Source: The American Conservative
by Andrew Day
“An ancient text sheds light on the ethics of America’s continued military aid to Israel. In Plato’s Republic, Socrates imagines a scenario in which a man has borrowed weapons from a friend who subsequently goes mad. Should the man give back the weapons, as pledged? Socrates believed that he should weigh the debt obligation against the potential harms of returning what was owed. In this case, as Socrates sought to show his interlocutors, justice requires withholding weapons from a friend who poses a danger to himself and others. The same logic applies to America’s military aid to its ally Israel, which has acted with a degree of violent recklessness in Gaza lacking any precedent in modern times. Indeed, this real-world case is clearer cut than the one imagined by Socrates, since the U.S. does not ‘owe’ Israel any weapons at all.” (05/20/25)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/cut-israel-off-for-its-own-sake/