(Israel Policy Forum) Michael Koplow - The recent House vote on $1 billion in supplemental Iron Dome funding - 420 in favor, 9 opposed, 2 present - is even more one-sided than it looks. The vote was commonly portrayed as part of the Obama-era MOU that provides $3.8 billion in annual security assistance to Israel, but the Iron Dome request was a supplemental funding request coming on top of the $500 million for missile defense that is part of the annual $3.8 billion. Despite all the attention that cutting, conditioning, or restricting security assistance to Israel has received, only eight House Democrats voted against providing even more security assistance to Israel. It is difficult to look at this vote and still credibly talk about the Democratic Party having been taken over by anti-Zionism. The vote also reveals the overreach in trying to portray Israel in the same light as the globe's worst actors and serial human rights violators; it is not a portrayal that aligns with policymakers or with the sentiments of most Americans. The lesson is that there is and will remain wall-to-wall support for Israeli security when it is unambiguously clear that security is indeed the issue. Those who want to downgrade the U.S.-Israel relationship will get nowhere with spurious charges and legislative overreach. The writer is policy director of the Israel Policy Forum in Washington.
2021-10-04 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive