Jewish Democratic Group Slams Michigan Candidate’s Vow To Cut Israeli Military Aid
(JTA) — The Jewish Democratic Council of America issued a statement panning Rashida Tlaib on Tuesday after Michigan’s likely next congresswoman told Britain’s Channel 4 that she would “absolutely” vote against military aid to Israel.
Citing joint military and missile programs, the Jewish Democratic group described the U.S.-Israel relationship as “mutually beneficial” and asserted that “threatening to cut military assistance to Israel is inconsistent with the values of the Democratic Party and the American people.”
The group pledged to engage with the Tlaib and explain why “U.S. military aid to Israel is a national security priority.”
Tlaib, who is the daughter of Palestinian immigrants, recently won the Democratic nomination in Michigan’s 13th Congressional district. The Republicans are not running a candidate in the district, making her electoral victory all but certain.
Asked about whether she’d consider slashing military aid to Israel during her Channel 4 interview on Monday, Tlaib responded “Absolutely, if it has something to do with inequality and not access to people having justice. For me U.S. aid should be leverage. I will be using my position in Congress so that no country, not one, should be able to get aid from the U.S. when they still promote that kind of injustice.”
“So much is about, ‘let’s choose a side,’” she continued, opining on the Israeli-Arab conflict. “I am for making sure that every single person there has every right to thrive.”
Speaking to the Huffington Post last week, Tlaib said she was “going to be a voice” for her family in the West Bank, with whom she maintains close ties, saying that she wanted to break down barriers between Israelis and Palestinians, “two people who have so much more in common.”
Contact Alyssa Fisher at fisher@forward.com or on Twitter, @alyssalfisher
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