Republican Senator Rand Paul opposes the “forever” funding of Israel by the US
The Kentucky Senator came under fire after blocking a bill authorizing tens of billions in military aid to Israel over 10 years, according to a report by Politico
Paul placed a hold on the bill on Oct. 11 using his Senate privileges.
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Press TV reports: Paul said that he was opposed to legislation, known as the United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act of 2018, and sought to make changes in it in coming days.
“While I’m not for foreign aid in general, if we are going to send aid to Israel it should be limited in time and scope so we aren’t doing it forever, and it should be paid for by cutting the aid to people who hate Israel and America,” Paul’s office said in an statement.
The legislation gives Tel Aviv $38 billion in the framework of a defense aid package over 10 years and was negotiated in the final days of the Obama administration.
Paul’s move has met strong opposition by major pro-Israel groups.
“Sen. Paul’s decision to hold this bill does not make America safer and does not ensure taxpayer dollars are used most efficiently – quite the opposite,” the lobbying arm of the largest pro-Israel organization in the country said. Christians United for Israel (CUFI) Action Fund Chairwoman Sandra Parker claimed, “Aid to Israel provides the US with an extraordinary return on investment.”
Earlier this year, Israel lauded the US decision to cut aid to the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said back in September that funding UNRWA perpetuated the Israeli-Palestinian conflict instead of solving it.
