How has US foreign aid to Israel changed year by year since 1948?
Executive summary
Since 1948 the United States has been the largest cumulative donor to Israel; official tallies in recent CRS and State Department reporting put total bilateral assistance in current dollars at roughly $130 billion–$158 billion depending on the source, and annual aid has shifted from mostly economic grants in Israel’s early decades to overwhelmingly military assistance by the 21st century [1] [2] [3]. Detailed year-by-year obligation tables exist in Congressional Research Service reports that list “Total U.S. Foreign Aid Obligations to Israel: 1946–2025,” which are the authoritative annual series cited by multiple outlets [4] [5].
1. How the record is compiled — official annual tables exist
The most reliable public record for year-by-year U.S. aid obligations to Israel is the Congressional Research Service (CRS) report “U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel: Overview and Developments since October 7, 2023,” which includes a Table 1 titled “Total U.S. Foreign Aid Obligations to Israel: 1946–2025” and is explicitly intended to provide annual data and context [4] [5]. Journalists and analysts rely on that CRS table for year-by-year numbers because it compiles obligations across economic, military, and missile-defense lines and is updated periodically [4].
2. Big-picture totals — hundreds of billions over decades
Multiple official and research sources summarize cumulative totals in current (non‑inflation‑adjusted) dollars. The State Department’s security-cooperation summary says “over $130 billion” in bilateral assistance since 1948; CRS reporting and related documents have cited totals near $158 billion in current dollars depending on cutoffs and whether missile‑defense funds are included [1] [2] [3]. Independent aggregators and media pieces echo that Israel is the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign aid [6] [7].
3. How the composition changed year by year — from economic to military
The character of U.S. aid shifted markedly across eras. In Israel’s first decades much assistance was economic and refugee-related; from the 1970s onward military assistance grew, and by the 2000s the vast majority of annual U.S. aid to Israel was military financing and missile‑defense funding. USAFacts notes that in 2022 roughly 99.7% of U.S. aid to Israel went to the military and that since 2000 over 86% of annual American aid to Israel has funded military efforts [8] [7]. CRS analysis documents an explicit change in the mix over time and provides the annual breakdowns [4] [3].
4. Why year-to-year numbers spike: wars, memoranda, and supplementals
Year-by-year fluctuations often reflect conflicts and congressional supplementals. Long-term 10‑year Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) — the 2016 MOU promising about $3.8–4 billion in annual military aid through FY2019–FY2028 — set baseline annual flows, while conflicts trigger large supplemental appropriations and expedited arms sales that create spikes [9] [2]. CRS and State Department materials discuss the 2016 MOU ($38 billion over 10 years) and note supplemental packages after major hostilities; recent years after October 2023 saw large supplemental commitments authorized by Congress [2] [4].
5. Where to get the year‑by‑year table you asked for
For an authoritative year‑by‑year listing from 1948 to the present, consult the CRS Table 1 in “U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel: Overview and Developments since October 7, 2023,” which explicitly provides “Total U.S. Foreign Aid Obligations to Israel: 1946–2025” and is available via Congress.gov [4] [5]. The CRS PDF update and the web version contain the annual obligation figures you’re asking about [3] [5].
6. Discrepancies and interpretation — cumulative totals and inflation
Different sources report different cumulative totals because of methodological choices: whether missile‑defense funds and Off Shore Procurement are included, whether dollars are inflation‑adjusted, and what end year is used. State Department says “over $130 billion” [1], while CRS reporting and derivative summaries have cited about $158 billion in current dollars up to particular cutoffs [2] [3]. Independent databases (e.g., USAFacts) compute inflation‑adjusted military‑aid totals over specific intervals, producing higher cumulative figures [8].
7. Competing narratives and agendas in the reporting
Sources carry implicit agendas and emphases. Government documents (State, CRS) present strategic rationales and program mechanics [1] [4]. Advocacy and independent outlets emphasize humanitarian, political, or economic critiques — for example arguing Israel doesn’t need assistance or that U.S. aid subsidizes certain industries — and cite the same historical numbers to advance policy views [10] [11]. Readers should note whether a source focuses on nominal totals, inflation‑adjusted totals, annual obligation tables, or programmatic breakdowns.
8. Bottom line and next steps
Available sources point you to the CRS annual table for the precise year‑by‑year numbers [4] [5]. For a simple downloadable year list, open the CRS report’s Table 1 and the PDF update; for context on composition and spikes, combine that table with State Department summaries and USAFacts or other aggregators for inflation‑adjusted comparisons [1] [8] [3]. If you want, I can extract and present the CRS Table 1 values in a year-by-year list using those official sources.