The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) strongly praises House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA) for introducing a bill in response to the Biden administration’s unconscionable withholding of critical weapons for Israel. The “Israel Security Assistance Support Act” will hold the administration accountable by mandating that bombs, artillery shells and smart munitions already approved by Congress will actually be delivered in spite of the President’s unconstitutional refusal to faithfully execute the already-appropriated package. The law would cut off essential funds to the Departments of State, Defense and the National Security Council if the disputed weapons are not delivered in 30 days. It also enables new reporting mechanisms to make clear that future arms deliveries to Israel must take place as scheduled.
President Biden confirmed in a disturbing CNN interview on May 8th that he no longer has Israel’s back, and that even the smart weapons that Israel uses to reduce collateral damage as it attacks terrorist targets will be included in his disallowed list to Israel. He slandered Israel in the same interview, stating that the IDF is indiscriminately killing civilians while in fact, experts have documented that Israel’s campaign has been unprecedented at avoiding unintended casualties.
The chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point, decorated retired United States Army officer John Spencer has stated, “The sole reason for civilian deaths in Gaza is Hamas. For Israel’s part, it’s taken more care to prevent them than any other army in human history.”
ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said:
“It is outrageous that President Biden is stabbing our ally Israel in the back at a time when Israel needs American help the most. Defeating Iran and their terrorist surrogate Hamas is an existential requirement for the State of Israel. I have met with President Biden many times when he was a Senator, and he has consistently tried to pressure Israel against the interests of both our country and theirs. His staffers were the most anti-Israel I ever met with. He is now establishing his administration as the most hostile-to-Israel in history.
“President Biden has appointed many haters of Israel to key positions in his administration (see https://zoa.org/biden-appointments-watch/). There are media reports that he has refused to share American intelligence about the actual location of hostages and Hamas leadership without concessions from our ally Israel. If these reports are true, it is a new level of perfidy. Both houses of Congress must pass the Israel Security Assistance Support Act this week.”
ZOA Director of Government Relations Dan Pollak said:
“Beyond his words of support for the release of the surviving hostages, President Biden and his team have done nothing to move the negotiations forward. It should be remembered that there are at least five Americans still in captivity in Gaza, and the President’s betrayal of Israel has emboldened the terrorists of Hamas to leave the negotiations in Cario. The only hope in the short term for the release of the hostages is for a credible military threat to be active against the leadership of Hamas, but inexplicably, the administration has prevented Israel from quickly achieving that military pressure.
“Both Democrats and Republicans need to support this bill to force the resupply of Israel. Less than a month has passed since Congress mandated the resupply, and in a cynical move to achieve other priorities, President Biden signed the arms shipments to Israel into law. As critical as the supplies are for the Gaza war, Israel also needs to resupply the IDF to confront Iran and Hezbollah in the North of Israel. ZOA thanks Rep. Calvert and Speaker Johnson for their leadership on this issue. A vote in the house is expected this week, and we urge every Representative to support the bill. It is also urgent for Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to take up the bill immediately once the House passes it. On issues relating to Israel, unfortunately, Senator Schumer is establishing a record of being more interested in political tricks to help President Biden than in the security of the Jewish State.”