Rep Thomas Massie R-KY, Rep Greg Casar D-TX, and Sen Bernie Sanders I-VT are some of the leaders in congress who are leading efforts to cut the funding for the Israeli Defense Forces while they continue their campaigns of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity on the Palestinian people in Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Lebanon. I called Rep Suhas Subramanyam's D-VA DC office about his continued support of military aid to Israel and his complicity in Israel's genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity on Palestinians demanding he support stopping funding for the IDF and all Israeli security forces until they stop committing genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity on Palestinians. Please sign Demand Progresses' petition to the US Congress telling them to cut the $3.3 billion from the NSRP and to stop supporting Israel until they stop committing genocide and these crimes and abuses on Palestinians, and then if you can e mail your representative and senators. Below is the e mail I sent to Rep Subramanyam and to Sen Warner D-VA and Sen Kaine D-VA. The articles are from Responsible Statecraft and Council on Foreign Relations.....
 |
Democrats in Congress are split over a vote on $3.3 billion in funding for Israel's military.1
For some, the choice is clear. Rep. Greg Casar stated that he would vote to block the funding. "The Israeli government committed war crimes in Gaza and helped drag America into war with Iran," he said. "Americans should not be financing more weapons" for Israel.2
Other House lawmakers remain undecided — though the tide seems to be turning even among historically staunchly pro-Israel Democrats. Why? Because American support for Israel is plummeting amongst the general public. Congress must take a stand and end U.S. complicity with Israel's atrocities in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran NOW.
Sign the petition: Vote YES to reject $3.3 billion in U.S. funding for the Israeli military!
Israel has committed atrocities in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran with the full backing of the U.S. government despite only 16% of Americans supporting unconditional aid to Israel.3 Despite so-called ceasefires, Israel continues occupying large parts of Lebanon, and carries out near-daily attacks on Gaza.
The U.S. Senate has shown historic support for ending unconditional weapons sales to Israel in recent months. We need to carry that momentum to this House vote.
Our lawmakers must end U.S. support for Israel's relentless violence in the Middle East.
Sign the petition: No more U.S. tax dollars for Israel's genocidal violence!
Thanks for taking action,
Joey and the team at Demand Progress
Sources:
- Politico, "Democrats are 'looking for guidance' on Israel. Hakeem Jeffries isn’t giving any at the moment," July 6, 2026.
- Common Dreams, "Progressive Caucus Leader Backs Amendment to Cut Off Billions in US Military Aid to Israel," June 30, 2026.
- Responsible Statecraft, "Massie moves to strike $3.3B in Israel military aid from the budget," June 24, 2026.
I demand you sponsor and support Rep Thomas Massie's amendment to HR 8595 removing $3.3 billion from the NSRP for the Israeli Defense Forces. You have been a long time participant in the murders of American Palestinians in the West Bank as well as a long time participant in the genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity being waged by the IDF and all other Israeli security services along with illegal Israeli settlers against Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Lebanon. It is time for you to end your complicity in these crimes, time for you to condemn the neo-nazi fascist Israeli reich no matter how much you have been paid by aipac and all other pro genocide, pro war crimes, and pro crimes against humanity pro Israeli pacs and organizations. I also expect you to work with the entire Virginia delegation to sponsor and support Rep Massie's amendment in the House and like legislation in the Senate.
MASSIE MOVES TO STRIKE $3.3B IN ISRAELI AID FROM THE BUDGET
The House Rules Committee has advanced an amendment by Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) to strip $3.3 billion in funding for the Israel Defense Forces from the federal budget.
That means that as early as Thursday, every member of the House will have to vote on the proposal. Constituents will have the opportunity to see if their member will vote to end U.S. funding for Israel, or continue it.
The funds targeted would come out of the National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act (NSRP), the bill that funds the State Department, international development assistance, and global organizations.
Although the amendment is unlikely to pass, it will require members of Congress to decide if they want to be seen as advocating for a continuation of the U.S.-Israel relationship, or a new approach. As Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) tweeted, only 16% of Americans support unconditional aid to Israel.
