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Culture War Roundup for the week of October 2, 2023

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Israel has a GDP of about half a trillion dollars. So if we're talking US aid of 3 billion, remittances of another billion, maybe another billion from other sources, that's getting us to around 1% of GDP. Let's be generous and double that.

Their GDP growth last year was 6.5%, and it averages around 4%. So entirely losing that international support theoretically might halve their growth rate. That's a kick in the teeth, but not an existential threat.

Of course if things get really dire, they can insist that the Orthodox actually work for a living. The politics don't support that outcome currently, but politics can change in response to circumstance.

Given that we're currently talking about a hypothetical situation where Israel pisses off the entire Arab world and simultaneously loses western support, how much of that remaining economic activity would be unaffected by the war and combat? I think that there's a significant portion of the Israeli economy that's dependent on foreign companies - Nvidia, Intel, etc. The software industry would be badly hurt by all this as well. This means that beyond the immediate hit of losing western support, a lot of the Israeli companies dependent upon the west and international trade would be secondary victims. Followed by the even bigger economic hit associated with having to fight a massive war with all the arab nations around them that hate them, I just don't see any realistic way for Israel to survive without western security guarantees or assistance. It isn't like they could turn to other big powers for help either - though I haven't been able to really confirm it, I've seen reports that Hamas planned this attack with Huawei phones, and if true that doesn't paint a very good picture for future Sino-Israeli relations! Throw in the civil unrest caused by conscripting the orthodox or forcing them into labour (and exactly how skilled are they going to be anyway?) and I don't think you have a recipe for a long-lasting nation. Maybe we'll just have to agree to disagree on this front, but I think that the reluctance of the Israeli government to just go and holocaust the Palestinians is a sign that at least some of the people actually in charge there agree with me.

There's a big gap between a survivable situation and a desirable situation. It is good for Israel to maintain western support, and they clearly tailor their actions at least somewhat to reduce international backlash.

As to whether they can fight a war against all their neighbours simultaneously without American assistance, well, it was a while ago but they did exactly that in 1948.

As to whether they can fight a war against all their neighbours simultaneously without American assistance, well, it was a while ago but they did exactly that in 1948.

I think that there's a big difference between 1948 and the modern day, but it isn't like we can actually find out unless Israel does commit an atrocity so terrible that they become an international pariah - which I fervently hope does not happen.