Dozens of NGOs Urge US Congress to Halt Expanded Military Cooperation with Israel
Over fifty human rights and civil society organizations have sent a letter to U.S. lawmakers demanding the removal of a provision from the draft defense budget that would expand military cooperation with Israel. The confidential letter, whose contents were published by Reuters, includes major organizations such as Amnesty International's U.S. branch and the National Lawyers Guild, alongside various Arab and Jewish community groups. The activists directed their appeal to the leaders of the relevant committees in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate.
They expressed strong opposition to a clause in the bill that proposes establishing joint ventures and partnerships in defense technology. The letter's authors described deepening this integration as an "extremely dangerous step" given the "growing divergence of interests" between the two countries. As an example, the "Jewish-Palestinian Alliance of Oregon" was cited for condemning the October 7th war and defending Hezbollah, stating, "Using its military superiority, Israel tried to do with Hezbollah what it did with Hamas, killing leaders and carrying out indiscriminate bombings."
Previously, some members of Congress attempted to block the provision for expanded military-technical cooperation with Israel through amendments during the discussion of the fiscal year 2027 defense budget, but these initiatives were not included in the current version of the document. Proponents of the bill maintain that closer ties between the military-technical sectors are crucial for accelerating innovation and developing new systems.
According to the human rights advocates, American public opinion is increasingly turning against unconditional support for Israel, citing polls that show a record decline in support for Israeli policy among Americans in recent years. The final decision on the contested clause will be determined after both chambers of the U.S. Congress agree on a compromise version of the budget.
