Tikvah
Editors’ Pick

November 20, 2025

Why Israel Shouldn’t Be Too Worried about Saudi Arabia Getting the F-35

This super-weapon comes with a kill switch.

In his recent conversations with Saudi Arabia’s de-facto ruler Mohammad bin Salman, Donald Trump agreed to sell the kingdom F-35s—America’s most sophisticated, and most expensive, warplanes. Even before their summit at the White House, it was widely reported that the F-35s were the price Washington was paying to get Saudi cooperation with the Gaza peace plan. The sale, however, has caused some worrying in Israel, and in the U.S.—in part because it could undermine Jerusalem’s qualitative military edge over its neighbors, guaranteed by an act of Congress. Ron Ben-Yishai comments: 

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