Thanks, Ruth for jumping into this critical conversation. Im hoping Sam
Liccardo will answer your question as well as all the ones I have posed.
We deserve answers from our representatives NOT obfuscation.
Avram “Eliminate The State of Israel Now”
Finkelstein
On Sat, Jul 18, 2026 at 12:07 PM Ruth Silver Taube <
ruthsilvertaube16@gmail.com> wrote:
> Ask him about his recent vote in Congress.
> Which Democrats Voted Against the Amendment?
>
> The following Democratic representatives voted against the Massie
> amendment on Wednesday:
>
> - Representative Alma Adams
> - Representative Pete Aguilar
> - Representative Joyce Beatty
> - Representative Wesley Bell
> - Representative Sanford Bishop
> - Representative Brendan Boyle
> - Representative Nikki Budzinski
> - Representative Ed Case
> - Representative Sean Casten
> - Representative Kathy Castor
> - Representative Gil Cisneros
> - Representative Yvette Clarke
> - Representative Emanuel Cleaver
> - Representative James Clyburn
> - Representative Steve Cohen
> - Representative Herb Conaway
> - Representative Lou Correa
> - Representative Jim Costa
> - Representative Joe Courtney
> - Representative Angie Craig
> - Representative Henry Cuellar
> - Representative Sharice Davids
> - Representative Rosa DeLauro
> - Representative Suzan DelBene
> - Representative Adriano Espaillat
> - Representative Cleo Fields
> - Representative Shomari Figures
> - Representative Lizzie Fletcher
> - Representative Bill Foster
> - Representative Lois Frankel
> - Representative Laura Gillen
> - Representative Jared Golden
> - Representative Dan Goldman
> - Representative Jimmy Gomez
> - Representative Vicente Gonzalez
> - Representative Josh Gottheimer
> - Representative Adam Gray
> - Representative Jim Himes
> - Representative Steny Hoyer
> - Representative Hakeem Jeffries
> - Representative Marcy Kaptur
> - Representative Tim Kennedy
> - Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi
> - Representative Greg Landsman
> - Representative Rick Larsen
> - Representative John Larson
> - Representative George Latimer
> - Representative Susie Lee
> - Representative Mike Levin
> - Representative Sam Liccardo
> - Representative Ted Lieu
> - Representative Lucy McBath
> - Representative April McClain Delaney
> - Representative Jennifer McClellan
> - Representative Kristen McDonald Rivet
> - Representative Gregory Meeks
> - Representative Rob Menendez
> - Representative Grace Meng
> - Representative Kweisi Mfume
> - Representative Joe Morelle
> - Representative Jared Moskowitz
> - Representative Frank Mrvan
> - Representative Donald Norcross
> - Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton
> - Representative Johnny Olszewski
> - Representative Frank Pallone
> - Representative Jimmy Panetta
> - Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez
> - Representative Scott Peters
> - Representative Nellie Pou
> - Representative Josh Riley
> - Representative Luz Rivas
> - Representative Raul Ruiz
> - Representative Brad Schneider
> - Representative Hillary Scholten
> - Representative Kim Schrier
> - Representative Terri Sewell
> - Representative Brad Sherman
> - Representative Eric Sorensen
> - Representative Darren Soto
> - Representative Greg Stanton
> - Representative Haley Stevens
> - Representative Marilyn Strickland
> - Representative Suhas Subramanyam
> - Representative Tom Suozzi
> - Representative Emilia Sykes
> - Representative Shri Thanedar
> - Representative Dina Titus
> - Representative Norma Torres
> - Representative Ritchie Torres
> - Representative Juan Vargas
> - Representative Marc Veasey
> - Representative Eugene Vindman
> - Representative James Walkinshaw
> - Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz
> - Representative George Whitesides
> - Representative Nikema Williams
> - Representative Frederica Wilson
>
> Democrats Who Voted Present
>
> - Representative Ami Bera
> - Representative Shontel Brown
> - Representative Janelle Bynum
> - Representative Sarah Elfreth
> - Representative Jared Huffman
> - Representative Betty McCollum
> - Representative Kelly Morrison
> - Representative Chris Pappas
> - Representative Linda Sánchez
> - Representative Mike Thompson
>
> [image: President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
> Netanyahu at Trumps Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida on December 29, 2025.]
