Major Shift: Support for Israel Erodes in US House of Representatives
WASHINGTON – The US House of Representatives on Wednesday rejected a proposal to halt all American aid to Israel. However, the vote revealed a dramatic shift within the Democratic Party, which is moving away from its decades-old, almost unconditional support for Israel.
The amendment, introduced by Republican Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky, aimed to remove the entire $3.3 billion allocated for military and humanitarian assistance to Israel from a foreign affairs budget bill. Although the proposal failed by a vote of 314 to 104, more Democratic Party members supported the measure than opposed it.
According to The New York Times, 103 Democratic Party members voted to end the aid, whilst 98 opposed it. The newspaper noted that “more than half of the Democratic Caucus” supported the measure or chose not to oppose it.
Many Democratic Party members expressed support for the amendment despite objections to the cuts in humanitarian aid; they argued that this was their only opportunity to formally declare their rejection of Israel’s policies in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, and Lebanon.
Congressman Greg Casar of Texas, who also chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, urged his fellow members of parliament to support the measure. “Whilst I wish we could have voted on an amendment that only targeted military aid—and of course continued to support humanitarian programmes—we did not have that option,” Casar wrote.
“The American people are demanding an end to the use of US taxpayers’ money to subsidise the Israeli military,” he added. Congresswoman Katherine Clark, who serves as the Democratic whip in the House, also supported the amendment despite having reservations. “I believe we must change policy direction,” she said, as reported by The New York Times.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also described the proposal as “an unfortunate choice”, but said she would support it “for the message it sends”.
The vote exposed a deep rift within the Democratic Party leadership. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar voted against the amendment, whilst Clark voted in favour.
According to The New York Times, Jeffries held two caucus meetings devoted specifically to this issue—an unusual step reflecting the increasingly fierce debate over Israel within the party. Although he opposed the amendment, Jeffries also for the first time called for a “major overhaul” in US-Israel relations and signalled that future American military assistance could be linked to conditions preventing human rights violations against Palestinian citizens. He acknowledged that there were “good-faith reasons that will lead members to vote in different ways.”