For members on the right, they will have to explain to their constituents why they are voting to continue sending billions of taxpayer dollars to a foreign country that just dragged the U.S. into an unnecessary war with Iran, spiking gas prices for ordinary Americans before ending in military defeat. Even 51% of Republicans, in addition to three-quarters of Democrats, now say that Israel exerts too much sway over U.S. foreign policy. For Republicans who voted for an “America First” foreign policy, the blank check to Israel has become harder to defend.
For members on the left, they will have to justify why the U.S. continues to enable Israel’s horrifying violence against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, its occupation of Lebanon and Syria, and its attacks on seven countries over the past year, including Qatar, a major non-NATO U.S. ally. By providing Israel with billions in aid no matter how destabilizing its behavior, no matter how many international bodies and organizations accuse it of genocide and atrocities, Washington encourages Israel to behave even more aggressively.
Whereas if a significant portion of members vote in favor of the Massie amendment, even if it does not pass, this could send an important signal to Israel that it might want to rethink its bellicosity towards the rest of the region. This could be especially useful in an election year, as Israelis head to the polls to select a new leader, likely not Benjamin Netanyahu. In the absence of any such messaging from Washington, Israelis will continue their current trajectory: futilely trying to create security through violence.
Yet instead of sending that signal to Israel, many in Congress will likely stick to their AIPAC provided talking points.
For example, AIPAC asserts that the U.S. and Israel share security interests in the Middle East. This point is harder to make in the midst of the Trump administration’s efforts to avoid a return to open conflict with Iran by implementing the MOU, while the Israeli Defense Minister stated that Israel will continue to occupy and attack Lebanon, a clear attempt to reignite the war.
Another talking point asserts that the U.S.-Israel relationship is good for American jobs. However even according to the American Jewish Committee, the relationship only directly enables 20,000 jobs, or .012% of the U.S. workforce.
Moreover, supporters like to argue that without $3.3 billion from Washington, Israel would be defenseless. Yet Israel recently overtook the U.K. to become the seventh biggest exporter of arms and weaponry. Israel has broken its own record for arms exports every year for the past five years, reaching $19.2 billion in sales in 2025. Clearly, Israel has more than enough spare defense capacity.
The perception that Israel needs U.S. support or it will face an existential threat is fading, replaced with concerns about what U.S. money has enabled Israel to do and whether that reflects U.S. interests. Poll after poll has demonstrated a fundamental shift in American opinions. A Sienna/New York Times poll in May showed that almost three-quarters of Democratic voters oppose U.S. military aid to Israel. While a majority of Republicans continue to support the aid, younger Republicans increasingly question the scale.
In terms of the U.S.-Israel relationship more broadly, in April, the Pew Research Center found that a record 60% of American adults now have an unfavorable view of Israel, up from 53% just last year. Massie’s amendment reflects this shift.
And yet this may be the last time such a vote is possible. Proponents of Israel aid are pushing to remove it from the category of direct military assistance, which is appropriated through the NSRP, to the category of defense contracts, which Congress does not vote on. Massie, along with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and co-sponsors Jim McGovern, Chuy Garcia, Rashida Tlaib, and Don Beyer, are trying to strip that amendment, section 219 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), in order to prevent the integration of the U.S. and Israel defense industrial sectors.
It is precisely the shift in public opinion, and the desire to reduce aid to Israel, that is driving the effort by Israel to shield funding for Israel’s military from public opposition. The vote on Massie’s amendment, to be taken up as early as Thursday, even if it doesn’t pass, will be revealing — for who does and who doesn’t vote for it.
U.S. Aid to Israel in Four Charts
- Updated
The United States was the first country to recognize the provisional government of the state of Israel upon its founding in 1948, and for many decades it has been a strong and steady supporter of the Jewish state. Israel has received hundreds of billions of dollars in U.S. foreign aid in the post–World War II era, a level of support that reflects many factors, including a U.S. commitment to Israel’s security and the countries’ shared foreign policy interests in a volatile and strategically important part of the world. Israel is also a leading buyer of U.S. weapons systems via traditional arms sales.
The two countries do not have a mutual defense pact, as the United States has with allies such as Japan and fellow members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). However, Israel is among a short list of “major non-NATO allies” and also has privileged access to the most advanced U.S. military platforms and technologies.
