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My comment: Not mentioned by Yehuda Teitelbaum below is the contributions to the United States, to the world, by inventions of Israel. Which are many and which I listed here.
Also doesn't mention the fact that when the US military equipment Israel buys using US "aid" is improved by Israel, those improvements are transferred to the United States. This happens often. Most notably with the Iron Dome missile defence system, of which Israel has had the most practical experience of any country.
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Yehuda Teitelbaum counters to Kelly and MTG interview:
Megyn Kelly has a choice right now. She can either keep her credibility or she can follow the path of right-wing grifters who've made it their mission to bash Israel without logic or facts.
Her interview with Marjorie Taylor Greene was full of blatantly false claims that collapse under the slightest scrutiny. I won't be sharing it but here are some of the points they mentioned.
1. "AIPAC controls Congress."
This is an old conspiracy theory repackaged as fact. AIPAC is an American membership organization. It isn't registered under FARA because it isn't a foreign agent. It's made up of U.S. citizens who care about Israel. Their lobbying budget in 2024 was around $50 million. For comparison, Big Pharma spent over $350 million. Tech and telecom spend hundreds of millions more. If AIPAC "controls" Congress with $50M, what does that mean about the industries spending ten times that amount?
My comment: Qatar -- a double faced "ally", which supports the Muslim Brotherhood -- donates huge amounts direct to US Institutions, mainly US universities. Some $28 billion in the last decade has been identified. This influence money dwarfs by orders of magnitude the modest amounts spent by AIPAC. We can see its results in the elite universities' pro-Hamas, anti-Jew demonstrations since October 7.
2. "Congressional trips to Israel prove influence."
Members of Congress travel abroad constantly. They visit Ukraine, Taiwan, NATO countries, Japan, and South Korea. They are exposed to allies because America's global security depends on alliances. Israel is not unique here. The idea that a congressman is "brainwashed" by visiting a country is ridiculous. It's called diplomacy. Israel is making its case for why it is a strong ally. That is what every country does.
3. "The U.S. is broke, so why give Israel $3.8B?"
That figure is less than one-tenth of one percent of the federal budget. It's insignificant compared to entitlement programs or interest on the debt. And that money is not a handout. It's used to buy American weapons. Every dime cycles back into the U.S. economy, supporting hundreds of thousands of defense jobs in states across the country. The U.S. doesn't "lose" the money.
4. "Israel is wealthy, it doesn't need aid."
Foreign aid is not charity. Israel's GDP doesn't matter here. U.S. military aid is structured to guarantee Israel's Qualitative Military Edge, America's law to ensure its ally isn't wiped off the map by larger hostile armies and terror groups. Israel spends more than almost any country in the world on defense, nearly 9% of GDP, because it has to. The U.S. aid is about protecting a democratic ally and preserving regional stability, not paying Israel's bills.
5. "Other allies don't get special treatment."
Completely false. Egypt and Jordan receive billions every year in U.S. aid. Taiwan gets special weapons deliveries. NATO members receive the ultimate form of "aid", a U.S. security guarantee that obligates American troops to fight and die for them. Israel has never asked America to put a single Marine at risk for them.
6. "Israel is allowed to use aid differently."
Yes, Israel is allowed to use a portion for domestic purchases, a condition written into the deal decades ago because Israel's defense industry works hand-in-hand with America's. Think Iron Dome, missile defense, drone tech. That integration makes U.S. weapons better and more effective globally.
7. "The U.S. gets nothing in return."
Flat wrong. Israel shares intelligence that saves American lives. It tests U.S. weapons systems in real combat and it provides America with a secure base of operations in the world's most volatile region.
My comment: Again, think of the number of Israeli inventions that the US tech industry in particular has benefitted from. And then, there's the fact that Israel is the third largest country floating companies on the Nasdaq, after the US itself and China.
8. "Israel's aid is the real problem while America suffers at home."
This is dishonest framing. $3.8B to Israel is a rounding error in the U.S. budget. The real drivers of debt are entitlement spending, mismanaged domestic programs, and decades of fiscal irresponsibility. Blaming Israel for America's debt crisis is just scapegoating.
None of MTG's talking points are grounded in fact. They are designed to play into the same tired tropes that have always been used to suggest that Jews secretly manipulate politics for their own ends.
@megynkelly knows better. She has the choice to use her brain and reject this nonsense or to go down the path of lazy populists who think bashing Israel is the ticket to relevance.
