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February 18, 2024
Key Takeaways:
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The Senate passed a bill containing emergency aid for Israel with 94% of Democrats voting in favor and 55% of Republicans voting against. The Speaker of the GOP-controlled House is refusing to call it for a vote and adjourned the House until February 28, preventing any action before then. This is not the first time Republicans have recently blocked aid to Israel. Vote after vote proves the Squad's irrelevancy regarding Israel and that Democrats are better than Republicans on Israel. The problem is not a few out-of-pattern Democrats. The problem is the entire Republican Party.
- Donald Trump, the soon-to-be thrice-nominated GOP candidate for president, opposes all foreign aid, with no exceptions for Israel. Neither that nor his opposition to democracy at home and abroad nor his long record of antisemitism seem to bother the Republican base or Republican leadership.
- Not all calls for a ceasefire are created equal. Calls for a ceasefire that require Israel to cease fire without requiring Hamas to release all hostages are different from calls for a ceasefire that recognize the necessity of conditioning any ceasefire on the releasing of all hostages.
- Opposing a two-state solution means letting the terrorists win: Hamas opposes a two-state solution, and those who oppose a two-state solution are giving Hamas what it wants. Moving toward a two-state solution, which necessarily includes recognizing a state of Palestine, is the only path that will ensure Israel's safety and security.
- President Biden did NOT warn Israel against the operation in Rafah that rescued two hostages nor did he tell Israel it should not carry out operations in Rafah. His concern is that large-scale operations in Rafah provide for the safety of innocent Palestinians.
Read to the end for corrections, what you may have missed last week, fun stuff, and our upcoming event with Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA).
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Hi Steve,
How many times must Republicans block aid to Israel before we concede that the GOP is not pro-Israel?
Republicans say they support Israel (gullible much?) but on September 29, 2023, 198 House Republicans — 90% — drafted, brought to the floor, and voted for legislation that included cutting aid to Israel by 30%, which would have violated our Memorandum of Understanding with Israel. Democrats unanimously opposed it and it failed despite overwhelming GOP support. If five or six Democrats is a Squad, what is the GOP--a battalion?
President Biden asked Congress for $14.3 billion in emergency aid for Israel on October 20, 2023. After weeks of inaction, on November 2, 2023, Republicans conditioned emergency aid to Israel on cutting funding to the Internal Revenue Service to make it easier for tax cheats. On November 15, 2023, Republicans attempted to move the same bill in the Senate and failed.
Last week, the Senate passed a bill containing emergency aid assistance for Ukraine, Israel, the Indopacific, humanitarian assistance, including humanitarian assistance for innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza, and the Nonprofit Security Grant Program.
The bill passed 71-29. Of the 29 "no" votes, 26 were cast by Republicans--90%. Whereas 94% of Senate Democrats supported aid to Israel and Ukraine (48-3), most Republicans, 55%, voted against aid to Israel and Ukraine.
President Biden said on February 13 that this bill "will allow the United States to continue our vital work, together with our allies and partners all around the world, to stand up for Ukraine’s freedom and support its ability to defend itself against Russia’s aggression. It will provide Israel with what it needs to protect its people against Hamas terrorists."
But House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) says he won't allow the House to vote on the emergency funding because it doesn't contain money for border security. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) accurately summarized Johnson's position: The Speaker said he wouldn’t pass Ukraine funding without a border deal and we got a deal and then he killed the deal because he said we didn’t need a deal and now he says he won’t pass our Ukraine funding bill because it doesn’t include a border deal. (In fairness to Johnson, he does get confused sometimes.) Johnson adjourned the House until February 28, preventing any action before then and leaving Israel and Ukraine twisting in the wind.
One day Republicans are opposing aid to Israel because it doesn't include cuts to the IRS, another day they are opposing aid to Israel because it is coupled with funding for border security, another day they are opposing aid to Israel because it doesn't include border security funding that they themselves opposed days earlier. For the four months since President Biden requested emergency aid for Israel, Republicans have found one excuse after another not to provide it. Call them dysfunctional, call them deceitful, call them duplicitous, call them whatever you want, but don't call Republicans pro-Israel.
