OP-ED: What Americans and Canadians misunderstand about Israel

Canada does not provide military aid to Israel. It authorizes commercial export permits for Canadian-made defense equipment purchased by Israel.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

By: Dotan Rousso

In Canada, discussions about Israel and US assistance are often shaped by a false assumption that Israel is some kind of Western welfare state. This idea affects media narratives, campus debates, and even policymaking. But the Israel-US and the Canadian-Israel partnership has never been charity. It is a strategic arrangement that benefits American and Canadian interests as much as Israel’s.

Israel does rely on Washington for specific platforms, joint technological development, and diplomatic backing. It would survive without the United States, but not with the same level of technological advantage. Yet nothing about this relationship resembles dependency. Israel’s economy in 2024 was roughly 564 billion dollars. The annual American assistance package of 3.8 billion dollars represents only about 0.7 percent of Israel’s GDP, far too small to classify Israel as dependent (more aid was given to Israel in times of war).

To put this in perspective, operating one US aircraft carrier costs about 2.9 billion dollars annually. The entire assistance program to Israel is only slightly higher, yet Israel provides Washington with the deterrent value of many carrier groups at a fraction of the cost. Much of the assistance must also be spent in the American defense sector, meaning the funds return to American manufacturers and workers.

Canada’s military relationship with Israel is similarly misunderstood. Canada does not provide military aid to Israel. It authorizes commercial export permits for Canadian-made defense equipment purchased by Israel. According to Global Affairs Canada, in 2023, these exports totaled an insignificant amount of 30.6 million dollars, which was the highest on record. Even in 2024, when Canada paused new lethal permits, previously authorized exports amounted to about 18.9 million dollars. These transfers involve communications technology, optics, aerospace components, simulation systems, and specialized defense electronics, not taxpayer funded subsidies.

When viewed within the wider Western alliance system, the direction of benefit becomes clearer. Israel’s intelligence, its role in containing Iran, its disruption of terrorist networks, and its protection of key maritime routes directly advance Canadian and American security interests. In many areas, the strategic value Israel provides is equal to or greater than the support it receives.

This contribution is even more significant because of the region in which Israel operates. The Middle East supplies almost 30 percent of the world’s oil prodution, and it is dominated by authoritarian governments and, in many areas, deeply anti-Western public sentiment. A strong democratic ally in this environment is not optional. It is essential for the stability of the West.

Israel’s economic strength further undercuts the dependency narrative. Its GDP per capita now exceeds that of the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and many other major economies. Israel is also one of the world’s leading exporters of high tech goods and services, and the list of medical, scientific, agricultural, cyber, educational, and water technologies developed in Israel and used worldwide is so long that it is impossible to begin naming them within the space of an op ed.

Every US president, regardless of differences with Israeli leaders, has recognized that weakening this alliance would harm American power and embolden hostile states such as Iran, Russia, and China. The Obama administration, even during periods of tension, approved the largest multiyear assistance package in history because the alternative was strategically dangerous.

Israel is not a military burden on the United States or Canada. It funds and maintains its own advanced military, requires no American bases or troops, and produces technologies that strengthen Western defense capabilities. The alliance is a mutual force multiplier, not a one-way transfer of resources.

The real debate is not about generosity but about what kind of power the West intends to be. Strong alliances maintain stability. Abandoning them accelerates decline. Israel does not live off Western support. Israel reinforces the strategic, technological, and security interests of the United States and Canada, interests on which the stability of the Western world ultimately depends.

Dr. Dotan Rousso holds a Ph.D. in Law and a master’s degree in Philosophy. He is a former state criminal prosecutor in Israel, served as a legal adviser to the Israeli Parliament (the Knesset), and taught criminal law at Tel Aviv University. Currently, he is the Philosophy Course Lead at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) in Canada. His academic work spans ethics, law, and the socio-political dynamics of contemporary conflicts.