Why do we give Israel such a large amount of aid? The United State’s relationship with Israel is peculiar for several reasons. Israel’s population is 6 million people and it is ranked as one of the 16th wealthiest countries in the world. Israelis enjoy a per capita income higher than Ireland, Spain, or oil rich Saudi Arabia, and their combined GNP is higher than the combined GNP of Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. Israel is able to take care of itself, and it should not be such a high priority for the U.S. lawmakers and especially the taxpayers. Since 1949 the U.S. has given Israel a total of $84,854,827,200. It is hard for me to fathom the amount of taxpayer dollars that has unnecessarily went to aid a capable country. How come it is so upsetting when financially able individuals collect welfare, and not upsetting when financially able countries collect welfare. The total cost to U.S. taxpayers for this financial aid is 23,340 per Israeli.