U.S. - Israel Relationship
For over 25 years, I have served on the House Foreign Affairs Committee where I am the second ranking Democrat.
Throughout my time in Congress, I have worked to support U.S. friendship and increased cooperation with Israel, our closest ally in the Middle East.
I currently serve as the Co-Chair of the House’s Israel Allies Caucus, where I work to strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship.
Since 1997, I have spoken at every annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference in Washington D.C.
Israel faces an unprecedented magnitude and variety of threats, from Hamas to Hizballah to Iran. Hamas is firing rockets to kill as many Israeli civilians as they can. Each rocket is a war crime, whether it achieves Hamas’ bloody objective, or not.
Accordingly, Congress is committed to maintaining Israel’s qualitative military edge (QME) and its ability to defend itself, by itself, against persistent threats. U.S. aid to Israel is only ½ of 1% of our national security budget, is the best investment we can make in our own security.
U.S.-Israel cooperative missile defense programs, including the Iron Dome, Arrow 3, and David’s Sling systems, are critical to saving countless Israeli civilian lives while preventing further escalation of hostilities.
After Hamas launched 4,500 rockets targeting Israeli civilians during the spring of 2021, I sent a letter to the Department of Defense urging the Biden Administration to continue its support of Israel’s safety and security by replenishing the Iron Dome.
I was proud to vote for this supplemental funding to replenish the Iron Dome and was pleased that it passed with overwhelming support in the House.
When this critical funding was blocked by a Republican Senator, I sent a letter urging President Biden to put his weight behind this issue by specifically requesting that Congress include supplemental funding for Israel’s Iron Dome in an appropriations bill so as to circumvent Senate delays.
I sent a second letter to the Chairwoman and Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee urging the $1 billion in Iron Dome replenishment funding to be included in the upcoming FY2022 appropriations bill.
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy released a statement by Leon Panetta, David Petraeus, and others, which states in part: “for the sake of our diplomatic effort to resolve this crisis, we believe it is vital to restore Iran’s fear that its current nuclear path will trigger the use of force against it by the United States.”
I’ve joined the authors of the statement in urging the Biden Administration to continue aggressively pursuing a diplomatic solution to bringing Iran back into compliance with the JCPOA, while also giving more leverage to its diplomatic efforts by establishing a credible threat to Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
We must also work to address Iran’s other destructive policies.
I signed a letter to President Biden urging the Administration to also address issues outside of Iran’s nuclear program, including Iran’s involvement in Syria, Yemen, Iraq, its support for terrorism, Iran's domestic human rights abuses, and especially its ballistic missile program.
All too often when people think of Israel, they think of a recent terrorist attack. When people think of Israel they should think not of tsuris, but of science.
I authored the legislation that established the U.S.-Israel Energy Cooperation Program. Since its inception, Congress has provided $39.7 million for the U.S.-Israel Energy Cooperative Agreement program, fully matched dollar for dollar by the Government of Israel.
Since 2009, the program has leveraged over $47 million in private sector investment.
The U.S.-Israel Energy Cooperation Program supports joint U.S.-Israel research and development in energy efficiency and alternative power, including biofuels, energy storage, new solar and wind projects, electric vehicles, and increased grid efficiency.
Congress established two new cooperative initiatives to leverage U.S.-Israel collaboration to address the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as enhance development cooperation in the areas of water resources, agriculture and energy storage between USAID and Israel in developing countries.
I led two letters to the Appropriations Committee, signed by more than 80 bi-partisan Members of Congress, to request funds for cooperative bi-national COVID-related and health technologies research, and to continue U.S.-Israel cooperation to address sustainability challenges in the developing world.
The U.S.-Israel COVID-19 and health technologies partnership is not an aid program. This initiative leverages a relatively small government investment to incentivize innovation in pursuit of a critical objective: defeat COVID-19.
Innovative and cutting-edge technology is increasingly necessary to keep us all safe. The U.S.-Israel BIRD Homeland Security program facilitates cooperative projects between two-partner entities, one from the U.S. and one from Israel, and leverages government investments through partnerships with the academic and private sector to identify gaps in critical capabilities while building stronger connections between the U.S. and Israel.
Normalizing relations between Israel and its regional neighbors has been an enduring goal of the United States, and one I continue to work towards.
I cosponsored the Israel Relations Normalization Act. This bill will be integral in creating strategies to strengthen and expand peace and normalization agreements in the region, as well as monitoring the emergence of laws that would hinder this critical goal.
I also continue to promote normalization efforts through my meetings with foreign dignitaries as a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
I met with the Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita and Ambassador Lalla Joumala and discussed the progress of Morocco-Israel diplomatic ties following Morocco’s agreement to normalize relations with Israel where we discussed Morocco’s commitment to enacting the steps outlined in this agreement including their plans for opening an embassy in Israel and the start of direct flights.
More on U.S. - Israel Relationship
Washington, D.C. -- President Isaac Herzog of Israel traveled to the United States as part of an official state visit. President Herzog met with Congressional leaders, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Congressman Brad Sherman, where they discussed various critical issues.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA), senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued the following statement in response to Israel and Gaza militants exchanging fire after deadly strikes and attacks:
In response to a tweet issued by Representative Ilhan Omar, Congressman Sherman issued the following statement:
It’s not news that Ilhan Omar would make outrageous and clearly false statements about America and Israel. What’s newsworthy is that she admits Hamas is guilty of “unthinkable atrocities”. It’s time for all of Israel’s detractors to condemn Hamas. And it’s time for all those of good will to reject any moral equivalency between the U.S. and Israel on one hand, and Hamas and the Taliban on the other.
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks), reintroduced the Peace and Tolerance in Palestinian Education Act to require the Secretary of State to submit a report to Congress reviewing textbooks produced by the Palestinian Authority (PA). There are concerns that such textbooks include language and imagery that encourage violence and hatred toward other nations and ethnic groups. Such content is particularly concerning given the use of such materials in educational settings for children as young as primary school age.
For many decades, the pro-Israel community has united behind one proposition: that final status issues should be negotiated directly between the parties.
Washington, D.C. – Today, multiple amendments offered by Congressman Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks), a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, to H.R. 5105, or the BUILD Act, passed the Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously.
Congressman Sherman is a cosponsor of the BUILD Act, which will transfer the functions, personnel, assets, liabilities, and policies of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) to the U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and expand its authorities.
Washington, D.C. – Today, the House Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously passed H.R. 5105, or the BUILD Act. Congressman Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks), a senior member on the Foreign Affairs Committee, is a cosponsor of the BUILD Act, which will require the functions, personnel, assets, liabilities, and policies of OPIC to transfer to the U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and expand its authorities.
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) applauded the passage of government funding legislation that includes the FY 2018 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill. Sherman led the successful effort to secure $6 million in funding for two U.S.-Israel energy cooperation programs.
Washington, D.C. – The House Appropriations Committee approved the FY 2018 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill that includes $2 million in funding for the U.S.-Israel Energy Cooperative Agreement and $4 million in funding for the development of the U.S.-Israel Energy Center.
Washington, DC – Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA) led a bipartisan group of 135 House members in a request of $2 million for the U.S.–Israel Energy Cooperation Program in the Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill.
The appropriations request this year included the highest number of signatories – 130 members of Congress – since the creation of the program in 2008.