February 7 • 2019 43
jn

The U.S.-Israel 
Relationship

Lawmakers turn to Israel after
long partial shutdown is over.

T

he first order of business on 
Capitol Hill after the federal 
government reopened after a 
month-long partial government shut-
down had to do with Israel. 
The U.S. Senate advanced a Middle 
East policy bill that codifies assistance 
for Israel and protects states that ban 
dealings with Israel boycotters.
The Senate voted Jan. 28 74-19 to 
advance the bill, introduced earlier 
this month by Sen. Marco Rubio, 
R-Fla.
It includes language that codifies 
into law the $38 billion over a decade 
that President Barack Obama pledged 
to Israel in the final months of his 
term in 2016.
It also adds legal protections to 
states that penalize businesses that 
comply with the Boycott, Divestment 
and Sanctions movement targeting 
Israel.
The bill’
s other components rein-
force the U.S.-Jordan relationship and 
add sanctions on Syria’
s Assad regime. 
All four components resurrect bills 
that failed to pass in the last Congress.
Some Democrats objected to 
the anti-BDS component, saying it 
impinges on speech freedoms. “While 
I do not support the BDS movement, 
we must defend every American’
s 
constitutional right to peacefully 
engage in political activity,
” Sen. 
Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said last week 
on Twitter after voting not to advance 
the bill.
Among Democrats voting not to 
advance the bill were a number of 
declared or likely presidential can-
didates, including Sanders, Sherrod 
Brown of Ohio, Kirsten Gillibrand 
of New York and Elizabeth Warren 
of Massachusetts. Kamala Harris of 
California and Cory Booker of New 
Jersey were absent and did not vote. 
Harris told CNN she would likely vote 
against the bill because of free speech 
concerns with its BDS component. 

DEMOCRATS LAUNCH GROUP TO 
COUNTER ISRAEL DISENCHANTMENT 
In response to the perception that 
the Democratic party is drifting away 
from Israel, prominent Democrats 
announced they are launching a 
pro-Israel group to counter the drift.
The Democratic Majority for Israel 
will be led by Mark Mellman, a long-
time Democratic Party pollster who 
has been active in the pro-Israel com-
munity.
“Our mission at Democratic 
Majority for Israel is to strengthen the 
pro-Israel tradition of the Democratic 
Party, fight for Democratic values and 
work within the progressive movement 
to advance policies that ensure a strong 
U.S.-Israel relationship,
” Mellman said 
in a release.
Polls have shown declining support 
for Israel among younger Democrats. 
This year, for the first time, two 
freshmen Democrats, Reps. Ilhan 
Omar, D-Minn., and Rashida Tlaib, 
D-Mich., have embraced the Boycott, 
Divestment and Sanctions movement 
targeting Israel. Leading Democrats, 
including Sen. Bernie Sanders of 
Vermont, have robustly criticized 
Israel, particularly its treatment of the 
Gaza Strip.
Joining Mellman in the group’
s 
leadership will be Jennifer Granholm, 
former governor of Michigan; Henry 
Cisneros, Housing secretary under 
President Bill Clinton; Ann Lewis, 
chief of communications under 
Clinton and a longtime leading 
supporter of Hillary Clinton; Todd 
Richman, a J.P
. Morgan executive who 
is also a major donor to the party; Paul 
Begala, a former top Clinton adviser 
who has become a leading cable TV 
combatant for Democrats; and Shelley 
Berkley, a former congresswoman 
from Las Vegas. ■

These reports are from JTA.org. 

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