Jeremy Ben-Ami, J Street President, issued the following statement after Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that he would end all foreign aid, including assistance to Israel:
J Street is alarmed by Senator Rand Paul’s suggestion that the United States should end all foreign aid, including to Israel. The foreign operations bill is a pillar of the US-Israel relationship and advances American diplomatic objectives by providing aid not just to Israel but to key partners in the Middle East and elsewhere across the globe. Senator Paul’s proposal would undermine the decades-long bipartisan consensus on U.S. support for Israel. Any erosion of support should concern Israel’s friends on both sides of the political aisle, and we call in particular on leaders and donors in Senator Paul’s party to repudiate his comments and ensure that American leadership around the world is not threatened by this irresponsible proposal.