Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., introduced an amendment to strike down the proposal, but it found very little support from his colleagues. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to tell [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu that America calls the shots, not the prime minister of any other country,\u201d Khanna said during his introduction of the amendment. \u201c[Americans] want less cooperation and blank checks to Israel, not more. Only the United States Congress would dream up at this moment, \u2018Let\u2019s actually do more for Israel,\u2019 not less.\u201d <\/p>\n
Eight committee members, including fellow Democrats, spoke against Khanna\u2019s effort to quash the measure. The amendment was ultimately defeated.<\/p>\n
The proposal \u201cactually improves oversight and accountability for these programs by designating a single official responsible,\u201d said committee chairman Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala. \u201cClaims that this provision somehow cedes authority to a foreign government are ridiculous.\u201d <\/p>\n
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Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the ranking Democrat on the committee, conceded that he understood some of the concerns Khanna outlined in his amendment, particularly regarding Netanyahu\u2019s leadership in Israel and his multi-front war. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe have endless wars, now, in Gaza, in the West Bank […], in Lebanon,\u201d Smith said. \u201cNo effort to negotiate, no effort to find partners for peace amongst the Palestinians or the Lebanese, even where there are opportunities to do so.\u201d <\/p>\n
But the measure puts existing programs under streamlined supervision, Smith argued. He and other committee members touted the benefits of Israeli technology for U.S. weapons systems.<\/p>\n
The cooperation initiative \u201ccomes at a very bad time because of everything I\u2019ve just said about Israel, but let\u2019s not forget\u201d what it actually does, Smith said. <\/p>\n
Michael Hanna, director of the U.S. program at International Crisis Group<\/a>, told Military Times the addition of the U.S.-Israel cooperation initiative \u201ctells us something important about the broader climate.\u201d <\/p>\n Further integrating U.S.-Israeli military cooperation differs from the memorandum of understanding, or MOU, process that has dictated military aid to Israel historically, he said. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s hard to imagine there will be another MOU after this one,\u201d which expires in 2028, Hanna said. \u201cThe Israelis understand that and are trying to get ahead of that\u201d by moving from an aid model to one of co-production and procurement. <\/p>\n One committee member spoke in support of Khanna\u2019s amendment. Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., argued the cooperation initiative \u201centrenched\u201d the U.S. and Israeli militaries \u201cwith no strings attached.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA clear majority of Americans already oppose sending more military aid to Israel,\u201d Jacobs said. \u201cThey will not support this, and neither should we.\u201d<\/p>\n A majority of Americans now hold negative views of Netanyahu and Israel, according to polling from the Pew Research Center<\/a>. By August of last year, 60% of Americans disapproved of sending the country additional military aid, per a Quinnipiac poll<\/a>.<\/p>\n