Israel's Booming Economy Puts Billions In US Aid Under Spotlight
By Martin Fletcher, Correspondent, NBC News
TEL AVIV, Israel -- Boosted by newly discovered natural resources, Israel is surging ahead economically – a success that is pushing the issue of the country's $3 billion in annual aid from the United States onto the agenda.
The country made its first intervention in the foreign currency market in almost two years Tuesday, buying $100 million to peg back the growing strength of its shekel. A Bloomberg survey this week said the shekel was the strongest of 31 major currencies tracked over the last six months.
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The boom may give a louder voice to calls for a reduction to the $3 billion worth of financial assistance Israel receives from the U.S. each year – especially in the Washington, where budget battles continue.
U.S. campaign groups such as Stop The Blank Check and the Council for the National Interest have long campaigned for the aid program to end, but Republican Sen. Rand Paul recently joined the debate by saying the U.S. could no longer afford to keep borrowing money and then handing it out to others.
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http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/14/17690032-israels-booming-economy-puts-billions-in-us-aid-under-spotlight
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