Who in the House Has Just Voted Against Aid for Israel?

 Nadene Goldfoot                                             

The 117th Congress contains over 1/4 of women of all members of the House and Senate;  the highest percentage in U.S. history and a considerable increase from where things stood even a decade ago.  Is that making a difference in the outcomes of votes?  "Counting both the House of Representatives and the Senate, 144 of 539 seats – or 27% – are held by women.  

The House attendance is :   currently 435 voting representatives. Five delegates and one resident commissioner serve as non-voting members of the House, although they can vote in committee. "No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.”— U.S. Constitution, Article I, section 2, clause 2"

There are 435 voting members,  6 non-voting members and  218 are needed for a majority.

Right now, the House majority are Democrats with 219 Seats and the minority are the Republicans with 211 seats.  The 6 non-voting members are vacant.  The Minority are short by 8 seats.  

The Senate attendance is 100.  The Constitution prescribes that the Senate be composed of two senators from each State (therefore, the Senate currently has 100 Members) and that a senator must be at least thirty years of age, have been a citizen of the United States for nine years, and, when elected, be a resident of the State from which he or she is from.  A senator's term of office is six years and approximately one-third of the total membership of the Senate is elected every two years.

In a vote of 218-209 totaling 427, Democrats rejected a security funding amendment offered by Rep. Tony Gonzales (R., Texas). by 9 votes. The measure would have paved the way for Israel to receive a tranche of emergency dollars specifically for missile defense, which has proven critical as Iranian-backed terror groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad target Israeli citizens. One Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie (Ky.), voted with Democrats against the measure.

"Democrats blocked aid for Israel—our strongest ally in the Middle East," Republican minority leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) said after the vote. "This is aid that could help de-escalate the attacks and save thousands of Israeli and Palestinian lives. And they blocked it."                     

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) of Puerto Rican descent,  introduced a measure late Wednesday to block weapons sales to Israel, an effort that was backed by an array of anti-Israel lawmakers and organizations and supporters of the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement.   The district she represents includes the eastern part of the Bronx, portions of north-central Queens, and Rikers Island in New York City.  She has been a member of the so-called Squad in the House Chambers; 4 women totally against Israel who were new representatives in 2018.  They are:  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.  It has now grown to 6.  They have since been joined by Jamaal Bowman (a man)  of New York and Cori Bush of Missouri following the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections. The group is well known for being among the most progressive and left-wing members of the United States Congress.                                                        

Earlier in the week, House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Gregory Meeks (D., N.Y.) considered delaying U.S. military aid to Israel, an unprecedented move for the historically pro-Israel committee. Meeks abandoned the effort after Democratic leaders intervened.                                            

Israel has invented and uses for protection, the Iron Dome.  Iron Dome is part of a multi-tiered missile defense system that Israel was continuing to develop in 2016 to protect the country from threats ranging from mortars to ICBMs and which includes Arrow 2, Arrow 3, Iron Beam, Barak 8 and David's Sling.

With the United States on track to greatly increase funding for Iron Dome, at least in 2014, there have been calls for technology transfer and co-production of Iron Dome in the United States. Just as the US and Israel share co-production of the Arrow III missile system, with Boeing manufacturing 40–50 percent of the production content, there has been support in the U.S. Congress, media and think tanks in favor of co-production. The U.S. House of Representatives included report language in its FY-2013 Defense Authorization Act supporting Iron Dome with $680 million but also instructing that the Director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, Lt. Gen. Patrick O'Reilly, "should explore any opportunity to enter into co-production of the Iron Dome system with Israel, in light of the significant U.S. investment in this system." There were media reports that the Pentagon was requesting similar language in the Senate Defense Authorization Act as well as the respective House and Senate defense appropriations bills for 2013. Adding Iron Dome to the list of high-tech military programs built jointly by both nations would help further strengthen ties between Israel and the United States.

In July 2014 it was announced that Raytheon will be the major U.S. partner in co-production of major components for the Iron Dome's Tamir intercepting missile. The U.S. firm will supply components through various subcontractors.

Israel's inventions have been shared with the USA.  They have been partners.  Such a vote is a sad state of affairs.  At the time Israel needs a trusty partner, the USA shows its ignorance with distain in their voting against a long-time partner.  It's like giving thousands of rockets to the terrorists of the world.  It gives Hamas a shot in the arm, a shot of encouragement to their recent actions of attacking Israel.  

Resource:

https://freebeacon.com/national-security/house-dems-reject-measure-to-boost-israeli-security-aid/

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/01/15/a-record-number-of-women-are-serving-in-the-117th-congress/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Squad_(United_States_Congress)