There is widespread discontent among the public regarding the US arms sale to Israel, with strong opposition rooted in concerns about domestic issues, ethical implications of military support, and the humanitarian impact of continued violence. Commenters express frustration at government priorities and hold deep concerns about complicity in human rights violations, particularly amidst ongoing conflicts.

United States Government

Israel

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Yeah France already pulled out after 1967, cause obviously they're allergic to Israel winning

ASharpLife

Israel brought to justice the terrorists who have French blood on their hands, and France stabs Israel in the back.  I'm going to boycott France from now on and encourage others to do so as well.

KnightWhoSaysNnni

France : "we need to get rid of hizballah to reclaim our influence over lebanon and improve the area"s profitability"

Israel : *gets rid of hizbollah while suffering a great toll on itself*

France : "merd, these jude assholes!"

French are truely a wonder.

Gman90sKid

Israel: Eliminates more terrorist leaders who killed Arabs, US and French people, threaten global terror and intifada in 1 year, than the west managed in 30 years.  
  
Our Western leaders: Israel you escalate too much! Ceasefire now! Sanctions!

We are fucking lost. I feel so much shame as a liberal European.

nika-sarina-hadis

Puzzled-Judgment-663

French here, it's a fucking shame. Macron has been so bad on this whole thing. Our policy regarding the conflict has always been weird, but he's been so much worse. 

7th october was the most deadly terrorist attack for french people since the one in Nice. 40 of our citizens died because of Hamas, but we have only seen a ceremony months later. 80 of our citizens died in the 80s because of an attack of the Hezbollah, but Macron never mentionned it and said that the attacks targetting Hezbollah were endangering civilians which is false. He is a weak ass president, one of the worst we had in recent time, he doesn't want to let go even though with the recent elections he can't govern anymore. 

Anyway, there is still a lot of support for Israel in France, and the leftists that are pro-palestine are very hated in a general manner. They've been rightly accused of antisemitism and it is in public debate.
Unfortunately, our french regional sub is full of those assholes and you can't say good things about Israel without being attacked. 

 We have the biggest jewish community of Europe (400k), for now. Unfortunately it is not enough, as the  demands for alyah have exploded and a lot of jews are very scared as we have been targets of antisemitic terrorists attacks multiple times.

Like-A-Lion-In-Zion

Its actually during a war with the biggest terrorist group itw france decides to stop arming its ally

saintmaximin

That's why Israel will always be come out on top. Israel has few(-ish) true friends. Palestine nothing but a sea of false ones.

AndrewBaiIey

If I recall correctly the French are the people who voluntarily sacrificed French Jews in Paris to Fatah terrorists in the 1980s and allowed them to keep traveling to France in exchange for no further attacks there. They have a long history of appeasement and surrender it seems.

melosurroXloswebos

There was a time when France was one great supplier of weapons for Israel. It was during the 50s and 60s. For example, during that era, most Israeli Air Force combat aircraft were French-made, like the Dassault Mirage III, and they also delivered tanks (AMX-13).

Then, President de Gaulle wanted to reconcile France with the Muslim and Arab world after what had been done to them during the colonial era, so he embargoed Israel regarding weapons, using the Six-Day War as an excuse.

Dolmetscher1987

Whatever_Lurker

avbitran

Neocolonial piece of shit acts like he still owns Lebanon yet done nothing over the years and especially last year to clean it of the Hezb cancer and lay the groundwork for peace in the region.

They only like the Jews when they are dead, not when they are winning.

KingMob9

Why is every other country in this world allowed to protect themselves but Israel? It's just mind boggling to me.

difusenebula

They were invaded by Hamas and Hezbollah supporters. They are just scared shitless of their streets burning.

This is a clear case of "No no, we do not support them. Please don't burn our churches."

sukihasmu

It will be 100% US arms imports after this war.
No joke. 

[deleted]

zoinks48

Only thing i remember isreal buying was some french tanks in the six days war tbh

Actually-No-Idea

neverownedacar

Inbar253

It’s ironic since France’s support during the creation of Israel and years after was one of the most crucial ones. They basically armed and supported Jewish militias to counter UK and supplied majority of weapons until the 60s.

Azur000

We need to become self sufficient. We have all this great tech. Let's build the weaponry FOR the tech.

AliG68

pigeon888

Of course. You do not think they would want to publicly disclose that do you? Israel has massive support from other countries, just as Ukraine. All Nations shake hands with each other while at the same time plotting against each other. It has been going on for centuries and there will be no change.

madzax

SlightWerewolf4428

France foreign policy is a joke. No country should rely on France.

chittok

Isn’t that the same country where people shit in the river there in protest of their crappy government? They don’t exactly have the moral high ground here…💀

56kul

French food and wine is good, not their technology. Who would want to drive in a Peugeot Tank anyways...

