A new confrontation is escalating within the US Congress regarding American military support for Israel, amid moves led by progressive and anti-war Republican representatives to halt billions of dollars in military aid, in contrast to an intensive pressure campaign led by the Israeli lobby “AIPAC” to thwart those efforts and maintain the flow of military support without restrictions.
The chairman of the Progressive Caucus in the House of Representatives, Greg Cassar, announced his support for a legislative amendment to halt $3.3 billion in annual U.S. military aid to Israel, confirming that he will vote in favor of it when it is brought before the House in the coming days.
Kassar said that “the Israeli government has committed war crimes in the Gaza Strip and contributed to dragging the United States into a war with Iran,” adding that “American taxpayers should not fund more weapons for Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.”
The amendment, spearheaded by Republican Representative Thomas Massie, would prohibit the use of any funds allocated in the appropriations bill for the benefit of Israel, including the cancellation of the $3.3 billion in foreign military financing that Israel receives annually under an agreement that extends until 2028.
A lobbying campaign led by AIPAC
The approaching vote has triggered a state of alert within the halls of Congress, as reports indicate that AIPAC has launched a broad pressure campaign on representatives to reject the amendment, while Democratic Party leaders have expressed reservations about it, considering that it may cause internal division.
According to US media reports, centrist lawmakers, along with pro-Israel legislators, deemed the amendment unacceptable, while House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries called for a closed meeting to discuss the situation before the vote.
Although he acknowledged that the current wording could also affect some $50 million in diplomatic funding, Cassar said the priority remains halting massive military aid.
Progressive Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also announced her support for the amendment, asserting that a majority of voters in her district oppose continued unconditional military support for Israel.
Public support for military aid has declined.
This move comes at a time when recent polls indicate declining support, particularly among Democratic voters, for continued US military support for Israel, against the backdrop of the war in Gaza.
Supporters of the amendment also cited a recent United Nations report that accused the Israeli military of deliberately targeting children in Gaza, destroying entire families across multiple generations.
For its part, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) called on members of the House of Representatives to vote in favor of the amendment, considering it a rare opportunity to force members of Congress to declare their position on the continued funding of Israeli military operations, after years of using American money and weapons in Israeli wars inside Palestine and Lebanon, and in attacks on other countries in the region.
Another amendment against merging the US and Israeli militaries was thwarted.
In a parallel development, another attempt to limit the deepening of US-Israeli military cooperation suffered a setback after the Republican-controlled Rules Committee refused to allow a vote on a joint amendment submitted by Representatives Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie.
The amendment aimed to remove a provision from the National Defense Authorization Act that established the U.S.-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative, which expands military, research, and industrial coordination between the two countries.
Khanna described the committee's decision as "unacceptable," saying that the committee "deprived representatives even of the right to vote," and pledging to continue working with Massie to prevent any infringement on what he called "American sovereignty."
Human rights organizations warn against collusion
The initiative faces growing opposition from human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International USA, which have warned that expanding military cooperation with Israel amid accusations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza will increase the risk of US complicity and reduce congressional oversight of such cooperation.
Despite the Rules Committee's success in preventing a vote in the House of Representatives, the battle is not over yet, as Senator Bernie Sanders announced his intention to seek to remove the initiative from the Senate version of the defense bill, signaling a new round of confrontation within Congress over the future of US military support for Israel.
