A USD 95 billion funding bill for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan is now stalled in the House of Representatives, after passing in the Senate last week. Due to far-right Republican opposition to any new Ukraine funding since Republicans took over the majority of the body in January 2023, doubts have been raised of whether it can pass in the House. This bill would provide over USD 14 billion to Israel.
Currently, the bill is stalled in the House of Representatives, which has not approved any new Ukraine funding since Republicans took over the majority of the body in January 2023. Last week, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said that the House will not feel “rushed” to pass the bill. Johnson, however, has expressed explicit support for funding Israel, and appears to oppose additional funding to Ukraine. The Speaker has proposed a standalone Israel funding bill, which US President Biden promised to veto due to its lack of Ukraine aid.
Israeli officials, however, have become more impatient, demanding more funding as the Zionist state carries out genocide in Gaza. As Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Yuli Edelstein told Jewish Insider during a visit to Capitol Hill two weeks ago, the hold up on US aid to Israel is “not because of any problem in Israel…This is totally about American politics. Everyone promised [the aid would come] soon, including the most senior Republicans and Democrats, but I still don’t know when that will be.”
An Israeli Security official also told Jewish Insider that “the aid package is critical for Israel’s security and for our ability to maintain readiness and defense on all fronts.”
Israel’s genocide in the Gaza Strip has cost more than 29,000 Palestinian lives, with many thousands missing and presumed to be under the rubble. Approximately 12,300 of the Palestinian casualties are children. Currently, Israel is threatening to invade Rafah, where it has forced the majority of Palestinians to flee as it has moved its offensive from the North to the South of Gaza.
The United States sends around USD 4 billion a year to Israel, leading to a dependent relationship that many in the US Palestine solidarity movement are quick to point out. For example, while the Israeli government is heavily subsidized by the United States, Israelis receive free universal healthcare, and people in the US do not.
