House Dems de-fund Israel’s Iron Dome system, jeopardizing Jewish civilian lives

House Democrats stripped Israel’s Iron Dome budget mere hours after news broke that Angelo Codevilla, the prolific analyst of American politics, had died. In addition to his countless works covering American political and social trends, Codevilla was instrumental in getting the Iron Dome developed for Israel.   

Democrats on September 21 pulled $1 billion in funding for Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system from a short-term government funding bill after a group of far-left progressives threatened to nix the resolution over the monetary support for the Jewish state. In the past, military aid has never been stalled due to objections from sitting members of Congress. Although Democratic leaders assured the funding would be attached to a defense appropriations bill later in the year, this rift highlights the influence progressives hold within their party in addition to rising anti-Israel sentiment on the left.

The decision to pull funding that would support the Iron Dome system comes just 4 months after the terrorist organization Hamas launched over 4,000 rockets into Israel, intentionally targeting civilian cities. The $1 billion proposed in the resolution would have been used to restore the air defense system that ultimately saved hundreds of thousands of lives in the conflict that ensnared Israel last spring. In fact, the Iron Dome’s effectiveness and necessity is demonstrated by the fact it blocked over 90% of the rockets launched into Israel amidst the latest round of hostilities with Hamas.

A handful of moderate Democrats along with many Republican representatives rebuked the progressive members who spearhead anti-Israel and anti-Semitic sentiments, slamming the decision to remove funding for the Iron Dome as “devoid of substance and irresponsible.”  Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich) elaborated on twitter that “to target Iron Dome now means the issue is not a genuine concern over the system, but rather the desire to attack something- anything- related to the State of Israel.” Congressional members on the right mirrored this rhetoric and denounced their Democratic colleagues for allowing anti-Israel sentiment to take hold of their party. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) tweeted that Democrats “do NOT support Israel. Instead they chose to side with the Hamas Caucus wing of their party.”

Far-left progressive members of the Democratic party, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), have been accused of perpetuating anti-Semitic tropes in the recent past. In 2019, Rep. Omar suggested that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) funds, aka Jewish money, is the catalyst driving U.S. support for the Israel. This blatantly anti-Semitic comment came just one month after the representative indicated she “did not know (her) comments would be offensive to Jewish Americans,” regarding a tweet she wrote in 2014 stating that Israel had “hypnotized the world.”

In a similar fashion, Rep. Tlaib suggested Jewish Americans “forgot what country they represent” regarding anti-BDS legislation, shamelessly bolstering the dual-loyalty trope narrative that has been used against Jews for centuries. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez has been a vocal supporter for her far-left colleagues, even defending Rep. Omar when Democratic leaders introduced legislation indirectly condemning her anti-Semitic tropes, calling the resolution “insensitive.”

The decision to pull funding for Israel’s Iron Dome is yet another example of the reflexive anti-Semitism that encapsulates the progressive left. The Dome is not a weapon and its use does not harm Palestinian civilians or even Hamas operatives. It is a defensive technology designed with the primary purpose of saving lives. The progressive left self-identifies as the champion of human rights. However, when it comes to Jewish civilian lives, that rhetoric does not hold. Although Democratic leaders promise Iron Dome funding will be included in the budget later on, this recent episode should serve as a warning as it indicates which direction far-left progressivism is headed in America.