The United States spent at least $22.76 billion funding Israel’s military operations in the year following the Oct. 7 attacks, a new analysis from Brown University has found. And that’s a conservative estimate.
This continued support comes despite international outcry over the genocide Israel is committing in Gaza. Another report from Brown’s Cost of War project estimates well over 100,000 people have died in Gaza during the same period.
In her latest Vibe Check video, Zeteo contributor Kat Abughazaleh, with her typical mix of snark and irreverence, explores some of the countless ways the Biden administration could have used that money to address pressing (and some less pressing) needs:
We could fund FEMA’s entire response and recovery budget this year 82 times over.
Or Doctors Without Borders 30 times.
We could fund every US public library for a year and a half.
Or we could also just give every American $65.
“$22 billion is a lot of money and it’s coming from your pocket.” Abughazaleh notes. “So think about it: How do you want your money to be spent? ”
Watch the video above and let us know what you think that money should have been used for.
What $23 Billion to Israel Could Have Paid For, Instead of Bombs