Easy_Detective_1618

Israel needs to diversify. All it takes is some idiot liberal getting elected and the US cuts back. Israel's security should not be dependent on any other country.

CuriousNebula43

I don't know where you got the info that France never sold weapons / mil equipment to Israel from, but that's a complete lie.

&gt; Additionally, France sells an average of 20 million euros ($21.9 million) worth of military equipment to Israel each year.
&gt; 
&gt; The report stated that the value of military equipment sent from France to Israel between 2013 and 2022 reached 207.6 million euros (nearly $266 million).

ClavasClub

France has faced a total of 82 Islamist terrorist attacks between 1979 and 2021, making it one of the most affected European countries. The spike in violence after 2015 resulted in heightened security measures and a nationwide debate on counterterrorism and integration policies.

They should just become an Islamic caliphate and get it over with if this the direction they’re choosing.

Violet604

France is genuinely the biggest joke of a country. Fucking hypocrites.

Darmiqa

Little from Germany. We don’t have anything and we have that to Ukraine.

Sabotimski

while this is a funny meme, didnt they ask the US to stop? like thats what i read in the headliens but idk

Alonn12

It’s kind of hard to negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza when no one can get in contact with Sinwar…

sbn23487

withoutbitcoin

Legitimate-Shape452

Let’s all deny the import of junk French luxury goods they provide no value for the world

traderjay_toronto

Oh nos! What would Israel do without the 2,000 pound Camembert cluster bombs?!?! And no more fine champagne on Rosh Hashanah meals in military bases?!? Please France, say it ain't so!!! Mon dieu.

Niceguy955

You can still thank France for the 60s.  Dassault Mirage III, Mystère IV, Super Mystère.  These make 6 day war result possible.

sphinxcreek

Didn’t Canada pull the same thing despite also not exporting any significant arms to Israel in the first place?

Canislupusarctos11

Macron cosying up to his domestic audience.

Prid

I'm French and fully support Israel, but thanks for the bashing I guess ?

BriocheTressee

Probably the same as happened when the US put an arms embargo on the warring parties in 1948: Israel would source them clandestinely from somewhere else.

clydewoodforest

If the US halted arms sales, Israel would source them eslewhere. Whether its local or international. Israel is not a poor underdeveloped nation. They have the wealth and industrial capacity to make their own way if they have to.

The Iron Done would quickly be depleted, so Hamas/Hezbollah/PIJ rockets would quickly find their way into civilian populations in Israel. Israel, of course, will not let that stand so they will have to resort to their reserve arsenal of incredibly powerful munitions, leading to catastrophic loss of life on both sides.

In short, it would have the opposite effect of what you’d hope.

Wiseguy_Montag

They’d find another supplier.  Lots of US allies (even in NATO) do this.  That’s why you’ll see air forces with both U.S. F-16s and French Mirages for example.  Also may lead to unintended consequences; the French under De Gaulle likely helped Israel with their [rumored] atomic weapon when there was a falling out with the U.S. over the mid-50s Suez Crisis, for instance.

IronyElSupremo

Probably the fastest way to escalate the conflict and get more civilians killed. With Iron Dome out of supplies the Israeli military will need to take drastic action to ensure security, while Iran and Hamas will use the opportunity to launch a full scale new offensive. 

Precision would go out the window and you’d see what casualties are like in a real war. Israel won’t lose, and they won’t allow their people to be attacked. They have more than enough firepower to win quickly when they are unrestrained.

KosherPigBalls

First important point to make: the U.S. won’t under any circumstances meaningfully halt arms sales to Israel.

Why? Because it would be a disastrous foreign policy decision, severely damaging relations, and signaling to our other partners, such as Saudi Arabia, that we cannot stomach the fight against Islamism, and might abandon them too. 

Without the US guaranteeing security and stability in the region, Israel and many other countries would realign politically towards the East, and the US would be handing the Middle East to Russia and China in one fell swoop. And those countries don’t have nearly the same moral qualms about how their partners fight wars, so it would be a much more violent place.

Also, Israel possesses the kinetic capabilities to win the war decisively. What the US provides them are tools to fight while minimizing collateral damage. Without those tools, and without that relationship, Israel would be closer to being forced to escalate towards using larger and less precise munitions to ensure their survival at vastly higher human cost.

boldmove_cotton

A bigger war with Hamas / Iran / Hezbollah, more casualties and losing US authority in Middle East

coldz22

Let us not forget the following:

1. that Israel is a nuclear armed state
2. that they have very nearly used nuclear weapons on more than one occasion in the face of imminent defeat
3. that “never again” isn’t an empty platitude, at least where Israel’s self interests are concerned.