In 2024, U.S. military aid to Israel soared to its highest level in decades during Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza. The conflict was sparked by Hamas’s October 2023 attack that killed approximately twelve hundred Israelis—the deadliest in the country’s history. More than sixty-five thousand Palestinians, including a large share of civilians, have died in the conflict,according to the United Nations and the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. U.S. military support also proved essential during Israel’s recent hostilities with Hezbollah in Lebanon and with Iran, helping Israel significantly degrade the military capabilities of its longtime rivals.
How much U.S. aid does Israel receive?
Israel has been the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign aid since its founding, receiving over $300 billion (adjusted for inflation) in total economic and military assistance. While the United States has also provided large foreign aid packages to other Middle Eastern countries, particularly Egypt and Iraq, Israel stands apart.
Israel Is the Largest Cumulative Recipient of U.S. Aid Since 1946
Total aid from fiscal years 1946 to 2024 (constant 2024 dollars)
The United States provided Israel considerable economic assistance from 1971 to 2007, but nearly all U.S. aid today goes to support Israel’s military, the most advanced in the region. The United States has provisionally agreed via a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to provide Israel with $3.8 billion per year through 2028, including $500 million per year for missile defense.
Israel has been using American-made weapons against its foes—including Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran—for decades. The Israeli military has reportedly received expedited deliveries of weapons from a strategic stockpile that the United States has maintained in Israel since the 1980s.
What military aid has the United States provided Israel since the October 7 attack?
Since the start of Israel’s war with Hamas on October 7, 2023, the United States has enacted legislation providing at least $16.3 billion in direct military aid to Israel. The aid was authorized in three pieces of legislation: a supplemental appropriations act in April 2024 which provided $8.7 billion, and appropriations acts in 2024 and 2025 which provided $3.8 billion per year in line with the MOU. Of the total, $6.7 billion is for missile defense.
In May 2025, the Israeli Defense Ministry said since October 2023 the United States had delivered ninety thousand tons of arms and equipment on eight hundred transport planes and 140 ships. The extraordinary flow of aid has included tank and artillery ammunition, bombs, rockets, and small arms.
How does Israel use the aid?
Most of the aid is provided as grants under the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program, which funds countries’ purchases of U.S. military equipment and services through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program or in some cases through direct commercial contracts.
Israel has historically been one of the top recipients of U.S. arms sales. In April 2025, it had 751 active FMS cases with the U.S., worth a total of roughly $39 billion. Israel has also been permitted to use a portion of its FMF aid to buy equipment from Israeli defense firms—a benefit not granted to other recipients of U.S. military aid, which are required to buy from American firms. However, this domestic procurement benefit is set to be phased out in the next few years.
U.S. aid reportedly accounted for around 20 percent of Israel’s defense budget in the years prior to the Israel-Hamas war. Israel, like many other countries, also buys U.S. military products outside of the FMF program.
Currently, $500 million per year is slated for Israeli and joint U.S.-Israeli missile defense programs, in which the two countries collaborate on the research, development, and production of defense systems used by Israel, including the Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Arrow, Arrow II, Arrow III, and Iron Beam. While the Iron Dome was solely developed by Israel, the United States has been a production partner since 2014. David’s Sling and the Arrow system were developed jointly by Israel and the United States. Iron Beam development was begun by an Israeli company, with the U.S. contractor Lockheed Martin later joining development.
While Israel does purchase some arms from other countries, the large majority of its arms imports come from the United States. In recent years, the remainder have come primarily from Germany, although in August 2025 the German government announced it would stop providing military equipment that could be used in Gaza.
Israel
Israel is not the largest importer of U.S. arms, but 78% of its arms imports since 2000 have come from the United States.
78% from U.S.
3B
2B
1B
From other countries
From United States
0
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
Egypt
Iraq
34% from U.S.
52% from U.S.
3B
2B
1B
0
Qatar
Kuwait
49% from U.S.
65% from U.S.
3B
2B
1B
0
Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
62% from U.S.
54% from U.S.
3B
2B
1B
0
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
*Military value is expressed as “trend-indicator-value,” a unit developed by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) that represents the military capability of arms sales.
Note: Countries included are the largest recipients of U.S. arms sales in the Middle East.
No comments:
Post a Comment