Emanuel, whose father was born in Jerusalem and who volunteered as a civilian with the Israeli army during the Gulf War in the 1990s, told Maher that Israel should be able to fund its own military \u2014 and implied that it might not meet the United States\u2019 standards for being able to purchase US-made weapons.<\/p>\n
\u201cIsrael is a very wealthy nation. There should be no more taxpayer support for what they want to do and they get the same deal that any one of our allies do,\u201d Emanuel said. \u201cThey have to abide by the laws of the United States if they\u2019re going to buy X weapons, and that\u2019s how it should be constructed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t In January, Netanyahu said for the first time that he wanted to \u201ctaper off\u201d US military aid to Israel over the next decade until it reaches zero. His pledge was quickly met with support from South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who said at the time, \u201cWe need not wait 10 years.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking of the joint US-Israeli war in Iran, Emanuel said the move amounted to a \u201cviolation of a rule Israel\u2019s had for 78 years,\u201d arguing that Israel had long sought to avoid pulling the United States into conflicts with its neighbors.<\/p>\n \u201cThe United States should never spill any blood for the State of Israel\u2019s security,\u201d Emanuel said. \u201cWhat happened here going into Iran with the United States and Israel fighting together, which has never happened in 78 years, is a major change in policy for the State of Israel, which comes with political risk, and now they\u2019re seeing it.\u201d<\/p>\n US President Donald Trump has denied Israel talked him into launching the war and on Monday hit out<\/a> at a report saying Netanyahu influenced his decision, calling it \u201cfake news\u201d while adding that the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel from Gaza further contributed to his \u201clifelong opinion that IRAN CAN NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON.\u201d<\/p>\n Netanyahu has repeatedly derided the idea that he dragged the US into war with Iran, similarly calling it \u201cfake news,\u201d and insisting that Trump only bases his decisions on \u201cwhat he thinks is good for America.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomes then White House Chief-of-Staff Rahm Emmanuel at the PM\u2019s office in Jerusalem,on May 26 2010. (Ariel Jerozolimski\/Flash 90)<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tYou appreciate our wartime journalism\t\t\t<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/DH-new-headshot-circular-200x200.png\" "\\"\\"\/")
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David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel<\/p>\n
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