> President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at
> Trumps Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida on December 29, 2025.
> What To Know About Massie’s Amendment
>
> Massies amendment would eliminate the $3.3 billion in annual Foreign
> Military Financing (FMF) for Israel included in the FY2027 State, Foreign
> Operations and Related Programs appropriations bill. Massie, a vocal critic
> of Americas support for Israel, introduced the amendment to H.R. 8595, the
> State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations Act for
> fiscal 2027, in late June.
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> Policy
>
> The U.S. provides Israel with about $3.8 billion in military assistance
> annually under a 10-year agreement signed in 2016. The package includes
> $3.3 billion in FMF grants and $500 million for missile defense
> cooperation, making Israel one of the largest recipients of U.S. military
> aid. The U.S. has authorized billions in emergency military assistance,
> particularly following Hamas October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which
> killed about 1,200 people and took around 250 hostages. Israel responded
> with an intense military campaign in Gaza, which has killed over 73,000
> Palestinians and caused mass displacement.
> Related Story
> [image: JD Vance and the Democrats Put Netanyahu’s Israel on Notice]
> JD Vance and the Democrats Put Netanyahu’s Israel on Notice
>
>
>
> In April 2024, Congress passed supplemental appropriations that provided
> $8.7 billion to Israel.
>
> The Kentucky Republican has long opposed foreign aid and has become one of
> the most outspoken Republican critics of continued U.S. military assistance
> abroad, as well as foreign interventions including the Iran war.
>
> On Wednesday afternoon, 103 Democrats voted for the amendment and 98
> against. Ten Democrats voted "present." Only one Republican, presumably
> Massie, voted for the amendment, with 215 voting against. In total, the
> amendment received 104 yeas and 313 nays and did not pass.
>
> The amendment comes nearly two months after Massie lost his Republican
> primary following repeated clashes with President Donald Trump over issues
> including U.S. involvement in foreign conflicts and the administrations
> handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
>
> In a Wednesday X post following the unsuccessful vote, Massie wrote that
> while his amendment did not pass, "104 House Members voted in favor of it.
> The tide is changing. Americans want their tax dollars to be spent
> improving things here at home, not waging war and genocide."
>
> View this post on X
>
> Related Story
> [image: Ro Khanna Calls for Charges After Israeli Settlers Detain Him in
> West Bank]
> Ro Khanna Calls for Charges After Israeli Settlers Detain Him in West Bank
>
>
> What Democrats Said Ahead of the Vote
>
> Ahead of the Wednesday vote, some Democrats announced their opposition to
> the amendment, including Representative Sam Liccardo, who called the
> amendment "flawed and overbroad."
>
> House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a letter obtained by *The
> New York Times *that there were "more decisive ways to achieve the urgent
> change necessary" regarding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He
> also said that House Republican leaders are “trying to weaponize an
> amendment they do not support for nakedly partisan reasons."
>
> Senator John Fetterman warned that the Democratic Party was "becoming more
> anti-Israel and hostile to people" who are pro-Israel.
>
> "My long-term concern has been with the Democratic Party, as I am a member
> of that, is that our party is going to back away and turn their back to
> Israel," he said at the Hill Nation Summit in Washington, D.C., on
> Wednesday. "If our party ever becomes — and just makes it official — the
> anti-Israel party, thats when I would leave because thats been a moral
> clarity for me."
>
> However, several Democrats expressed their support for the amendment,
> including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who
> said in a
> statement, "The United States must be a force for security and stability.
> The American people are rightly demanding an end to a perpetual cycle of
> war, and the Netanyahu government cannot maintain its current course.
> Therefore, while this amendment is ill-conceived, I vote yes for the
> message that it sends."
>
> Representative Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts Democrat, said ahead of the
> vote that Israel is "acting against Americas national security interests"
> and against "its own long-term interests as well." Therefore, continuing
> unconditional assistance would be condoning an unacceptable status quo.”
