J Street is deeply disappointed in the Biden Administration’s abdication of its responsibility to uphold and enforce US law by making a clear, accurate determination on Israel’s failure to comply with international legal requirements related to humanitarian aid and benchmarks set by the administration itself.
“The law is clear: American arms cannot be provided to governments that are actively blocking humanitarian aid. It’s time to stop the spin and admit that the Netanyahu government is violating its obligations,” said J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami. “Backtracking from these requests is not only a breach of our laws and values that makes America look weak, but it will cost lives in Gaza, damage US influence and allow Netanyahu to continue to trash Israel’s reputation and our shared values.”
“President Biden should not end his term by bending US law to allow Netanyahu’s far-right government to withhold aid from starving families, opening the door to further violations under Trump. He has the chance to give force and meaning to his stated empathy for the Palestinian people and to strengthen US legal safeguards before Trump takes office,” Ben-Ami said.
Report cards produced by leading humanitarian agencies – as well as the Israeli government’s own data – show that the Netanyahu government has not met the main aid benchmarks set out in an October 13 letter from the Biden Administration. Just last week, State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller gave the Netanyahu government a “fail” grade on addressing the administration’s concerns.
J Street is not calling for any new legislation or conditions specific to Israel. The President has the necessary flexibility under current law to exempt certain weapons transfers from such pauses – such as transfers to resupply Iron Dome and other purely defensive weapons systems – and we urge him to do so.