Abstract
The paper examines the allocation of economic as well as military aid from the United States (US) to Israel and investigates whether the US has ever linked its aid to human rights performance in case of the Jewish State. In doing so, the paper explores US foreign aid policies in the light of US Congressional legislation enacted in 1974, which aimed at linking the provision of US aid to human rights performance of aid recipient governments. An assessment of US foreign aid policies illustrates that the US has rarely acted upon such legislation in letter and spirit to terminate or restrict aid to governments involved in violation of the globally recognized human rights. Focusing on US bilateral aid policies during three distinct periods: the Cold War, the post-Cold War and the ‘war on terror’; this study shows that instead of linking aid to respect for human rights in the case of Israel, the US has rather authorized more aid to the Jewish State despite the latter's dismal record of human rights performance. The paper illustrates that the provision of US aid is not inspired by the promotion of democracy, liberty and human rights in aid-receiving states. The study concludes that when US foreign policy goals including political, security and geo-strategic interests are at stake, human rights are not significant dynamics behind US aid distribution to Israel or any other US strategic partners.
Highlights
The birth of the international aid regime has its roots in the famous Marshall Plan that was launched for rebuilding war-ravaged infrastructure in Europe and reviving the economy following the culmination of World War II
According to United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the central US government body authorized for foreign aid allocation and delivery, for over 50 years it has been providing technical leadership and strategic support in promoting sustainable democracy...the rule of law and respect for human rights
Likewise, according to Carleton and Stohl, in the tenures of President Carter and Reagan respect for human rights was not a significant factor in determining the sanctioning of aid to a number of developing countries across the world.21. Their findings show that numerous countries that were considered vital for safeguarding US foreign policy goals received US aid irrespective of their dismal display of political and civil liberties
Summary
According to United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the central US government body authorized for foreign aid allocation and delivery, for over 50 years it has been providing technical leadership and strategic support in promoting sustainable democracy...the rule of law and respect for human rights.. Likewise, according to Carleton and Stohl, in the tenures of President Carter and Reagan respect for human rights was not a significant factor in determining the sanctioning of aid to a number of developing countries across the world.. Likewise, according to Carleton and Stohl, in the tenures of President Carter and Reagan respect for human rights was not a significant factor in determining the sanctioning of aid to a number of developing countries across the world.21 Their findings show that numerous countries that were considered vital for safeguarding US foreign policy goals received US aid irrespective of their dismal display of political and civil liberties. The data clearly illustrates that Israel has consistently shown disrespect for human rights and its record has remained quite dismal during the Cold War and post-Cold War periods as well as during the ‘war on terror’ era since 2001 as it has regularly scored 4 or more according to PTS scale
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