Israeli settlers: "we're still assholes!"

[Scotsgit]

Obviously, the British have no right to live in Great Britain since their country has only been called that for a few centuries; Russia, Germany,  ect. Ridiculous.

I can't?  Shit!  Can I come to yours?  I'll bring pizza.

[Lt. Fred]

Oh yeah. Australia's the obvious candidate. Duh,

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

Well so much for my getting an answer to that question.

The answer that would have been given is "Islamofascists". You didn't miss much.

[RavynousHunter]

I honestly wonder how long Israel would survive if the US cut off all ties and took all its shit back.  Lest I'm mistaken, Israel, the Holy Land, is a god damned desert.  That means producing anything is gonna be difficult, and even moreso with several countries they've bullied being out for their blood.

I'd give em...a year?  Give or take a month or two, of course.

[Lt. Fred]

Israel has one of the most highly-developed tech sectors in the world, also a thriving export defence industry. It's not 1966 anymore, where the Israelis were dependent on handouts*. They just ask for them for fun now.

*Isn't it interesting when people like Dambisa Moyo and the Wall Street Journal op-ed page talk about how foreign aid totally destroys development they don't use the biggest recipient in history, Israel?

[kefkaownsall]

Yeah on that note ever notice if america spent 10% of it's defense budget on foreign aid to non Isralei nations we'd be in a better  shape

[Meshakhad]

I honestly wonder how long Israel would survive if the US cut off all ties and took all its shit back.  Lest I'm mistaken, Israel, the Holy Land, is a god damned desert.  That means producing anything is gonna be difficult, and even moreso with several countries they've bullied being out for their blood.

I'd give em...a year?  Give or take a month or two, of course.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_economy

You're WAY overestimating how much Israel depends on the US. Would withdrawing US aid hurt Israel? Yes. But not that badly. Israel's economy is actually pretty strong. Apart from grain, they're pretty much self sufficient in terms of food, and export a lot of citrus fruit. Tel Aviv is considered the second-best place for technology startups, only beaten out by Silicon Valley. Israel is also a major center for cut diamonds, and they're the 8th largest arms exporter in the world.

The US does get some benefits from its alliance with Israel. For instance, 90% of our Middle East intel comes straight from Mossad.

As for whether Israel could survive militarily without the US at its back? Considering that the US has never intervened to defend Israel in any of its wars since the War of Independence, I think they'd do OK.