Howard Kohr. Photo: AIPAC.

Howard Kohr

Executive Director of AIPAC

As the leader of AIPAC, the largest pro-Israel lobby in the United States, Howard Kohr worked tirelessly to block the American-backed nuclear deal with Iran.

Kohr, the chief advocate in Washington, D.C. for the safety and security of the Jewish state, also throughout 2015 led efforts on a related matter: Israel’s need for increased aid from the United States. Its current package expires in 2018.

“Israel has always fought its own battles and has never asked American troops to fight on its behalf. Instead, it has requested U.S. assistance to supplement the tremendous resources Israel already invests in its defense budget,” Kohr said in testimony before the House Appropriations Subcommittee of Foreign Operations.

Kohr also said at that time, “AIPAC strongly believes that the broader U.S. foreign aid budget, which includes security assistance to Israel — nearly 75 percent of which comes right back to the United States through the purchase of U.S.-made aircraft and other equipment — is an essential component of America’s national security strategy.”