By Andrew Klein

March 20, 2026

For every Australian paying more at the pump. For every family whose tax dollars fund war instead of healing. For every soul who has paid the price of a grifter’s ambition.

Introduction: The Parasite and the Host

Benjamin Netanyahu has spent thirty years warning the world about existential threats. Each time, the wolf did not come. Each time, the warnings served their purpose: they justified wars, silenced critics, and kept him in power.

But wars cost. And the cost is never paid by those who start them.

This article examines the full ledger of Netanyahu’s war—what it costs Australians, what it costs Americans, what it costs the world, and what it costs the souls caught in the middle. It traces the money that flows from Australian taxpayers to Israeli settlements and military units. It documents the economic damage that will linger for years. And it asks a simple question: Who benefits?

Part One: The Economic Cost to Australia

The Fuel Price Shock

Since the US-Israeli strikes on Iran began on February 28, 2026, the Strait of Hormuz—through which 20 million barrels of oil pass daily, accounting for approximately 20% of global oil supply—has been effectively closed.

The impact on Australian motorists has been immediate and severe. Petrol prices have skyrocketed, and Treasurer Jim Chalmers has warned that Australians face a years-long economic hit similar to the Global Financial Crisis or the COVID-19 pandemic .

The numbers are stark:

Scenario Oil Price (Brent) Australian CPI Impact GDP Impact

Iranian supply only ~US$100/barrel +0.7 percentage points Marginal

1-month Strait closure ~US$113/barrel +1.0 percentage points -0.2% by end 2026

3-month Strait closure ~US$185/barrel +1.5 percentage points -0.5% by end 2026

Source: Westpac IQ / Oxford Economics analysis 

Under the worst-case scenario, petrol prices could increase by A$1.00 per litre or more .

The $18 Billion Hit

Government modelling predicts that Australia’s gross domestic product could be 0.6% lower by 2027—approximately $18 billion—if the conflict is not resolved soon. Even in the best-case scenario, the economy will not fully recover from the aftershocks of the war until 2029.

Treasurer Chalmers will reveal these figures in a speech to business economists, noting that “around half of the impact to GDP is due to the impact of higher oil. The other half is due to broader consequences”.

Inflation and Interest Rates

Inflation is already rising. Under a prolonged conflict scenario, inflation would peak 1.25 percentage points higher than previously expected—around five per cent. Under a shorter conflict, it would be at least 0.75 percentage points higher.

Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock has warned that a recession could be possible if inflation proves too hard to bring down. The bank’s ability to manage inflation is severely constrained by a supply shock it cannot control.

The Fertiliser Crisis

Australia imports over 90% of its urea—the most commonly used nitrogen fertiliser—and the Strait of Hormuz is the main route for 45% of global urea trade. Fertiliser prices have already surged, and farmers face the coming planting season without guaranteed inputs. Food prices will rise 40-50% on perishables within months.

Part Two: The Economic Cost to the World

Oil Prices

Brent crude has surged more than 70% since January, trading above US$100 per barrel . The International Energy Agency has released 400 million barrels from strategic reserves, but the price remains elevated.

US Military Costs

The war has already cost the United States billions. Pentagon officials told senators in a closed-door briefing that the war cost at least $11.3 billion in its first six days. The Department of Defense has since requested $200 billion from the White House—a sum President Trump called a “small price to pay”.

For context, the US spent $815 billion in direct costs for the entire Iraq War through 2014. This war has lasted less than three weeks.

US Arms Sales

The US has fast-tracked more than $16 billion in arms sales to Gulf states since the conflict began:

Country –  Purchase-  Estimated –  Cost

UAE Drone defence systems, missile defence radar, F-16 munitions, air-to-air missiles $8.5 billion

Kuwait Lower Tier Air and Missile Defence Sensor Radars $8 billion

Jordan Aircraft and munitions support $70.5 million

All sales were expedited under an emergency declaration by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, waiving congressional review.

Part Three: Israel’s War Budget – Priorities Revealed

While the world pays, Israel has passed a war budget that reveals its true priorities.

The Israeli government has approved an updated 2026 state budget adding approximately NIS 30 billion (US$8.3 billion) to the defence budget due to Operation Roaring Lion.

What the budget funds:

Allocation                                                                          Amount

Defence budget                                                  increase NIS 30 billion

Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) institutions      NIS 1.269 billion

West Bank settlements                                 Millions of shekels

Source: The Jerusalem Post 

Opposition leader Yair Lapid called the allocations “the most corrupt kind of political bribery for the haredi parties,” saying: “Instead of money for reservists, instead of money for young parents, instead of money for an entire country that is collapsing” .

MK Vladimir Beliak told the Knesset Finance Committee: “Your audacity keeps breaking records. Not a single minister dared vote against this disgrace”.

Part Four: The Australian Taxpayer Subsidy

While Australians pay more for fuel, food, and housing, their tax dollars are flowing to Israeli settlements and military units through a network of registered charities with deductible gift recipient (DGR) status.

How It Works

Under Australia’s tax system, donations to DGR-endorsed charities reduce a donor’s taxable income. The public indirectly contributes to the charity’s activities through foregone tax revenue.

The Charities

Chai Charitable Foundation reported more than $19 million in revenue in 2024, with the vast majority directed overseas. The charity has hosted fundraising campaigns for One People for Israel, an organisation founded by Australian-born Ari Briggs that works directly with senior IDF logistics officials to deliver helmets, protective vests, and other military equipment to Israeli soldiers. A letter dated October 14, 2023, from the IDF acknowledges that Briggs was supplying equipment to military units.

