Friend of Israel,


I’m writing with great news from Washington.

Tonight, the House of Representatives passed its major foreign operations funding bill with the full $3.3 billion in annual security assistance to Israel – without any added political conditions.


This policy is at the core of our work together each year to ensure Israel has the resources it needs to defend itself, by itself, against constantly growing threats.


At a time when some hostile voices in Washington are calling for cuts, new conditions or restrictions on American security assistance to Israel, our work to educate and lobby our elected officials is playing an essential role – and Congress has just responded.


In addition to full security assistance funding, the legislation passed in the House tonight includes many other provisions that will help strengthen and expand the U.S.-Israel relationship:

- $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.


- $6 million for the Middle East Regional Cooperation program – a 20 percent increase in funding – to facilitate collaborative research between Israeli and Arab scientists.


-
Strong language condemning anti-Israel bias across the U.N. and its agencies and requiring new reports to identify and eliminate antisemitic content in Palestinian textbooks.


-
Important restrictions and reporting requirements on aid to the Palestinians including reaffirming the Taylor Force Act—a law which prohibits funds from directly benefiting the Palestinian Authority until they eliminate the heinous practice of paying terrorists and their families.

There is more work to do as the annual appropriations process continues in the Senate, and we will continue to call on you to contact your elected officials in the weeks ahead.


I’m grateful for your continued partnership in our sacred work together to keep Israel safe.


Thank you.



Betsy Berns Korn

AIPAC President


The mission of AIPAC is to strengthen and expand the U.S.-Israel relationship in ways that enhance the security of the United States and Israel.



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