In response to Walid Afifi's condemnation of aid to Israel, does Afifi realize that aid to Israel is less than 1 percent of the total federal budget? That means if aid to Israel were cut completely, the American taxpayer would not notice it at all when looking at the budget. Afifi also neglected to mention that unlike other countries that receive foreign aid from the United States -- and there are many -- Israel is the only one that is required to spend a major portion of its military aid in American companies. That means the aid money we give to Israel is pumped back into the American economy. This seems like a better choice to me than giving it to Egypt, which does not spend any of its aid in America.

Also, in 1998, Israel initiated a plan to annually reduce and eliminate the aid it receives from America. Which of the other countries that receive American aid have done this? It is also interesting that Afifi singles out Israeli aid when we pay nearly $2 billion a year in aid to Egypt as part of the Camp David accords. Israel is a close democratic ally -- our only in the Middle East. Egypt is not a democracy and has attacked its neighbors with the goal of eliminating them. Why are people complaining about aid to Israel when we have to pay Egypt to act like a civilized country?