18-06-2009, 01:43 AM
Magda Hassan Wrote:I can't find the graph at the moment but it shows very clearly that there was minimal funding of Israel until LBJ. Then it really took off exponentially.
Forty million, all of which was food aid and development loans (and no military aid) at the time of JFK's death. However, in August 1962 Kennedy sent Myer Feldman to Israel to craft a deal that would tie the US supply of air defence HAWK missiles to Israeli concessions on the Palestinian refugee problem. (Cohen, p.111). Needless to say, JFK never got his concessions.
In 1964, LBJ negotiated a deal which saw Germany upgrade the IDF's tank fleet with M-48A3 tanks. Israel also acquired Phantom A-6 jets and subsonic Skyhawks. No concessions were given on the Palestinian refugees or Dimona. By 1966, US aid to Israel had climbed to $300 million, most of which was military aid. The 1967 war was planned well in advance.