Don't call Republicans pro-democracy either, not after the blind obsequiousness to Donald Trump and not after their refusal to pass this bill and help Ukraine even after Putin murdered Alexei Nalvany. Max Boot writes that "House Republican leaders are giving every indication that they are willing to reward Navalny’s killer by cutting off Russia’s Ukrainian victims from further U.S. aid.
If Democrats controlled the House, this bill would already be on President Biden's desk. It matters which party controls Congress. If you vote Republican, you are voting against the only party that remains committed to foreign aid to Israel. By opposing this aid package, Republicans are supporting Hamas, Vladimir Putin, and their common ally, Iran.
The Republican Party is led by Donald Trump, who opposes all foreign aid, with no exception for Israel, and would abandon our NATO allies to Russia. If Trump was president, the White House would not have requested emergency foreign aid for Israel or Ukraine in the first place. Trump must have other redeeming qualities because neither his long record of antisemitic rhetoric nor his opposition to foreign aid will prevent him from easily winning, for the third time, the Republican nomination for president.
How many times have you heard people tell us that when the leaders of Iran say they’ll wipe Israel off the map and when Hamas leaders say they’ll repeat October 7 over and over, believe them? I believe them. They would if they could. But when Donald Trump says he’ll encourage Russia to attack our NATO allies and he opposes all foreign aid, including to Israel, we’re not supposed to believe him? Do our Republican friends think that Iran and Hamas are more trustworthy than Donald Trump? A vote for Trump is a vote against Israel and Jewish safety in the U.S. Every four years, 25% of Jewish Americans vote Republican. Jewish Republicans in particular have a remarkably low instinct for self-preservation. I wonder how Charles Darwin would explain that.
For those of you obsessing about the Squad: Give it a rest. Their votes mean nothing when it comes to Israel. They don't control the agenda and they aren't influencing other Democrats. Yes, I'd love for Democratic support for Israel to be unanimous, but if the choice is between one party whose leaders and the vast majority of its members support Israel and another party whose leaders oppose foreign aid to Israel and refuse to allow votes on aid to Israel, my choice is the Democratic Party.
Republicans want the Squad to be the face of the Democratic Party because they'd rather not run against Joe Biden's record and they cannot compete against Democratic leadership and the overwhelming majority of Democrats in Congress. Don't take the bait. The record is clear that Democrats are better than Republicans on both Israel and antisemitism.
I wish that H.Res.996, a resolution condemning rape and sexual violence by Hamas, passed unanimously on Thursday. Read it and you'll understand why Israel, why no country, would allow terrorists like Hamas to threaten it.
It didn't pass unanimously. It passed 418-0-1, the one being Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) voting present. How can anyone seriously say that she or the Squad collectively has the power to change the outcome on votes regarding Israel, especially compared to the real damage the Republican Party is doing?
I am not defending her vote--her vote is indefensible. But does one member of Congress voting "present" compare to a majority of Senate Republicans voting against the aid package for Israel and the Republican Speaker of the House refusing to bring the package for a vote? If you conclude from a resolution against Hamas passing by a vote of 418-0-1 that the problem is the Democratic Party, I can't help you.
We should neither applaud nor condemn calls for a ceasefire without understanding what is meant by "ceasefire." Hamas had no justification for murdering 1,200 people and kidnapping 240 on October 7. It therefore has no right to continue to hold any hostages. Calls for Israel to cease fire that permit Hamas to continue to hold hostages are morally bankrupt. Calls for a ceasefire in tandem with the release of the remaining hostages are legitimate, especially if accompanied by a reaffirmation of Israel's right to remove Hamas from power. The February 14 letter from 25 senators, led by Georgia Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, is an example of legitimate support for a ceasefire.
The atrocities Hamas committed on October 7 had no moral or legal justification. That does not give Israel carte blanche to do anything in response, but while the death of any innocent person is tragic, the death of innocent people is not per se evidence of a war crime, nor is the death of many innocent people evidence of genocide. Israel cannot fight Hamas without killing civilians because Hamas embeds itself in and underneath the civilian population. If international law grants terrorists immunity from military reprisal because they operate out of densely populated areas dressed as civilians, then either we are misreading international law or international law is fundamentally flawed.
