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Hakeem Jeffries Announces He Will Not House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) has come out against a bid to cut off US military aid to Israel, while calling for a “major reset” of Washington’s relationship with the Jewish state. In a “Dear Colleague” letter to fellow Democrats on Tuesday, Jeffries said he would vote against an amendment led by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), and co-sponsored by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), that would strip roughly $3.3 billion in annual military financing for Israel — while preserving $500 million for missile-defense programs such as Iron Dome — from the fiscal 2027 National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act. The House could vote on the measure as early as this week. Aligning himself with the ranking Democrats on the Appropriations and Foreign Affairs committees, Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Gregory Meeks (D-NY), as well as the advocacy group J Street, Jeffries called the proposal too sweeping. “As written, it is overly broad in that it prohibits or would limit the use of funds for longstanding initiatives related to humanitarian aid, refugee resettlement, peace-building and US Embassy operations,” he wrote, adding that the “so-called Massie amendment” would restrict US efforts to confront Hamas, Hezbollah “and other terrorist organizations in the region who are sworn enemies of both the United States and Israel.” Citing deep divisions within the party over Israel, Jeffries said leadership would not pressure members to follow his lead. “There are good faith reasons that will result in Members voting in a variety of different ways with respect to the amendment,” he wrote, noting that the caucus was not whipping the vote. At the same time, Jeffries argued that US policy toward the region “must change,” tying his call for a “major reset” to criticism of what he termed the “far-right Netanyahu government.” He wrote that America’s commitment to “Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state and homeland for the Jewish people must remain ironclad,” while urging strong US support for the creation of an independent Palestinian state. Israeli governments have long rejected the establishment of a Palestinian state along Israel’s borders, warning that it would pose an existential security threat and leave major population centers exposed to attack. Jeffries also said Gaza must undergo “complete reconstruction and modernization” and that “Hamas must be disarmed and removed from power.” Jeffries further signaled that the next US-Israel aid agreement should require Israel to cover more of its own defense costs. The current 10-year memorandum of understanding, signed under President Barack Obama in 2016, provides Israel about $3.8 billion annually — $3.3 billion in military financing and $500 million for missile defense — and expires in 2028. “Israel has an advanced economy and is capable of paying for its own sophisticated weapons, as the Prime Minister recently acknowledged,” Jeffries wrote, adding that any future arrangement should mirror US defense agreements with other Western allies and “strictly adhere to our human rights laws and values.” His stance placed him between the two poles of a party increasingly split over Israel. Hours after his letter circulated, the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX), sent a competing letter urging Democrats to back the Massie amendment, and progressives including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said they would vote to cut the aid. Support for Israel among Democratic voters has fallen sharply during the war in Gaza. An Associated Press-NORC poll conducted in June found that 52 percent of Democrats say Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians, while a Pew Research Center survey found that roughly 80 percent of Democrats hold a negative view of Israel. In April, a majority of Senate Democrats — 40 of the caucus’s 47 members — voted for at least one of two resolutions to block certain arms sales to Israel, though the measures failed. Supporters of continued assistance say it preserves Israel’s qualitative military edge and bolsters a key US partner against Iran-backed groups, while critics want aid conditioned on Israeli policy changes, particularly over the conduct of the war in Gaza. The upcoming vote is expected to underscore the widening gap between the party’s pro-Israel wing and its growing bloc of aid critics. for Amendment to Strip Israel Aid

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February 19, 2025 2:54 pm
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Freed Hamas Hostage Agam Berger Begs Trump to Help Get Israeli Captives Home: ‘Don’t Stop Until All Are Back’

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    avatar by Shiryn Ghermezian

    Released Israeli hostage, Agam Berger, a soldier who was seized from her army base in southern Israel during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, is reunited with her parents following her release, in a handout photo obtained by Reuters on Jan. 30, 2025. Photo: Israel Defense Forces/Handout via REUTERS

    Former Hamas hostage Agam Berger urged US President Donald Trump to continue pushing for the release of the remaining Israeli hostages in a Hebrew-language video message that the president shared on his Truth Social app on Monday night.

    A soldier in the Israel Defense Forces, Berger, 20, also thanked Trump for helping to secure her release from Hamas captivity in Gaza last month.

    “I want to take this chance to say to you, President Trump: Thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you’ve done and continue to do for the hostages,” Berger said in the clip. “Thanks to you, we’re home. But we must remember there are still people who truly depend on you and are waiting for you to save them. They’re waiting for your help and you have the power to do it.”

    Berger was kidnapped from the IDF’s Nahal Oz military base on Oct. 7, 2023, along with four other Israeli soldiers. Dozens of IDF soldiers were murdered at the military outpost. Berger was released from Hamas captivity in January a week after four of her fellow IDF soldiers, as part of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and the US-designated terrorist organization.

    The ceasefire deal took effect the day before Trump entered office last month and it put a pause to the 15-month war in Gaza. The agreement was mediated by the outgoing Biden and incoming Trump administrations, and the framework of the agreement was agreed upon last year.

    “I beg you, don’t stop until all the hostages, both living and deceased, are brought back as quickly as possible,” Berger also told Trump in her video message. She then talked about her time in Hamas captivity, saying: “I went through many hardships there. The days didn’t pass. They stood still. Every night and day felt eternity. That’s how those [hostages] still feel there.”

    “We must act fast to bring everyone home. They’re just waiting to be rescued,” she added.

    Monday marked 500 days since Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists infiltrated southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, slaughtered 1,200 people, and took 251 hostages back to the Gaza Strip. Seventy-three men, women, and children remain in Hamas captivity. The bodies of four deceased hostages will be returned to Israel on Thursday, two days before the next round of living hostages will be released.

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