[cheeseomlit]

Not a fair comparison, Ukraine is obviously in a crisis and doesn't get that kind of money from us on a regular basis just for existing. We've been sending billions to Israel every year for decades now, in both money and military equipment. They don't get to take all that and then claim 'Zionism comes at no expense to other people' which was the original point. Not to mention a lot of that is sent due to AIPAC influence which is absurd, foreign governments should not be able to dump money into our politics to further their national interests.

[nuxai]

Have you ever heard of CAIR? You understand they've influenced billions in aid to Afghanistan, what has America gotten in return?

the anti-Israel bias on HN is absurd.

[cheeseomlit]

CAIR shouldn't be able to give money to campaigns either, and also PACs shouldn't exist- at least not as a roundabout form of political bribery. All that aside, according to opensecrets CAIR raised 80k in political funding over the past 2 years when the AIPAC raised 45 mil, they're not in the same league in terms of influence. And that's not even getting into all the state-funded social media astroturfing campaigns that have been posted about here as well. I'm not sure how any US citizen could defend these practices while also having a (warranted) conniption over election meddling when the Russians do it

I'm also disapointed that the posts for this submission were immediately mired in politics (due to one off-hand remark in the article) instead of discussing the history of this siege or even the fascinating life of Josephus, but I guess I shouldn't complain if I'm part of the problem

[cholantesh]

>what has America gotten in return

The ability to retake a small shred of moral high ground, I guess, given its role in turning Afghanistan in to a failed state.