John Spencer explains that "given the scale and context of an enemy purposely entrenched in densely populated urban areas, as well as the presence of tunnels, hostages, rockets, attackers that follow the laws of war while defenders purposely do not, and proximity between the frontlines and the home front, there is basically no historical comparison" for Israel's war with Hamas. That alone does not mean that Israel is in compliance with international law. It does mean that we cannot rely on facile comparisons to determine if it is.
Corrections. I'm entitled to my own opinions but not to my own facts, so I appreciate it when readers bring errors to my attention. No one brought any mistakes to my attention last week, so it looks like last week's newsletter was perfect.
In Case You Missed It:
- On Tuesday, New York elected a pro-Israel Democrat to represent the district formerly held by "Jew-ish" Republican George Santos.
- Jonathan S. Kessler, the founder and CEO of Heart of a Nation, and Steven F. Windmueller, professor emeritus of Jewish communal studies at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles, write that "we can no longer ignore the significant and growing schism between older and younger generations of American Jews in perception, attitude and affinity towards Israel" and provide advice on how to heal the divide. (Full disclosure: I am on the Heart of a Nation Engagement Committee.)
- The Biden administration warned against any major Israeli operation in Rafah that does not include a credible plan to ensure the safety of the Palestinians there, but it did NOT oppose last week's Israeli operation to free two hostages held by Hamas. National Security Council Communications Advisor John Kirby said on February 12 that "we never said that they can’t go into Rafah to remove Hamas. Hamas remains a viable threat to the Israeli people. And the Israelis and the IDF, absolutely, are going to continue operations against their leadership and their infrastructure, as they should. We don’t want to see another October 7th."
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Tom Friedman knows that "many in an Israeli society still traumatized by the Hamas surprise attack on Oct. 7 don’t want to hear talk of a Palestinian state." But that doesn't alter the reality that the time is now to take steps toward a demilitarized Palestinian state. Opposing a two-state solution means letting the terrorists win: Hamas opposes a two-state solution, and those who oppose a two-state solution are giving Hamas what it wants.
- A shooting at the Super Bowl celebration killed at least one and injured at least 21, including many children. We know how to solve this problem: the same way every other country has solved it, with tighter gun laws. If you don't want to live in a country where mass shootings are the norm, don't vote for Republicans. The GOP is the reason we can't even pass a ban on assault weapons, let alone other measures that would save lives.
Tweets of the Week. Stuart Stevens and Steve Sheffey & Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY).
Twitter Thread of the Week. John Spencer.
Video Clips of the Week. Taylor Swift was not the first music star to attend a football game. On a more serious note, watch this new 60-second ad from VoteVets on Donald Trump and the Republican Party's appeasement of Putin.
Music Clip of the Week. The upbeat, joyous tune combined with the sad, sorrowful lyrics make this the best song recorded by any of the ex-Beatles, and a lesson on how to hold joy and sorrow when remembering a loved one.
Upcoming Event. Please join Dana Gordon, Steve Sheffey, Jill Zipin, and
Democratic Jewish Outreach PA PAC for a Zoom fundraiser for Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, at 4:30 PM ET. RSVP here to get the Zoom link. This will be a close race and holding this seat is key to holding the Democratic Senate majority.
For those new to this newsletter. This is the newsletter even Republicans have to read and the original home of the viral and beloved 2022 and 2023 Top Ten Signs You're At a Republican Seder. If someone forwarded this to you, why not subscribe and get it in your inbox every Sunday? Just click here--it's free.
I periodically update my posts on why Democrats are better than Republicans on Israel and antisemitism and on the IHRA definition of antisemitism. My definition of "pro-Israel" is here (it's a work in progress, as am I).
I hope you enjoyed today's newsletter. Donations are welcome (this takes time to write and costs money to send). If you'd like to chip in, click here and fill in the amount of your choice. If you see something that says "Save your info and create a PayPal account," click the button to the right and it will go away. You don't need a PayPal account. Or you can Venmo @Steven-Sheffey (last four phone digits are 9479). You can send a check too.
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