Article

Pelosi and Dems in Israel

February 18, 2022

The Democratic Party’s commitment to Israel is not up for debate. This week, Speaker Nancy Pelosi reaffirmed that the U.S.-Israel bond “is eternal” as she led a Congressional delegation of seven Democrats, including committee chairs, to Israel. The Democratic members met with Israeli leaders, visited an Iron Dome battery, and while at the Knesset, Speaker Pelosi expressed support for the “unbreakable bond between Israel and the United States built on mutual security, our economic interests and our common values and commitment to democracy.”

Support for Israel’s security, right to self-defense, U.S. military aid, and a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are fundamental to the Democratic Party and enshrined in our party platform. Earlier this year, President Biden committed to replenishing Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system. House Democrats ensured expeditious funding for Iron Dome to fulfill this commitment in September, but Republican Senator Rand Paul has blocked it in the Senate for the past five months. Senate Republicans have demonstrated both apathy and silence in response to Senator Paul’s intransigence on this issue.

This week, Israeli government officials thanked Speaker Pelosi and Democrats for their leadership passing Iron Dome funding, but Senate Republicans continue to play politics with Israel’s security. Join Jewish Dems in telling Republicans to stop politicizing this life-saving assistance and to immediately pass funding for Iron Dome.

Keep reading for this week’s JDCA in the News, and sign up for our special briefing on the crisis in Ukraine on Wednesday, February 23.

STOP GOP BLOCK ON IRON DOME    FEB 23: CRISIS IN UKRAINE

Speaker Pelosi was joined in Israel by Representatives Ted Deutch, Bill Keating, Ro Khanna, Andy Kim, Barbara Lee, Adam Schiff, and Eric Swalwell. WATCH JDCA CEO Halie Soifer on i24 News discuss how this trip “underscored the bipartisan and bicameral support that exists within the United States for Israel” and how, from President Biden on down, Democrats stand with Israel.

READ JDCA in Politico discussing how Israel’s “new government has a new approach to not just Democrats and progressives, but also to the American Jewish community.”

JDCA is also speaking out in support of the Biden administration’s global leadership. LISTEN to JDCA on NPR and READ JDCA in CNN discussing Vice President Harris’s increasingly significant role on the international stage as she leads the U.S. delegation to the Munich Security Conference this weekend.

The ongoing threat posed by Russia to Ukraine is complex and has global security implications. To help us understand it better, we’re bringing in an expert on the region and national security leader in Congress. Save your spot for our special briefing on Wednesday, February 23rd at 2pm ET/11am PT with Rep. Tom Malinowski (NJ-07), who recently returned from Ukraine and has meaningful insights to share.

Thank you for your continued support.

Shabbat Shalom,

Hon. Ron Klein,
Board Chair, Jewish Democratic Council of America

Halie Soifer
CEO, Jewish Democratic Council of America