House Democrats fracture badly over Massie amendment to cut $3.3B in U.S. aid to Israel

By Fox News · Fox News

Democrats split sharply over legislation to terminate aid to Israel, highlighting hardening attitudes toward the Jewish state as support for the Palestinian cause grows within party ranks. House lawmakers voted 104-313 to reject an amendment that would have cut $3.3 billion in foreign aid to Israel for the next fiscal year in a vote that even split House Democratic leadership, which declined to whip members either way. The hotly contested vote gave lawmakers their first chance this Congress to weigh in directly on taxpayer-funded aid to Israel. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., joined 97 other Democrats in opposing its elimination, while the chamber's second-ranking Democrat, Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., joined 102 other Democrats in supporting the measure. Ten Democrats voted present. DOZENS OF DEMS FLIP ON ISRAEL, VOTE TO BAN ARMS SALES IN PROTEST OF IRAN WAR Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., a leading Israel critic, offered the measure as an amendment to a State Department appropriations bill, calling the country the "biggest welfare recipient of the United States." He was the lone Republican to support the amendment. Opponents argued the measure would damage one of the United States’ most critical relationships in the Middle East amid the Iran war and hamper Israel's ability to combat terrorist organizations, including Hamas and Hezbollah. "The same terrorists and terrorist entities that threaten Israel also threaten the United States and our people directly," Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., said Wednesday. "When we give Israel the tools and capabilities to eliminate these terrorist threats … we are making America and the American people safer." The Florida Republican also noted that the vast majority of the funding is used by Israel to purchase American-made weaponry, supporting the U.S. industrial base. Several prominent Democrats agreed, offering sharp criticism of the Massie amendment. "This amendment would embolden the enemies of peace, those pursu…