The letters appearing on Feb. 1 claiming that Israel has not ”been granted loan forgiveness” and that Israel`s requested $10 billion in loan guarantees ”require no taxpayer money” demand some clarification.
According to the Congressional Research Service, Israel has received $53 billion in economic and military aid from the U.S. since 1949. At first, American aid to Israel was granted in the form of loans, which Congress later quietly forgave by turning the loans into grants. Since 1985, the U.S. has waived repayment of all of Israel`s U.S. military debt.
Furthermore, the Cranston Amendment mandates annual U.S. economic aid to Israel never fall below the interest Israel owes to the U.S. government for that year. In other words, the American taxpayer ends up paying both the principal and the interest on Israel`s loans.
