Ron Kampeas
Jewish Chronicle, Feb. 14, 2024
“As Israel battles Hamas, Hezbollah, and other Iranian proxies on its borders, we are urging both Democrats and Republicans to move beyond partisan differences and support emergency funding for the Jewish state,” AIPAC spokesman Marshall Wittmann said in an email.”
Since Oct. 7, a growing number of Democrats have called for a ceasefire in Gaza, harshly criticized Israel or refused to send it more money.
But increasingly over the past few weeks, when both chambers of Congress sit down to vote, it is a faction of Republicans, allied with Donald Trump, who have impeded additional foreign aid to Israel. In control of the House of Representatives and with sway in the Senate, this group is pivoting away from something pro-Israel activists have long taken for granted: unfettered U.S. defence assistance for Israel.
That dynamic was on display on Tuesday, when the Senate passed a $95.3 billion bill to aid Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. A few Democrats voted no, protesting Israel’s conduct and the human toll of the war in Gaza. But the bulk of opposition came from Republicans, and Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said he would almost certainly not bring the Senate’s bill up for a vote.
Many of the Republicans who oppose the additional aid to Israel say they object to it on fiscal grounds — it simply costs too much alongside the government’s “unjustified, even harmful spending,” one GOP lawmaker said. Others don’t want to deliver a victory to President Joe Biden.
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