Imagine someone at work warns you that a colleague is actively trying to undermine your position, giving you the heads-up you need to counter the threat and save your job. What is that single piece of intelligence worth to you? If your salary is $50,000, $100,000, or $150,000 a year, compound that value over the rest of your career. The economic benefit of that information is extraordinary.
That is the exact dynamic American Jews face when attempting to communicate the value of the intelligence Israel shares with the United States and our allies. While difficult to calculate precisely, its value is immeasurably high—a fact well understood across the national security community.
I bring this up because a political ad recently caught my attention supporting Michigan political figure Abdul El-Sayed. The ad claims residents in Michigan cannot afford groceries because the U.S. subsidizes Israel’s military. It is an exceptionally aggressive and misleading narrative.
Looking at the actual data, U.S. assistance to Israel represents a very small portion of the overall foreign aid budget. Furthermore, nearly all of those funds return directly to the American economy through the purchase of U.S.-manufactured defense products—it operates essentially as a reinvestment in domestic industry.
The remaining portion accounts for less than one percent of total foreign assistance. An honest presentation of the issue would evaluate all foreign assistance proportionally. However, the intent behind such messaging is not to address domestic food security, but rather to disrupt the U.S.–Israel alliance at a deeply visceral, emotional level—and the average viewer rarely pauses to verify the claims.
This points to a broader, systemic issue in our education system. At synagogue recently, I met a middle school girl and her parents. When I asked her about her favorite subject in school, her expression went blank. Her parents proudly noted that her public school was top-tier, but the student was visibly checked out. I told her directly: “The best thing you can do is take charge of your own education and hold your teachers to a higher standard. You deserve better.”
Instantly, her face lit up. So many young people are being disengaged by rigid, agenda-driven curricula that substitute ideology for rigorous instruction. To build a strong future, our schools must move away from top-down narratives and return to teaching true critical thinking.
When we teach children how to think rather than what to think, we raise adults who analyze the facts for themselves instead of falling victim to divisive political propaganda.
