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Members of Congress are falling over one another to show their support for Israel.
While much of the rest of the world watches the Gaza war in horror and scrambles for a ceasefire, U.S. lawmakers are pressing the Obama administration to take no action that puts pressure on Israel to halt its military operations.
Many even have criticized the administration’s effort to stop the violence that has killed more than 1,100 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and more than 50 Israeli soldiers and three civilians this month.
“At times like this, people try to isolate Israel,” House Speaker John Boehner said Monday. “We are here to stand with Israel, not just as a broker or observer but as a strong partner and a trusted ally.
“What does that mean? Well, it doesn’t mean issuing vague, on-the-one-hand, on-the-other-hand statements. No, it means backing up our words and showing solidarity with our friend.”
This week, legislators will discuss a $225 million request from the Defence Department to urgently bolster Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system.
Republicans and Democrats are clashing over whether to approve the funds in a larger spending bill or separately, though no one publicly opposes the payments. Senate appropriators already have approved doubling next year’s money for the system.
“Israel must be allowed to take any actions necessary to remove those threats,” the senators wrote — a position that presaged by two days the Israeli government’s unanimous rejection of Secretary of State John Kerry’s cease-fire proposal.
Cardin and Graham joined three Republican senators — Marco Rubio of Florida, Mark Kirk of Illinois and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire — in sending a sharply worded letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon after he described Israel’s military operations as an “atrocious action.”
Republican Sen. Rand Paul, a potential 2016 presidential candidate, formerly the bane of the Israel lobby for suggesting a U.S. aid cutoff, has said no one should question Israel’s actions in a time of war.
U.S. lawmakers offer full support for Israel, criticism of Obama administration - The Globe and Mail
While much of the rest of the world watches the Gaza war in horror and scrambles for a ceasefire, U.S. lawmakers are pressing the Obama administration to take no action that puts pressure on Israel to halt its military operations.
Many even have criticized the administration’s effort to stop the violence that has killed more than 1,100 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and more than 50 Israeli soldiers and three civilians this month.
“At times like this, people try to isolate Israel,” House Speaker John Boehner said Monday. “We are here to stand with Israel, not just as a broker or observer but as a strong partner and a trusted ally.
“What does that mean? Well, it doesn’t mean issuing vague, on-the-one-hand, on-the-other-hand statements. No, it means backing up our words and showing solidarity with our friend.”
This week, legislators will discuss a $225 million request from the Defence Department to urgently bolster Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system.
Republicans and Democrats are clashing over whether to approve the funds in a larger spending bill or separately, though no one publicly opposes the payments. Senate appropriators already have approved doubling next year’s money for the system.
“Israel must be allowed to take any actions necessary to remove those threats,” the senators wrote — a position that presaged by two days the Israeli government’s unanimous rejection of Secretary of State John Kerry’s cease-fire proposal.
Cardin and Graham joined three Republican senators — Marco Rubio of Florida, Mark Kirk of Illinois and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire — in sending a sharply worded letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon after he described Israel’s military operations as an “atrocious action.”
Republican Sen. Rand Paul, a potential 2016 presidential candidate, formerly the bane of the Israel lobby for suggesting a U.S. aid cutoff, has said no one should question Israel’s actions in a time of war.
U.S. lawmakers offer full support for Israel, criticism of Obama administration - The Globe and Mail
