The Burning Questions: LA Fire Cuts vs. Billions for Israel and Ukraine
As Los Angeles battles historic wildfires, residents are demanding accountability for why the city’s fire department faced budget cuts while greater disaster preparedness measures were overlooked. These frustrations have fueled questions about the prioritization of aid to Israel and Ukraine.
Just months before the wildfires ravaged the city, LA Mayor Karen Bass approved the budget for the next fiscal year, which included a $17.5 million reduction to the fire department’s funding. The department’s budget slashed to $819.64 million, prompted warnings from Fire Chief Kristin Crowley, who cautioned that the cuts were already impeding emergency response capabilities.
All of this comes amid a revelation that the State of California has sent approximately $610 million in taxpayer funds to Israel, making it the most significant state contributor to Israeli aid in the U.S. This disparity gained attention online after Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson suggested imposing conditions on federal disaster relief for Los Angeles.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson has been a staunch advocate of unconditional aid for Israel, notably championing a $74 billion aid package in April 2024 that included $60 billion for Ukraine and $14 billion for Israel, despite mounting public and congressional pressure to curtail such transfers. Specifically, the Leahy Law, named after its author, former Senator Patrick Leahy, prohibits the transfer of military aid to nations credibly accused of committing human rights abuses. In a recent Washington Post op-ed, Leahy urged that the law be applied to Israel, arguing that ongoing rights violations demand accountability and adherence to U.S. legal standards.
In October 2024, U.S. President Joe Biden drafted a $100 billion aid package for Ukraine and Israel—a striking coincidence, as this is the same amount now proposed to confront the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles. The announcement of a one-time payment of $770 to each wildfire victim by the administration has drawn mixed reactions, with some calling it a necessary gesture while others see it as woefully inadequate. This announcement came mere days after the White House informed Congress of its intention to send an additional $8 billion in military aid to Israel.
Although the aid package isn’t a cash handout to Israelis, the cost of the military aid package would be the equivalent of handing each Israeli over $820. Israel is the largest recipient of U.S. aid in history, amounting to a total of over $250 billion in American taxpayers’ dollars, at least $25 billion of which has been publicly disclosed to have been sent since the beginning of the war in Gaza. At a time when U.S. domestic crises demand urgent attention, the government’s unwavering commitment to foreign aid for Israel continues unabated.
The concern extends beyond monetary figures. Cities across the U.S. struggle to provide safe drinking water, veterans face mounting suicides due to inadequate access to healthcare, and Los Angeles grapples with a homelessness crisis. Experts estimate that $22 billion—roughly equivalent to the aid Israel received in a year—could eliminate homelessness in LA over the course of a decade. Meanwhile, Israelis enjoy clean drinking water year-round and are even expanding their control to include six key water sources in southern Syria, in contravention of international law.
Feature photo | Locals help a firefighter stretch a hose as an apartment building burns, Jan. 8, 2025, in the Altadena section of Pasadena, Calif. Chris Pizzello | AP
Robert Inlakesh is a political analyst, journalist and documentary filmmaker currently based in London, UK. He has reported from and lived in the occupied Palestinian territories and hosts the show ‘Palestine Files’. Director of ‘Steal of the Century: Trump’s Palestine-Israel Catastrophe’. Follow him on Twitter @falasteen47
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