To the best of my knowledge, the TOTAL aid package to Israel is classified and hidden in various agencies' budgets: the Pentagon, through Treasury and Agriculture, to the State Dept and the CIA's 'black budget' that includes a yearly $1 billion to assist Israeli intelligence.

This classification wears a fig leaf of 'national security', but the real reason to keep it out of the public domain is that neither U.S. politicians nor the Israeli lobby want the U.S. public to know the full extent of our aid to Israel. We might start asking questions.

The Pentagon also funnels hundreds of millions in research grants to Israeli universities, think tanks and manufacturers. Many of our most sophisticated communications systems were invented in Israel with U.S. grants. The goal of the Pentagon neo-cons was to integrate our two economies to such an extent that we would never be able to separate them.

I'm afraid the figures above giving the amounts of economic aid are wildly misleading.

Israel has been the top recipient of U.S. economic aid (and military as well) since the Camp David Accords. Israel receives $5 illion each year in 'budgetary support" --cash, no questions asked. Plus millions in soft loans whose interest is usually forgiven. This money has been financing Israeli settlements for years.

Congress recently approved, without any floor debate, $30 additional billions for Israel, spread over 10 years.

Also since Camp David, Egypt has received $3 billion per year, but with strings attached, in addition to regular USAID and Peace Corps projects (well digging, agriculture expertise, etc).

The problem with the figures obtained from USAID is that USAID has become so politicized, especially when it comes to Israel, that their statistics are pretty much worthless.

Excellent graph though I would have liked to have seen a few more developing democracies higher on the list. Afghanistan shouldn't be 6th either, we should be spending more there.