J Street says Israel should pay out-of-pocket if it wants US weapons
The pro-Israel advocacy group J Street is now calling for an end to "direct" US military support to Israel, per a new policy document published on Monday.
The group had previously backed Washington's continued provision of defensive weapons systems, such as the replenishment of Israel's Iron Dome, at no cost to Israelis.
Now, it says the US "should continue to sell" short-range air and ballistic missile defence capabilities to Israel, but Israel should use its own money to pay for them.
"Israel faces real security challenges that require a significant defense investment. With a per capita GDP comparable to leading US allies such as the United Kingdom, France and Japan, as well as an annual defense budget of over $45 billion, it has the financial means to address these challenges," J Street said.
"It does not require almost $4 billion per year in US financial subsidies to purchase weapons," it added.
"Continuing this assistance is both unnecessary and politically counterproductive, creating avoidable tensions in US domestic politics and in the bilateral relationship."
The way the current military aid package operates is that the US provides Israel with American taxpayer funds, and those funds are put into US weapons companies to acquire equipment.
On its website, J Street says that it "organizes pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy Americans to promote US policies that embody our deeply held Jewish and democratic values and that help secure the State of Israel as a democratic homeland for the Jewish people".
Political tide turns
J Street's shift follows a distinct change in attitudes towards Israel among the American public after the genocide in Gaza, where over 72,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel's war on the enclave broke out in October 2023.
But perhaps more importantly for the group, whose support base is made up of Democrats, the party's future is changing course.
Progressive New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is widely believed to be seeking higher office, announced earlier this month that she would no longer vote for any US military support to Israel, despite having previously backed the provision of defensive weapons, much to the disappointment of many of her supporters.
It is notable, however, that her statement followed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's surprise declaration earlier this year that Israel will not seek to renew its military aid package with the US in 2028.
"I want to taper off the military aid within the next 10 years," all the way down to zero, Netanyahu told The Economist in January.
J Street's new position demands that any future US arms sales that Israel pays for out-of-pocket "be fully consistent with American law", which echoed Ocasio-Cortez's statement.
US law prohibits security assistance to any country whose government engages in a consistent pattern of gross human rights violations or blocks or restricts the transport or delivery of US-backed humanitarian aid.
"US arms sales to Israel should be further conditioned to incentivize alignment with American interests and laws - as has been the case with other allies and partners – when their behavior is inconsistent with US interests," J Street said.
At the same time, the group acknowledges that Washington and Israel generally share the same interests anyway.
"The US also benefits meaningfully from the relationship. Intelligence sharing has been critical in campaigns such as the fight against ISIS, while joint operations such as Israel’s 2006 strike on Syria’s secret nuclear facility have advanced shared security goals."
It added that because "approximately 500,000 American citizens live in Israel", selling it weapons should continue to be a US national security priority.
This article was sourced from Middle East Eye.
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