I think ever since the U.N. voted a resolution in the 70's that equated zionism with racism, it has lost all credibility as being an Arab-influenced organization in terms of the majority of votes. There has been dozens, if not hundreds, of similar infamous U.N. resolutions over the years, culminating in Durban (wasn't it a U.N sponsored conference?) a couple of years ago. I'm sure a quick internet search can supply the whole list. Hope that answers your question.
As far as Israel being able to sustain itself economically without U.S. aid, I don't know. All I can is I'm sure they've learned from history that alliances can switch and thus not to rely on anybody else for survival. Laurent