Unless you want a large swathe of the Middle East turned into a flat sheet of glass, something must be done to keep Israel from resorting to exceedingly desperate measures. If that means continuing the supply of arms, so be it.

EDIT: just to contextualize, Israel going nuclear isn’t a matter of self defense. It’s an “if we’re going down, you’re all coming with us” situation. That’s why it’s so important to keep their finger off the trigger.

Few_Loss_6156

Many people on this thread seriously underestimate how the US benefits from its alliance with Israel.  It's easily worth the money we spend.  This thread gives more detail on this.  [https://www.reddit.com/r/Israel/comments/1evscs0/questions\_about\_us\_support\_to\_israel\_aid\_and\_money/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Israel/comments/1evscs0/questions_about_us_support_to_israel_aid_and_money/)

To the above I would add many of the US's top technology companies have major technology centers in Israel (e.g Apple, Intel, etc).  To put these in danger would be a massive blow to these companies. If you don't want to use any Israeli designed chips, better get rid of your Apple or Android phone.

Finally Israel helps the US develop very advanced military technologies.  The F-35 helmet and the Trophy tank self protection systems come to mind.  Also Iron Beam.

SteveInBoston

Litteral impossible..Many of the US weapons have some sort of Israeli involvement.

ltmikepowell

Israel would start developing their own plane to compete with the F-35. You can expect Israel to sell a lot of technology to China in exchange for their own weapons.

ChuchiTheBest

It depends to what degree, the UK cancelled 30 out of 350 items

The US supplies about 70% of the arms, and usually you get those in like ten year agreements.

US 65.6% weapons sold by major supplies  
Germany 29.7%  
Italy 4.7%

Biden pushed through emergency authority for two urgent sales without congressional review.

$106 million for 14,000 rounds of tank ammunition  
$147 million for components for 155mm artillery shells

and quietly the administration did over 100 other military sales, but under the dollar amount to require Congress to be formally noitices.

"said to have included thousands of precision-guided munitions, small-diameter bombers, bunker busters and small arms"

in May they half have 1800 2000lb bombs and 1700 500lb bombs, worried about them being used in densely populated areas.

in July they authorized the 500lb bombs and withheld the big ones.

August Biden approved $20 billion in weapons sales.  
$18.8 billion for up to 50 F151A jets  
30 medium air to air missiles $102 million  
50,000 12mmm mortar rounds $61 million  
2026 or later

Germany is selling 3 subs, ready for 2031, to replace the old German ones. $3.3 billion

England was only $55 million

........

I just don't get most of the complaints, when you're dealing with very questionable military sales to dictatorships, or dealing with intelligence issues of domestic spying, then you can get into policy and moral issues. But when you're dealing with established partners, it's just meaningless image control and virtue signalling over slightly unpopular policy.

Make things difficult and you'll lose cooperation, or issues with future contracts and price and conditions.

MagnesiumKitten

Fake hope for Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and the mullahs.

Masterpiece9839

Israel gets pushed into deadly war leading to more death and money lost.

Israel would get arms from other countries and resort to cheaper dumber bombs that cause more civilian casualties. The US would also have no leverage on Israel anymore and would be free to pursue more aggressive foreign policy.

Seeker_Of_Toiletries

Not much considering that israel has manufacturing permits, that USA only covers 2% of their military spending and has a very strong national defense industry

espigademaiz

There are other suitors in the world besides the US. If the US decides to stop funding/arming Israel, they’ll find another nation to sell them weapons. China, France, Britain and India are all potential trading partners.

That said, the US basically GIVES these weapons to Israel. These other nations would certainly not be so generous… which would push Israel to its brink financially. What Israel would have to do (and also be willing to do) to earn/obtain the money needed to continue financing its defence is a big question mark.

Realistically, there is a huge gap between the current state of affairs and a US that has cut off Israel entirely. Somewhere along the way cooler heads would likely prevail, and set a new standard that Israel would have to abide by. I think this is what most outside observers are perplexed at. Israel is causing an awful lot of grief for the US atm, and the US holds all the cards. Why isn’t the US using its leverage on Israel to alter the situation to be more beneficial to the US?

It’s doubtful a Trump administration would do so, as they’ve been very clearly pro-Israel and continuing the status quo. Harris has been equally verbally supportive of the status quo, but there is a strong progressive element in her own party that could force her to effect some change on the US/Israel relationship. Is the progressive wing more powerful atm than the Israeli lobbying groups? Definitely not. But that could certainly change.

CGYRich

Honestly European weapons manufacturers would likely step up to fill the void. 

It’s profit for them and not America.

So in the long route it would be less sales to Israel, but more sales to our European friends who would then sell it to Israel.

