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A group of far-left lawmakers – including Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) And Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) – forced the Democratic House leadership on Tuesday to cut $ 1 billion for Israel’s Iron Dome from a government short-term funding bill.
The language removal from a continuing resolution that would keep the federal lights on until early December prompted an urgent appeal from Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) .
Lapid tweeted that Hoyer had reassured him that the cut was a “technical postponement” and that the aid “will be transferred soon.”
“I thanked majority leader Hoyer for his commitment and stressed to him the need to approve the request as soon as possible to ensure Israel’s security needs,” Lapid tweeted, who added that his government was in the process of “rebuilding a relationship of trust with Congress” after it was “neglected” by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
On Tuesday evening, Hoyer announced that he would present a stand-alone Iron Dome funding bill to the House before the end of this week, telling his colleagues, “I was all for that. I’m still in favor, we should do it.
Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, told reporters earlier Tuesday that Iron Dome funding would be added to the annual defense spending bill, but then chose to back it by as a stand-alone measure.
“The United States must fully respect its commitments to our friend and ally, Israel,” said DeLauro.
Members of the “squad” had threatened to withhold their support for the bill if the provision was not removed. With Democrats holding an eight-seat majority in the House, they can’t afford three members of their conference to vote against a measure before it is defeated.
Moderate House Democrats have criticized their progressive colleagues for their anti-Israel stance, arguing that the Iron Dome is not an offensive weapon but rather a defense mechanism intended to protect civilians against rocket attacks by Islamist militant groups.
Representative Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), A member of the House Armed Services Committee who worked at the Pentagon and the CIA, tweeted that removing funding language from legislation was “devoid of substance and irresponsible.”
“Iron Dome is a purely * defensive * system – it protects civilians when hundreds of rockets are fired at population centers,” she wrote. “Whatever your take on the Israeli-Pal[estinian] conflict, the use of a system that has just saved hundreds if not thousands of lives as political gossip is problematic. “
Slotkin added that the billion dollars in question “is not new funding, or unusual funding, or a rushed increase in funding.
“All of this is information available to the public,” she concluded. “So targeting Iron Dome now means that the problem is not a real concern with the system, but rather the desire to attack something – anything – related to the State of Israel; it is devoid of substance and irresponsible.
Prominent centrist Rep Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) echoed Slotkin’s sentiments.
“The Iron Dome protects innocent civilians in Israel from terrorist attacks and some of my colleagues have now blocked its funding,” Gottheimer tweeted. “We must stand with our historic ally – the only democracy in the Middle East. “
Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) Tweeted that providing support to Israel was essential due to its recent change of government.
“4,400 rockets were fired against Israel last spring. Iron Dome defended Israel, saving lives on both sides of the border. The United States was with Israel then, and we are now with Israel. I supported the funding of Iron Dome in the Czech Republic. I will make sure Iron Dome is funded this year, ”he said in a statement.
“Israel has a new government with the largest government coalition imaginable, including Arab parties. Israelis and Palestinians are talking to each other again. The Abrahamic Accords change the dynamics of the entire region. All progress begins and depends on security. And security relies on funding from Iron Dome.
Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, told reporters that Iron Dome funding will be added to the annual defense spending bill, which will be considered separately from the resolution. In progress.
“The United States must fully respect its commitments to our friend and ally, Israel,” said DeLauro.
Republicans were quick to take hold of the movement, accusing Democrats of turning their backs on the Jewish state.
“As Democrats capitulate to the anti-Semitic influence of their radical members, Republicans will always stand with Israel,” tweeted parliamentary minority leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
Republican House Conference Speaker Elise Stefanik (R-NY) tweeted that Democrats “do NOT support Israel. Instead, they choose to side with the Hamas Caucus wing of their party.
“Republicans strongly support our ally Israel and the funding of #IronDome,” she added.
Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the highest-ranking member of the House of Representatives ‘foreign affairs committee, said in a statement he was “appalled” by the Democrats’ decision.
“Just a few months ago, Israel was attacked by more than 4,000 rockets launched by Hamas,” he said. “The Iron Dome saved lives and helped limit civilian casualties during this terrifying escalation. There is strong bipartisan support to provide our friend and ally Israel with the tools to defend against future threats and I urge the Democratic leadership to reconsider this dangerous decision.
While all members of the “Squad” have criticized Israel in the past, Omar has a history of particularly anti-Semitic rhetoric.
In 2019, she tweeted that the relationship between the United States and Israel was “all about the Benjamins.” When asked who she thinks was paying American politicians to support Israel, Omar replied “AIPAC”, referring to the United States Committee on Israel’s Public Affairs.
Omar then deleted the tweet and offered his apologies, as well as his thanks to his colleagues “who educate me on the powerful history of anti-Semitic tropes.”
In June of this year, Omar tweeted that “[w]We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the United States, Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan and the Taliban, ”an equivalence that sparked an uproar among her colleagues who urged her to“ clarify ”her statement.
Omar initially responded by accusing his fellow Democrats of using “Islamophobic tropes”. In a subsequent statement, the lawmaker asserted that she “in no way equates terrorist organizations with democratic countries with well-established judicial systems”.
Although she retracted her statement, Omar told CNN in an interview at the end of June that she did not regret making the initial comment and claimed that colleagues who criticized her ” have not been partners with justice. They haven’t been, you know, also engaged in the pursuit of justice in the world.
The Iron Dome funding dispute came just before the vote on the short-term spending bill, which faces an uphill battle in the Senate due to its wording to increase the government’s spending limit federal.
Top Republicans said the measure lacked the support it needed to pass the upper house.
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