DEMOCRATS BLOCK FUNDING FOR ISRAEL'S IRON DOME

Israeli foreign minister holds crisis talks with US after AOC and 'The Squad' force Dems to REMOVE $1BN for Israel's Iron Dome from spending bill: Republicans say hold-up is 'technical' and Dems have 'capitulated to antisemitic influence'

 

Daily Mail 

September 21, 2021

Israel's Iron Dome has been operational since 2011 and is one of the most sophisticated defense systems in the world

 

 

House Democrats removed a provision to give Israel $1 billion toward its Iron Dome defense system from the continuing resolution to keep the government open and funded past September 30 after opposition from the Squad. 

The US was forced into crisis talks with Israel in the fallout, with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer reportedly telling Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid the removal of funds from the stopgap bill was only a 'technical delay.' 

Hoyer told Lapid the money would be transferred 'in the near future.' 

The push to remove funding for Israeli defense from the stopgap spending bill reportedly comes from Squad members Rashida Tlaib (right), Ilhan Omar (left) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (center)

 

 

Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Pramila Jayapal of Washington are leading the blockade, according reports.

Funding for the Iron Dome will instead be included in Congress' bipartisan fiscal year 2022 defense bill, House Appropriations Chair Rep. Rosa DeLauro said on Tuesday. 

DailyMail.com has reached out to all three progressives' offices but has not yet heard back. 

Top Republican lawmakers have already panned Democrats for capitulating to the progressive wing.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy wrote on Twitter, 'Democrats just pulled funding from the Iron Dome—the missile defense system that has saved countless lives in Israel from Hamas' rocket attacks. 

'While Dems capitulate to the antisemitic influence of their radical members, Republicans will always stand with Israel.'

Rep. Elise Stafanik, who heads the House Republican Conference, labeled Democrats 'the party attacking Israel and their inherent right to self-defense.'

'Republicans stand strongly with Israel and support [the Iron Dome],' the New York lawmaker wrote on Twitter.

Rep. August Pfluger of Texas said, 'Democrats don't support the Iron Dome anymore. Does that mean they want rockets to hit civilians? This party gets more radical by the day.' 

Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who vowed to filibuster the measure when it got to the Senate, accused Democratic leaders of surrendering to progressives.

'Tragic. Dem leadership surrenders to the anti-Semitic Left. They hate Israel so much that Dems are stripping $1 BILLION in funding for Iron Dome—a purely defensive system that protects countless innocent civilians from Hamas rockets,' he wrote on Twitter.

Cruz added, 'Will any Dems have the courage to denounce?'