United Israel Appeal (UIA) reported $50.9 million in revenue in 2024. Through its support of the Jewish Agency for Israel, UIA helps fund the “Lone Immigrant Soldier” program, which provides grants, counselling, employment guidance, and housing assistance to immigrants who move to Israel and serve in the IDF without family support. Around 1,300 lone soldiers complete their army service each year through this program.

UIA also funds the Net@ program, which provides advanced technology training to young people. Promotional material states that graduates are “strong candidates for elite IDF units”.

Jewish National Fund Australia has remitted more than $125 million to Israel since 2009, with a portion used for settlement expansion and IDF-linked programs.

The Regulatory Failure

In March 2026, the Labor government rejected a Greens amendment that would have stripped tax-deductible status from charities found to be supporting illegal occupations.

Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi told the Senate: “The fact that people are sending money to support the war crimes of the Israeli military and to expand illegal, violent settlements in the West Bank is bad enough, but that Australian taxpayers are subsidising these settlements is completely outrageous”.

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher acknowledged a critical limitation in the government’s position: while charities must comply with Australian law, they do not have to comply with international law. The government will not compel them to.

Between October 7, 2023, and December 31, 2025, the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission received 896 concerns relating to 88 charities in connection with the Israel-Gaza conflict.

Part Five: The Human Cost

Gaza

Over 50,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, 2023. Thousands are children. Thousands more are buried under rubble, uncounted. The UN Commission of Inquiry has determined that Israel has committed and continues to commit genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Lebanon

Since March 2, 2026, at least 733 people have been killed in Lebanon, nearly 2,000 wounded, and over 822,000 displaced . In just the last 24 hours, 23 more killed—including medical personnel deliberately targeted in a primary health care center.

Iran

Since the strikes began, at least 1,500 civilians have been killed in Iran. A girls’ school in Minab was hit—more than 160 people killed, most of them children.

Israeli Casualties

On October 7, 2023, 1,200 Israelis were killed in the Hamas attack. Since then, hundreds of Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza, Lebanon, and now Iran. Thousands more are wounded, suffering from PTSD, facing a future of disability and trauma.

The Displacement Crisis

More than 4.1 million people have been internally displaced across Afghanistan, Iran, Lebanon, and Pakistan since the escalation began. Another 117,000 people have sought refuge in another country.

Part Six: The Opportunity Cost

What Could the $200 Billion US War Cost Have Bought?

The $200 billion the Pentagon has requested could have:

· Funded universal preschool in the US for a decade

· Built 2 million affordable housing units

· Cancelled student debt for every American

· Funded the entire NIH budget for 15 years

Instead, it will purchase missiles that will be fired, then replaced, then fired again.

What Could Australia’s $18 Billion GDP Loss Have Bought?

The $18 billion hit to Australian GDP could have:

· Funded the Gonski education reforms in full for five years

· Built 60,000 social and affordable homes

· Paid for the entire PBS pharmaceutical scheme for two years

· Funded the NDIS for six months

Instead, Australians will pay more for fuel, food, and housing—for years.

What Could Taxpayer-Subsidised Charitable Dollars Have Funded?

The $125 million sent by Jewish National Fund Australia since 2009, the $50.9 million sent by UIA in 2024 alone, the $19 million sent by Chai Charitable Foundation—all of it could have funded Australian schools, hospitals, housing, and community services.

Instead, it funds settlements that are illegal under international law and military equipment for soldiers fighting a war of aggression.

Part Seven: The Grifter State

Netanyahu’s Israel is the ultimate grifter state. It takes:

· American lives—13 US service members confirmed killed 

· American treasure—$11.3 billion in six days, $200 billion requested

· Australian tax dollars—subsidising settlements and IDF equipment

· Australian GDP—$18 billion lost

· Global oil stability—prices up 70%

· Global food security—fertiliser crisis unfolding

· Human lives—tens of thousands dead, millions displaced

And what does it give in return? Nothing.

It does not build allies. It does not contribute to global stability. It does not advance peace. It simply takes—and when the host weakens, it takes more.

Conclusion: The Parasite and the Host

Israel is acting with the impunity of a parasite that knows its host is dying. It is trying to achieve as much as possible before the US finally says “enough.”

But parasites that kill their hosts die too.

The question is: who builds something new afterward?

Not Netanyahu. Not the war profiteers. Not the grifters who have fed on this conflict.

The builders will be the ones who refused to participate. The ones who saw through the lies. The ones who kept their humanity when everyone around them lost theirs.

Our daughter will be one of them. So will our grandchildren. So will everyone who reads this and chooses to see.

Sources

1. The Jerusalem Post, “Gov’t approves new defence budget during war, NIS 5b. allocation to haredim, settlements,” March 10, 2026 

2. Westpac IQ, “Middle East Conflict: an initial view for Australia and New Zealand,” March 2, 2026 

3. Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention, “Revealed: Australian taxpayers subsidising the IDF, illegal settlements in Israel,” January 20, 2026 

4. Senator James Paterson, Doorstop Transcript, March 2, 2026 

5. ABC News, “Iran live updates: ‘I misled no one,’ Netanyahu says,” March 18, 2026 

6. Daily Mail Australia, “Treasurer Jim Chalmers warns of $18billion hit to Aussie economy,” March 17, 2026 

7. Michael West Media, “Charities funding Israel’s illegal settlements untouchable, Labor says,” March 18, 2026 

Published by Andrew Klein

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