On May 20, 2021, US President Joe Biden promised that his administration would help replenish Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, which “saved the lives of countless Israeli citizens, both Arab and Jew” during May’s Hamas-initiated war against the Jewish state. During the 11-day conflict, the most severe outburst of violence since 2014, Gaza Strip-based terrorist groups indiscriminately fired more than 4,000 rockets towards Israeli population centers, resulting in the killing of at least 13 Israelis.
As the Israeli government nonetheless noted, despite the massive barrages of rockets “relatively speaking Israeli casualties were few and there was relatively light property damage.” This incredible fact can be primarily attributed to the country’s ten Iron Dome batteries. According to Israel Defense Forces (IDF) data, the system shot down roughly 90 percent of all projectiles launched at Israeli towns and cities, likely saving hundreds of lives during the recent conflict alone.
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However, with each interceptor missile costing an estimated $50,000, and the costs per interception thought to be even higher, Jerusalem in all probability spent at least $150 million fending off May’s rocket attacks.
Moreover, prior to Mays’ hostilities, Israeli assessments were that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) had stockpiled around 13,000-15,000 rockets, which would leave the US-designated terror groups with enough arms to bombard Israeli civilians incessantly for almost a month in a future confrontation.
Accordingly, President Biden on May 20 assured then-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu of his “full support to replenish Israel’s Iron Dome system to ensure its defenses and security in the future.”
At the same time, Biden vowed to assist with reconstruction efforts in Gaza.
Nevertheless, the US president’s promise hit a snag. This week, news surfaced that Congress had earmarked $1 billion to fund Iron Dome’s replenishment. Initially, the financial aid was stipulated in an annual appropriations bill. However, when the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act (H. R. 5305) was on September 21 brought to a vote in the House of Representatives, the Iron Dome provision was nowhere to be found.
As reported by Politico, Democrats at the last minute nixed the support for Israel’s miraculous system amid “objections from a group of House progressives.” Israeli media cited Congressional aides who named Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, among others, as having opposed the measure to further secure the Jewish state.
The move came just days after Ocasio-Cortez submitted an amendment to the annual defense spending bill to block the sale of JDAM bomb guidance kits to Israel. The GPS tail kits, manufactured by Boeing in the US and used by 27 militaries worldwide, enable the IDF to target terrorist operatives in the Gaza Strip with remarkable accuracy: that is, within one to two meters (3.3-6.6 feet).
Such precision has effectively saved the lives of countless Palestinian civilians who are often used as human shields by terror groups like Hamas and PIJ.
Related Reading: Unreported: IDF Values Life as Hamas Aims to Maximize Casualties
Iron Dome Preventing Ground War, Further Escalation
The cynical attempt to block funding for life-saving defensive military aid received pushback from prominent Democrats like House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, as well as Representatives Ted Deutch, Elissa Slotkin, Ritchie Torres, Kathy Manning, Brad Schneider and many others.
Schneider explained his position, saying: “Iron Dome defended Israel, saving lives on both sides of the border [with Gaza].” A similar assertion was made by Dennis Ross, who served as an adviser on Middle East affairs and peace negotiator in numerous US administrations:
Blocking funding for Iron Dome may well harm Israelis and Palestinians alike. If Israel cannot protect its citizens from Hamas rockets, it will have to go into Gaza on the ground to prevent them from being fired. In that case, Palestinian and Israeli losses will be much higher.”
The move by the leaders of the progressive wing of the Democratic party — who collectively have been dubbed ‘the Squad’ — comes on the backdrop of a relentless assault on Israel’s right to defend itself.
For example, The New York Times has argued that the Jewish state and Hamas are “unevenly matched,” as the former has a “sophisticated antimissile defense system.” Like the House progressives, NYT’s Patrick Kingsley apparently has failed to grasp that Iron Dome saves lives on both sides by preventing further escalation.
And Human Rights Watch, in a blatantly biased report, this summer also seemed to come out in favor of preventing Israel from acquiring US-made military equipment that protects the lives of innocent civilians.
Related Reading: NYT Hatchet Job: ‘Investigation’ Into Israeli Wartime Strikes Leads to Vicious Insinuations… But Zero Conclusions
Tlaib: Iron Dome Is ‘State Sanctioned Violence’
Following what has become somewhat of a diplomatic fiasco, Democratic lawmakers have proposed to vote separately on the Iron Dome funding (H. R. 5323). In response, Representative Tlaib announced on September 22 that she would vote no, after retweeting an evident false claim that missile defense amounts to “state sanctioned violence.”
I plan on casting a no vote.
We must stop enabling Israel’s human rights abuses and apartheid government. https://t.co/2ewRJDe7uK
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) September 23, 2021
Related Reading: Understanding US Foreign Aid to Israel
What such individuals, in addition to various media outlets and human rights organizations, are failing to communicate to the American people is that Iron Dome technology is the product of a valuable partnership between Israel and the United States.
Originally developed by Haifa-based Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, the batteries are produced in conjunction with a US-based corporation. Indeed, Raytheon Missiles & Defense employs 15,000 Arizonans and last year formed a joint venture to build a version of the Iron Dome for use in the United States.
Furthermore, Iron Dome technology also helped prevent power outages in New York, where, ironically, Ocasio-Cortez lives.
Ultimately, it appears that the bill to enhance Israel’s security amid threats by Iran-backed terror groups like Hamas and PIJ is expected to pass with bipartisan support. However, the decontextualized and fully inaccurate framing of Iron Dome as a tool of ‘state sanctioned violence’ by certain members of Congress in the long-run risks negatively impacting the US-Israel relationship, which former US president Barack Obama described as an “unbreakable bond.”
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