces that shape our world today. Because when history echoes this loudly, it’s impossible to ignore.