Tagged U.S. aid to Israel

Joe Biden: ‘Absolutely outrageous’ to use Israel aid as leverage
November 3, 2019 / JTA Staff

(JTA) — Presidential candidate Joe Biden says it would be a “gigantic mistake” to condition aid to Israel on stopping settlement expansion. The former vice president told a Wall Street Journal reporter it would be “absolutely outrageous” for the United States to take that approach — a position that… Read more »

What exactly is Elizabeth Warren’s Israel policy?

Sen. Elizabeth Warren campaigns in Florence, S.C., Oct. 26, 2019. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
November 3, 2019 / Ron Kampeas, JTA

WASHINGTON (JTA) — When it comes to pressuring Israel, Elizabeth Warren doesn’t have a specific plan. The senator from Massachusetts, who has caught up in polling with front-runners for the Democratic presidential nomination, now faces intensified scrutiny as a newly viable contender. And what has emerged is that Warren… Read more »

Obama’s $38B aid package to Israel comes with caveats: It’s generous, but on his terms

Jacob Nagel, left, Israel's acting national security adviser, signing a Memorandum of Understanding for $38 billion of U.S. defense assistance over 10 years with Undersecretary of State Tom Shannon, Sept. 14, 2016. (Embassy of Israel)
September 15, 2016 / Ron Kampeas, JTA

WASHINGTON (JTA) – President Barack Obama’s near parting gift to Israel, a guarantee of $38 billion in defense assistance over a decade, distills into a single document what he’s been saying throughout eight fraught years: I have your back, but on my terms. The agreement signed Wednesday in the State Department’s… Read more »

In budget battles, Obama administration sees Jews as playing key role
April 24, 2013 / Ron Kampeas, JTA
Gene Sperling, the chairman of President Obama's Council of Economic Advisors, speaking at the Reform movement's Consultation on Conscience, April 23, 2013. (Courtesy Religious Action Center)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — In the battle to end the across-the-board budget cuts known as sequestration, it’s all hands on deck. Increasingly for the Obama administration, which is deadlocked over the budget with the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, that means reaching out to Jews. In conference calls and in appearances… Read more »

Protestant churches’ letter on Israel straining ties with Jews
October 15, 2012 / Neil Rubin, JTA

WASHINGTON (JTA) — When 15 prominent American Protestant leaders sent a letter to Congress last week calling for an investigation and possible suspension of U.S. aid to Israel, at least one outcome was certain: The Jews wouldn’t like it. Already, one major American Jewish group has canceled its participation… Read more »