The $21.7 Billion Question: Tracking Every US Dollar to Israel Since October 2023

Since October 2023, the United States has approved at least $21.7 billion in military aid to Israel, according to the Congressional Research Service and subsequent reporting. That headline number is the start of the story, not the end of it. Meridline's job is to keep it honest: where the money is authorized, what it buys, and how it stacks against the baseline America already guarantees.

The three layers of the number

US support to Israel isn't one line item. It's a baseline (the MOU's $3.8 billion a year), plus periodic supplemental appropriations that Congress votes on during conflicts, plus arms transfers and sales that move through the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. Reported separately, they blur together in headlines. Tracked separately, the picture sharpens.

Where our figures come from

We don't take a number on faith. The baseline and history come from CRS Report RL33222, the standard reference on US aid to Israel. Obligations and disbursements come from USAspending.gov and ForeignAssistance.gov. Appropriations bills come from Congress.gov. Arms transfers come from SIPRI and DSCA notifications. Each of those is a public record you can open.

Cumulatively, Israel is the largest recipient of US foreign aid since World War II — more than $300 billion when adjusted for inflation, per CRS. That long arc is the context every new supplemental sits inside.

The point isn't outrage. It's arithmetic you can check.

This piece updates as the official records do. When a new supplemental passes or a fresh arms notification posts, the figures here move with it — and the change is dated.