Reflecting the ever broadening distinction between rhetoric and reality on US-Israel ties, President Obama sought to defend criticism of Israeli policies, even as the US unveiled a massive new shipment of weapons to them.

Obama insisted that certain “political forces” were trying to equate being pro-Israel with giving a rubber stamp to any Israeli government policy, and insisted criticism was vital to the US-Israel relationship.

Which would have sounded a lot more sincere if the Pentagon hadn’t, the same day, announced approval of another $1.9 billion in arms shipments to Israel.

As usual, the planned arms shipment is being presented as a “sale,” though in practice it is all being paid for in US military aid to Israel, so Israel won’t actually be paying for the purchase itself.

So even as the White House claims to have problems with certain Israeli policies on paper, it remains business as usual for the ever-escalating military aid to them.