11 thoughts on “Saudi Arabia Finances Most of Israel’s Weapons Build-Up Against Iran – Tikun Olam תיקון עולם إصلاح العالم
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  1. Richard, if indeed Netanyahu is using Ma’ariv to send a message to Obama, isn’t he also inadvertently sending a message to Iran? Do you think such a message would give the Iranian leadership pause, maybe galvanize Iran to mending fence with the West? That is one positive thing that could come out of such machinations.

    Isaac Shahak regarded the Hebrew press as a protected inner sanctum where Israeli politicians and military men could kick back and brag about their accomplishments. Do you think this view is outdated or never held water to begin with? Please respond. These are questions which keep me awake at night.

    1. @ brenda: What you say is possible. I think Iran realizes Bibi & the Saudis would cut Iran’s heart out in a minute if they could. So perhaps the offer of the west might seem quite attractive. But I think the offer has to be one the Iranians can live with without losing face or their nuclear program entirely. I’m guessing the Iranians are also quite fatalistic & fully prepared that there could be such a war.

      I’ve written a lot about the Israeli press here. I think there are some good, serious reporters who I’ve mentioned here. They deserve respect. But there are so many who coast and act as stenographers for whoever’s in power. They feed at the trough, sniff out their tidbits & dutifully regurgitate them on command. The awful economics of the newspaper industry in Israel exacerbate the problem.

      I wish there were more of the former & less of the latter.

  2. Wonder if poor Pres. Obama, with I/P here and Ukraine there, and Tea-Party elsewhere, cna get any sort of act together. Kerry apparently giving up, as is expected. But could Obama speak to Saudi Arabia, or is that as troubling as speaking to Putin? Or BB?

  3. It seems to me unlikely the Saudis would do anything like this without American approval. Their backs are not covered by Israel but he US.

    1. @ Davey: I disagree. The Saudis are disgusted with Obama & the overture to Iran. They’re in the same boat as Israel, feeling betrayed by America’s refusal to go head to head against the Ayatollahs!

      1. I agree. The Saudis think they can thumb their nose at the US—not because the US needs their oil, we don’t any more,we could easily replace the 25% of the oil we get from the ME elsewhere—-but any reduction of availability from the ME would hamstring other countries and affect the global economy which would then affect the US.
        So that’s their leverage. The new Saudi crown prince, the one slotted to replace the King is a real hard-ass—he announced his goal as the ‘protection of the Saudi throne at all cost.’

  4. The difficulty I have with the article is that while I agree the Isrealis and Saudis collective interests match up – Isreal is not in need of a “new sugar daddy”. While 30 or 40 years ago Isreal needed donations, that is no longer accurate. On a per capita basis Isreal has one of the highest ratios of USD equivalent millionaires (exclusive of real estate) right up there with Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Singapore. Their high tech prowess is legendary and they have recently discovered huge off shore gas fields. So while the Isreali – Saudi alliance is more likely than not – your premise that Isreal needs funding is completely off base so it makes you wonder about the rest of the report.

    1. So you think Israel can come up with a few billion dollars to take on a task like this? How much do you know about Israel’s budget? Not very much. Do you know how tight that budget is? How little funding Israel has for critical tasks like education, health, etc.

      Of course, Israel has millionaires & billionaires. But most of them avoid taxes just as those in the U.S. do. Except that in Israel the tax regime is even more lax than here. Offshore accounts in Jersey and elsewhere are common place. Even Bibi is reputed to have them.

      Further, offshore gas deposits are not yet productive. Billions are required, in fact, to explore them.

      Next time, before casting aspersion on my reporting you might ask questions that would educate you about the issues on which you’re claiming expertise.

  5. One billion dollars to carry out some assassinations and plant a virus? The figure seems a little high.
    Most likely, the billion dollar story is disinformation.

  6. In the past Israel destroyed Iraq’s nuclear facility at Osirak. If you read the book two minutes over Baghdad, then see the Saudis were happy with that happening.

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