>
> "Withholding these funds would not leave Israel defenseless. Israel has a
> nearly $50B defense budget and Congress also gave Israel an additional $9B
> over and above annual appropriations in 2024," Moulton added.
>
> Another Massachusetts Democrat, House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, who
> voted for the measure, said ahead of the vote that America shouldnt give
> any country a "blank check" if they arent complying with American laws,
> interests and values.
>
> "The Netanyahu government has failed to meet that standard," Clark said.
> U.S. Changing Views on Israel
>
> The U.S. is a close ally of Israel, providing billions in military aid and
> diplomatic support for years. Public opinion in the U.S., however, has
> shifted since October 7, 2023.
>
> Recent polling shows that America has become much more divided over U.S.
> support for Israel, which has historically had significant support.
>
> A June AP-NORC poll found that 58 percent of Democrats said the U.S. is
> too supportive of Israel, up from 45 percent in January 2024, while 60
> percent of Republicans said the current level of U.S. support is "about
> right."
>
> Overall, 31 percent of U.S. adults said they believe Israels military
> actions in Gaza constitute genocide, while 49 percent said they did not
> know enough to say and 20 percent said they did not believe they constitute
> genocide.
>
> The survey also found Democrats have become increasingly supportive of
> Palestinians while support for Israel has declined within the party.
> Sixty-two percent of Democrats said the U.S. is not supportive enough of
> Palestinians, up from 49 percent in January 2024.
>
> The survey of 3,040 adults was conducted between June 11 and 17, with a
> margin of error of ±2.8 percentage points.
>
> A smaller subset of the AP-NORC poll
> looked
> into Jewish Americans views. Among Jewish Americans, the poll found that
> Netanyahus favorability among Jewish adults is 32 percent compared to a 59
> percent unfavorable rating.
>
> The poll also shows that 38 percent of respondents think the United States
> is too supportive of Israelis versus 24 percent who feel the U.S. is too
> supportive of Palestinians. When asked if they think Israel has committed
> genocide against Palestinians, 30 percent of Jewish adults say yes,
> compared to 49 percent who say no, while 21 percent say they dont know
> enough to render an answer.
>
> The study was conducted from June 11 to June 17 among 1,022 Jewish adults,
> with a 5 percent margin of error.
>
> A Pew Research survey of 12,574 Americans conducted May 4-17 found that
> Americans view of the Israeli government has significantly decreased since
> 2022, when 65 percent of Republicans had a favorable view of the Israeli
> government compared to 35 percent of Democrats. The latest survey found 51
> percent of Republicans do and 16 percent of Democrats.
>
> A May Reuters/Ipsos poll found Israels favorability rating among
> Democrats had fallen from 59 percent in 2018 to 22 percent.
>
> The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is a leading
> pro-Israel lobbying group and a major source of support for pro-Israel
> candidates across the country. According to the organizations online
> political portal, about 75 percent of lawmakers who received its backing
> voted against the amendment, consistent with AIPACs position on the
> measure.
>
> However, about 20 percent
> of them voted for the
> Massie Amendment to cut aid to Israel, including Representatives Clark,
> Pelosi, Seth Moulton, Seth Magaziner, Mike Quigley, and Laura Friedman,
> among others.
>
> Wednesdays vote shows that at least some Democrats, particularly
> progressives, are increasingly willing to break with their partys
> traditional support for Israel.
>
> *Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Jason Lemon
> , Sam Wilson , Gray R. Thomas.
> *
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>
> 1.
> Comment by periwinklemcfee.
> pe
> periwinklemcfee2 days ago
>
> It doesnt help when people such as Miriam Adelson are openly hostile
> to most Americans.
>
> Miriam Adelson has publicly expressed strong hostility toward
> Americans who criticize Israel or support Palestinian rights, labeling them
> as "enemies" who should be "dead to us."
> reply 6 0
> share
> report
> 2.
> Comment by tafugate.
> ta
> tafugate2 days ago
>
> i have never understood the policy of handing israel billions in aid
> and arms, and palestinians water bottles. great britain and the u.s. had to
> understand the mess they were creating. and as a responsible party, we
> should have aided both equally.
> reply 5 0
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> report
>
>