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18 Democrats, 1 Republican vote against House resolution honoring ties with Israel

House of Representatives votes 401 to 19 to back non-binding resolution honoring Israeli Independence Day and calling for expansion of Abraham Accords.

By Andrew Bernard, The Algemeiner

The House of Representatives on Tuesday evening passed a resolution honoring the 75th anniversary of Israel’s founding and the establishment of US-Israel relations by a vote of 401 to 19.

The bipartisan legislation had 22 co-sponsors including Representatives Ann Wagner (R-MO), Michael McCaul (R-TX), Kathy Manning (D-NC), and Brad Schneider (D-IL), and calls for deepening US-Israel ties, continued support for US military aid to Israel, and for the expansion of the Abraham Accords that established relations between Israel and several Arab countries in 2020.

Rep. Wagner, who introduced the resolution, said that she was proud of what the US and Israel have accomplished in those 75 years.

“My resolution honors the decades-long partnership between the United States and Israel that underpins security in the Middle East and promotes economic growth throughout the region,” she said in her floor speech. “The bipartisan passage of this resolution reaffirms our commitment to the people of Israel and promotes vital security assistance so they can defend themselves in the face of an increasingly aggressive Iran. We urge other nations to normalize relations with Israel and ensure existing agreements continue to provide necessary economic and national security for those in the area.”

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Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), who was also a co-sponsor and a participant in Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ (D-NY) congressional delegation to Israel this week, told The Algemeiner that the resolution would put additional pressure on other countries and the Palestinians to join the accords.

“The resolution talks about the importance of strengthening and expanding the accords,” he said. “A cornerstone of all of our conversations was how critically important the accords have been for regional security and regional economic development and how successful they’ve been, which is why it’s important that we continue the policy, and this administration has continued the last administration’s policy. I think those are all very positive developments for peace in the region. The Palestinian Authority has not been interested in joining the accords to date, I think this puts pressure on them. The more you expand, the more pressure on them to join and hopefully move towards more room for peace.”

While the resolution garnered overwhelming bipartisan support, a growing number of progressive Democrats are critical of the Jewish state.

That was reflected in the nay votes that included Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Jamaal Bowman of New York, Cori Bush of Missouri of the so-called Squad of left-wing democrats except Greg Casar, as well as the chair of the progressive caucus Pramila Jayapal. The lone Republican nay vote was cast by Thomas Massie (R-KY), a libertarian who routinely votes against foreign policy measures.