Mike Johnson’s Israel aid bill is anti-Semitic. There, I said it. And here’s why.
Israel, our close ally, needs our aid in its fight against the terrorist Hamas. It is traditional for the US to supply such aid without strings attached and without playing political games.
While it made sense to disengage the Israel aid bill from a bill to provide more aid to Ukraine, that should have been done without the attachment of a poison pill.
But Johnson has made aid to Israel contingent upon cuts to IRS funding that will pay for the bill. That is, he has made aid to Israel contingent upon a vote for a Republican partisan cause. This is purely political; this bill, if passed, is dead on arrival at the Senate and thus whether passed or not in the House, it will not provide any aid to Israel.
Never before has this country made emergency aid to a close ally directly contingent upon a cut in other government spending. While I personally oppose, for many reasons, the IRS and other funding in the Inflation Reduction Act, this is not the time or place to cut that funding in order to provide aid to Israel that is fighting a war for its very existence. This is not the time for political gamesmanship.
Johnson’s first act as Speaker was to pass a resolution in support of Israel. But when it comes to actually providing aid that Israel desperately needs, he turns the problem into a political game where he can grandstand for the Right wing of his party while putting Israel last.
The bill sets up a Hobson’s choice in which Congressional representatives are put in the position of accepting one of two choices, both of which are equally objectionable. There is really no choice or alternative to having to select a completely objectionable result.
No American should vote for a bill which puts emergency aid to an ally contingent on passage of a partisan and political funding cut elsewhere. This is a horrid and frightening precedent to set.
Congressional Representatives are asked to vote for a bill that is bad for America in order to vote for necessary aid to our ally. If they choose to vote for this important aid to Israel they in effect must vote against America and if they vote for America they end up existentially hurting Israel.
This is not right. And in my mind it is just another form of anti-Semitism. Shame on the Speaker and shame on anyone who stands with him on this bill.
This bill should and must be immediately amended to simply provide to Israel the aid that it needs as it fights for its very life against terrorism.
