A resolution honoring Israel on its 75th year passed in the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly on Tuesday evening, after Yom Ha’atzmaut—Israeli Independence Day—had already begun.
“I am beyond proud that the United States was the first nation to recognize the nascent State of Israel in 1948,” Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) said in a speech on the House floor.
The shared values of Americans and Israelis “have been the bedrock of an extraordinary relationship, strengthening ties along cultural, economic, technological and security lines, and in so many more ways as well,” added Schneider, who was one of four congressional leaders of the Abraham Accords Caucus to propose the resolution.
The resolution, which was the subject of a contentious question at Tuesday’s State Department daily press briefing during which a Foggy Bottom spokesman chastised a reporter for commenting rather than posing questions, drew praise from Jewish and pro-Israel organizations.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) applauded the House for “overwhelmingly adopting a resolution recognizing the importance of Israel’s 75th anniversary and expressing support both for strengthening the Abraham Accords and expanding U.S.-Israel cooperation.”
The statement demonstrates that “despite the pulls of the most radical, progressive wing of the Democratic Party, the strength of the U.S.-Israel relationship remains overwhelmingly healthy, and that most American members of Congress fully appreciate the profound strength of the U.S.-Israel partnership,” said the Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET).
Opposing the bill were Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and 18 Democrats: Reps. Cori Bush (Mo.), Jared Huffman (Calif.), Summer Lee (Pa.), Betty McCollum (Minn.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), Mark Pocan (Wisc.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), Rashida Tlaib (Mich.), Pramila Jayapal (Wash.), Chuy Garcia (Ill.), Andre Carson (Ind.), Raul Grijalva (Ariz.), Jamaal Bowman (N.Y.), Hank Johnson (Ga.), Nydia Velazquez (N.Y.), Mark DeSaulnier (Calif.) and Delia Ramirez (Ill.).
