Tespis

THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE CLEAR: NO MORE U.S. AID TO ISRAEL Today, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on an amendment introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie to cut the $3.3 billion in annual U.S. military aid to Israel. I strongly support this amendment. Israel, like any other country, had the right to defend itself against the horrific terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 innocent people. But it did not have the right to go to war against the entire Palestinian population. It did not have the right to kill more than 73,000 Palestinians and wound over 173,000 more — the vast majority of them women, children and the elderly. It did not have the right to destroy virtually the entire infrastructure of Gaza — the schools, the health facilities, the water systems, wastewater plants, the electric grid that a civilian population depends on to survive. It did not have the right to destroy or damage 92% of all housing units in Gaza. In other words, Israel did not have the right to commit genocide. And it did not have the right to escalate its violence and annexation of the West Bank while the world's attention was focused elsewhere. Tragically, almost five months ago, Israel, with strong support from the Trump administration, launched a reckless and illegal war against Iran — a war that has killed thousands of people and left an already unstable region of the world even more unstable. That war expanded into Lebanon, where Israeli strikes have now killed more than 4,000 people and displaced some 20% of the entire Lebanese population. That is not "defending Israel". These are regional wars of expansion and terror, waged without a clear strategy, and without an end in sight. The American people are catching on. Polls show that nearly three-quarters of Democratic voters now oppose sending military aid to Israel, as do more than one-third of Republican voters. Just 16% of all Americans support giving Israel unconditional aid. And I am proud that this past April, 40 out of 47 Senate Democrats — a record number — supported my bill to block arms sales to the far-right, extremist Netanyahu government. We have enormous unmet needs in our own country. Today, while 60% of our people are living paycheck to paycheck, tens of millions of Americans cannot afford housing, healthcare, childcare and other basic needs. Congress must focus on the needs of their constituents, not an Israeli government that is undermining American values. I urge my colleagues in the House to vote yes on the Massie amendment.