Emily Norton

I am voting Yes on the amendment to State Department appropriations to zero out $3.3 billion in foreign military financing for Israel. If enacted, this measure would prevent the U.S. government from financing and selling attack aircraft, bombs & missiles, and targeting systems to the Israel Defense Forces. It would not affect U.S. support for Israel’s Iron Dome, David’s Sling, or Arrow air-defense systems. The authority from Congress to finance and sell American-made weapons to allies is a grant of trust to both a presidential administration and its counterparty heads of government. With their disastrous war against Iran, their empowerment of settler violence in the West Bank, and their strategic incoherence against Islamist terrorism, both President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu have sacrificed that trust. Congress must act where the executives have failed. I acknowledge that this amendment is not the ideal mechanism of action. Its sponsor, Representative Thomas Massie, recently ran a re-election campaign that featured antisemitic tropes. Also, the State Department has not issued clear guidance about whether the amendment could affect humanitarian programming, embassy operations, or West Bank security assistance; if the amendment becomes law, I will work with colleagues to hold harmless those efforts. I have weighed these problems against the central thrust of the amendment: there must be consequences for Trump and Netanyahu. Those consequences should not impair the State of Israel’s right to defend itself against the atrocities of the terrorist regimes that threaten it. Israel and the United States have common interests, shared values, and a long history. Israel and the United States are allies. Before the next appropriations cycle in 2027, when this policy will again be up for debate, Israel will hold elections, the repercussions of the debacle in the Strait of Hormuz will become more clear, and negotiations between the United States and Israel over what replaces the Memorandum of Understanding will pick up pace. This presents an opportunity to renew the U.S.-Israel alliance on shared principles and a bipartisan basis.