Early this morning, the House GOP leadership convinced 164 Republican
Representatives to vote against the annual bill which appropriates funding for
foreign aid, including $2.4 billion for Israel (which receives nearly 50% of all
military aid - the most of any country). In a letter to Congressional staff
from the leadership office, Republicans were told: "Please advise your boss that
Leadership will be voting NO on final passage of the Democrats' State and
Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, and strongly encourage Republican
Members to do the same."
I
am a t loss as to the real reason behind this opposition to aid to Israel. We
welcome the move, however, You can bet your last penny that that the pro
Israel lobby has not ceased doing what it does best in similar situations: tell
Congress that they are wrong and that Israel defends America's interest in the
region and therefore it must get the annual aid. Historically, the foreign aid
bill has traditionally been a top priority of the pro-Israel lobby. While it
has drawn bipartisan support for years, Conservatives often used the issue in
prior years for cynical political purposes. The GOP leadership's decision to
oppose foreign aid this year could be seen as an election-year maneuver. Most of
the NJ Democratic representatives voted for the aid bill. Republican Congressman
Garrett voted NO!. Click
here
to read the furious pro-Israeli response to this development view our press
release, available .
