From Military.com:
“House OKs $1 Billion for
Israel's Iron Dome Defense System”
The House overwhelming passed a
bill Thursday to provide $1 billion for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense
system as Democrats moved to quash criticism from Republicans that their party
is wavering in support of Israel. Democrats initially sought to put the Iron
Dome funding in legislation this week to fund the government past Sept. 30, but
removed it after some members of the caucus objected. Leadership moved quickly
to instead provide the aid in a separate, stand-alone bill. It passed by a vote
of 420-9. “This bill demonstrates Congress’s commitment to our friend and ally
Israel is bipartisan and ironclad,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the
Democratic chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.
The U.S. began financially
supporting Israel’s development of the Iron Dome system about a decade ago and
has provided about $1.6 billion for its production and maintenance, according
to the Congressional Research Service. The system is designed to intercept and
destroy short-range rockets fired into Israel. DeLauro said the U.S. committed
in a 2016 memorandum of understanding with Israel to replenish the Iron Dome
and that the money provided by the U.S. is “limited to a system that is
entirely defensive.” Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., had accused
Democrats when stripping out the $1 billion from the earlier bill of sending a
message around the world that they “no longer stand with the people of Israel
in their mission to defend themselves from terrorist attacks.”
The Israel defense issue splits
Democrats, but they pushed back forcefully on the GOP’s attempts to portray
them as anti-Israel. “There are some few that won’t support this, but the
overwhelming majority of this Congress — not in a partisan way but in an
American way — will support defending the Democratic state of Israel,” said
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., a daughter of
Palestinian immigrant parents, was the lone lawmaker to speak against the
funding, saying that Congress should also be talking about the Palestinian need
for security from Israeli attacks. She said the money represented an “absurd
and unjustifiable” increase in funding for the Iron Dome. She also called
Israel “an apartheid regime,” provoking strong condemnation from Democratic
Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla. He rejected that description and said the
characterization was “consistent with those who advocate for the dismantling of
the one Jewish state in the world. ”Her criticism also gave an opening to
Republicans. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., said “they have a vocal minority
in the majority party that is anti-Israel, that is anti-Semitic and as
Americans we can never stand for that.” The bill would need to be approved by
the Senate before it can be signed into law.
^ This should not have ever been
used by the Democrats as a bargaining chip. Shame on you Democrats! ^
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