Every year, we lobby Congress to fully fund security assistance to Israel. This vital aid is the most tangible manifestation of America’s support for the Jewish state.
As Israel faces growing threats, this investment helps keep our ally strong and secure while furthering America’s national security interests.
Through AIPAC, you play a crucial role in ensuring that Congress helps keep Israel safe by fully funding this critical assistance.
This week, the House Appropriations Committee fully funded $3.3 billion in security assistance to Israel.
The Committee’s appropriation, with no added political conditions, reflects the strong bipartisan commitment for Israel's security in Congress and the Biden administration.
This bill includes significant pro-Israel provisions that AIPAC has lobbied for, and that will help keep Israel safe and America strong.
The bill includes:
The full $3.3 billion in U.S. security assistance to Israel, as agreed to in the 2016 U.S.-Israel Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
$50 million for the Nita M. Lowey Middle East Partnership for Peace Act to build partnerships between Israelis and Palestinians.
$2 million to promote U.S.-Israel international development cooperation to address growing challenges in the developing world related to water scarcity, agriculture and energy storage.
A 20% increase in fundingto $6 million for the Middle East Regional Cooperation program to facilitate collaborative research between Israeli and Arab scientists.
Strong languagecondemning anti-Israel bias across the U.N. and its agencies and requiring new reports to identify and eliminate antisemitic content in Palestinian textbooks.
Appreciation for Bahrain and Morocco for their normalization agreements with Israel.
AIPAC applaudsthe members of the House Appropriations Committee who led these and other important bipartisan pro-Israel initiatives.
But this is just the the beginning. The bill still needs to be approved by the full House and Senate.
I will be in touch as this and other key funding bills continue to move forward in Congress.
This weekend, as we mark the Fourth of July, we commemorate our nation’s independence and celebrate the gift of freedom. From all of us at AIPAC, we wish you health, safety and a happy and meaningful holiday.
Brian Shankman
Chief Strategy Director for National Affairs
Israeli Delegation Works With U.S. Rescue Teams at Site of Surfside Tragedy
When disasters strike, our ally Israel answers the call.
For the past week, Israeli experts have been working tirelessly alongside U.S. rescue teams helping those affected by the Surfside tragedy in Miami, Florida.
The IDF sent its top engineers and search-and-rescue specialists to assist the American rescue efforts.
During this incredibly difficult time, American leaders voiced a deep appreciation for Israel's immediate response when America needed help.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL):"We are all incredibly grateful to our friends from the IDF for their incredible assistance as we face this horrible tragedy in Surfside Florida."
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL):"We are so grateful for the IDF teams and all Israeli resources quickly deployed to Surfside. Allies stand together."
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levin Cava:"I’m very thankful that Dr. Nachman Shai, Israel’s Minister of Diaspora Affairs, stopped by today to offer his support — we know how much this means to our entire Jewish community affected by this tragedy."
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis:"Yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett offered Israel’s full support to Florida, and today, at the request of some Surfside families, we welcomed an expert IDF recovery team to supplement Surfside’s search and rescue efforts."
In an opinion piece published by The Algemeiner, Palestinian human rights activist Bassem Eid explains, in his own words, that defeating terrorism is necessary for peace.
From the article:
"Politicians like Omar, Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) spend a considerable amount of time attacking Israel for the supposed harm it inflicts on Palestinians...The vast majority of suffering Palestinians experience is the direct result of the corruption of the Palestinian Authority and the influence of the terrorist group Hamas."
"Hamas will continue to make life worse for Palestinians, as the U.S. media and politicians continue to focus only on criticizing Israel. Calling for boycotts, sanctions, and the destruction of Israel does not create real positive change for Palestinians."
"In this same spirit of willingness to come together, I invite Representatives Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to meet with me, a Palestinian living in the West Bank, to discuss the problems of the Palestinians and the best solutions to address them. These Congresswomen say they are willing to listen and learn, Well, if they really are, here’s their chance."
The big picture: It's time for Palestinian leaders to work toward peace.
This week, two separate op-eds detailed the importance of a comprehensive policy to confront Iran's aggression.
In an opinion piece published by The Atlantic this week, two veteran American diplomats detail the importance of a "longer and stronger" deal with Iran to confront its destabilizing regional behavior.
Michael Mandelbaum, director of the Johns Hopkins American Foreign Policy program, published a piece in American Purpose that details potential consequences of an American re-entry to the JCPOA—and the effect it will have on current and future alliances.
There were also two notable developments on Iran:
Iran's Supreme Leaderappointeda radical hard-line cleric as the country's new judiciary chief.
The new chief, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejehi, is sanctioned by much of the Western world and is widely criticized for being one of the world's top executioners.
Iran has been restricting nuclear inspectors' access to its main enrichment plant at Natanz, further raising tensions as the United States and Iran continue to participate in indirect talks about reviving the 2015 nuclear deal.
The United States must make clear that Iran cannot achieve sanctions relief by threats and raising tensions.
Bahrain appointed it's first-ever envoy to the State of Israel, Amb. Khaled Yousif al-Jalahama.
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid inaugurated the new Israeli embassy in the UAE.
In an exclusive interview, UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said: "Peace with Israel will grow despite change in government."
In an op-ed written by Israeli Alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the leaders said: "The peoples of the UAE and Israel seek to live in a world where peace abounds. In order to achieve this vision, we must work hard to create opportunities for engagement and encourage others to join these efforts."
The big picture: Peace between Israel and Arab countries creates new opportunities for vital cooperation, and helps forge a new path for greater progress, prosperity and opportunity.
In Congress: The Israel Relations Normalization Act of 2021 seeks to expand the recent peace and normalization agreements between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco.
The bipartisan bill recognizes that these agreements have the potential to transform the region and enhance the prospects for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
Idan Roll, Israel's new Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, is the first openly LGBTQ+ person to hold this position in Israel's history.
The mission of AIPAC is to encourage and persuade the U.S. government to enact specific policies that create a strong, enduring and mutually beneficial relationship with our ally Israel.
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