Effectively the Iran contra deal.

deeple101

Ultimately, as the new IDF chief says, its about reducing our dependencies. We need to be strong no matter future geopolitical changes. We fundamentally can't go it alone but we do not have to put all eggs in one basket.

Jakexbox

Elbit up 84% in the past year. So much for BDS

AdministrativeMap848

“The worlds arms dealer”? What it means? 

I’m not sure people are aware of the global arms trade today. It changed from past time, when only a few nations were engaged in that. New players are showing up with interesting products: Turkey and S. Korea are bold actors with products that challenge what US has to offer. Their advantage- lower prices compared to the US systems. 

I guess Israel becoming  a bigger participant in the trade, but calling it “world arms dealer” is…a stretch.

Oberon_17

Great news. Self sufficiency militarily is going to be extremely important for Israel going forward, especially with the US shifting focus to the Asia Pacific to counter China. The next step I would imagine would be for Israel to wean itself of US aid going forward.

Throwthat84756

With europe rearming there is plenty of opportunities for growth, israel is well positioned to capitalize on this by having combat proven products

LongjumpingEye8519

Such a slanted headline. First of all the correct word is “producer”. And in any case the amount of arms produced in Israel is very small compared to the global trade. At most Israel is aiming to take a large market share in some niches, like missile defense.

BrownEyesGreenHair

We are a small country (10 million residents) and small work force. It's impossible to rise to top 3 arms sales due to these limiting factors. 
There is also another factor: when a country buys weapons from a great power they also buy brownie points and a measure of political protection which small countries can't give.

Analog_AI


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Yea why not give that money to humanitarian efforts over there? Fuck Netanyahu

InteractionWarm8661

Feels like a good time to note that US tax dollars pay for not just the IDF benefits but also the fact that Israel has a nationalized healthcare system

naththegrath10

from the NYTimes article: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/03/us/politics/us-weapons-israel.html

&gt;Israel would use money provided by the United States to buy the weapons.

Not really a "Sale" then is it.

throwAway9a8b7c111

Two of the world’s leading human rights organizations and a UN report say Israel is committing genocide, and Biden does this

Crafty_Gain5604

Stop giving weapons and money to a murderer performing a genocide. 


Fucks sake. 

Comfortable_Horse277

Another example of murder being ok if it’s condoned by the state.

Ar least he's consistent: there never was a war or a genocide he didn't love. The USA and its love affair with carpet bombing on civilians it will be a matter of  serious study by future historians, anthropologists, psychologists and jurists.

Electronic-Hat2836

As usual, what Israel wants, Israel gets. I wonder how many babies will be killed due to these sales? Israel won't rest until the Palestinians are wiped off the face of the Earth.

invalidpassword

..but we're not going to ever collect the payment. 

_thetommy

Oh, for god's sake.  Will this insanity (and complicity in genocide) never end?

in-joy

Why would they need that besides killing more Palestinians? This is part of what lost the election

ccasey

Professional_Cry2415

The whole American political system is absolutely rotten to the core. The whole well has been poisoned by aipac, and even if biden dropped dead today, his successor would do the same. Absolutely disgusting.

thealchemist1000-

Netenyahu is the real president of the USA.

The USA is a vassal state of Israel.

b4d_b0y

15k_bastard_ducks

Hate it when we support war criminals and horrible people

Relaxmf2022

Another 8 billion for not Netanyahu's baby meat grinder.

TuffNutzes

Fuck you, Genocide Joe. This is your legacy and why every good thing you've done will be overturned.

parrot1500

Selling to Israel is selling to themselves, basically. Shameful stuff to fund baby killers in addition.

rokevoney

More than twice what he gives to Ukraine.

Biden's presidency in a nutshell, I'm afraid.

NoOneStranger_227

I’m so god damn sick of the liberal left lunatics who feel the need to mention every opportunity they get that anyone who DIDNT vote this election is complicit in the genocide.

Biden isn’t up for election. Everything the democrats are doing at this point is for themselves. It’s what they want to do with their whole heart. It’s not about winning voters anymore. So when they say with their whole heart that $8B of OUR mover should go to the murdering of babies, that it what they have always wanted.


If you think you can “push them further left” to make them stop killing babies, just look at what they have just told you they want with their whole heart. Tell me again how me, choosing to not vote for a baby killer, is somehow worse? Please, I’m desperate to hear what you fuckers have to say now.

Mediocre-Housing-131

So are we ready to have the conversation about these continued aid packages and the Military Industrial Complex yet?

Billions of tax payer dollars spent on new weaponry from private companies who keep the profits. 

The administration’s support for Liz Cheney likely goes deeper than being on the J6 committee (btw that’s her job)

spinek1

A $510 million arms sale to Israel aims to bolster military capabilities in light of regional conflicts, including ongoing tensions with Iran.

US Arms Sale to Israel

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