The shift will strip away the political and diplomatic oversight mechanisms that make the relationship publicly accountable, moving it from a visible annual aid vote into the opaque machinery of defense acquisition, where oversight is limited and political accountability is minimal. The result would be a defense relationship that is simultaneously deeper and less transparent.
This all comes at a time when the Israeli military has repeatedly used U.S. weapons in strikes that have violated international humanitarian laws in Gaza, and as Israel has repeatedly violated ceasefires (as has the U.S. itself) in the Trump administration’s unnecessary war with Iran.
The enormous gulf between what most Americans want and what the president is doing when it comes to Israel and what Congress is proposing here should not be ignored. Just 30% of respondents to a New York Times/Sienna poll from mid-May believe Trump made “the right decision” to go to war with Iran, with 64% saying it was wrong. An Institute for Global Affairs poll released earlier this week dove even deeper into the American psyche when it comes to arming Israel, finding that “Just 16 percent say the United States should keep supplying Israel with weapons without new restrictions. Thirty-eight percent want to stop supplying weapons entirely, and another 24 percent want weapons conditioned on how they’re used.”
Yet, mainstream leadership in both parties remains largely pro-Israel and continues to shape the base legislative text before amendments and broader congressional debate open it to the full body, as is the case with this NDAA provision.
Crosspost from https://lemmy.ml/post/48024011


What the fuck is going on with our congress? How are they so fucking bonkers? This does not at all serve our national interest
It serves the interest of capital. The biggest difference between the fascist interest of the past and the present is that capital has globalized to such a degree that there is essentially no loyalty to a nation as you would see in to some degree in the past. If it existed at all really - many American capitalist were aligned with the Nazis more than their own country. Henry Ford being a household name as an example.
Now, this doesn’t mean fascist don’t still use nationalism as a tool. But, the capitalist interest that the fascist protect are the priority and have been disconnected from the imperial core so much that their is no material benefit that they need to offer. The imperial core essentially serves as a speculative financial market and nothing more. Their only value has been reduced to upholding the societal structures that allow that to continue.
They just don’t care about pretending anymore. American foreign policy has always been that of imperialism and colonialism. It only makes sense that those interests have empowered and moved to its most valuable proxy state in Israel. To such a degree that any foreign policy action is now centered around its own attack dogs interests.
The people that say “Israel is controlling American foreign policy” or the people that attempt to explain that “Israel is just the attack dog for American interest” are both right and wrong to a degree.
The conversation based on national interest is just not sufficient to really explain it. It is definitely still important to understanding the past and how we got here. It is important in understanding how national identities still impact media narratives today.
But, the idea of “Israel controls America” is about as useful as “the Jews control America”. The identity of states in our current world is as unhelpful as Liberals of the past aligning with fascist to use Jews, Communist, or any other scapegoat to point to as the problem.
It’s why we are seeing a preparation in the right wing and left of American politics to pivot away from Israel in a post Trump era.
It is only my hope that the socdem politics of Mamdani on the left win out against the upcoming Tucker Carlson anti Israel politics of the right.
America will use Israel as it’s scapegoat for its own Imperialist crimes. This is certain. However, the right will only move into rascism, Imperialism, and fascism further. The leftward movement is the only chance we have to actually hold the true criminals and capitalist oligarchs accountable one day. But, for now, it’s a left that benefits from Americans believing their national identity is still “separate” from the crimes of its military and Israel. We just do not have the level of class consciousness for Americans to understand this yet. The left will not benefit from explaining what I’m explaining now. The masses are not there yet. So a message of “Israel is the problem” is a better explanation at this point. It allows us to combat the anti Israel shift on the right by agreeing with it and offering a better solution.
The masses aren’t prepared for class based explanations. All they will hear at this point would be “Israel isn’t the only problem” while the right falls for simple “what is going on” Tucker Carlson like explanations that allow Americans to feel better that “it’s just Israel”.
I just hope we can build class consciousness before it’s too late. Because fascism doesn’t end with Trump if we get another 4 years of of neoliberalism that follows. The left needs to show it can deliver real material improvement to the working class of America. And right now. That’s only done by agreeing with the post Trump right that “Israel is the problem” and not getting stuck in trying to get people to understand the class based explanation like this comment gives.
Americans won’t be swayed by the moral arguments of the left. They won’t even be swayed by explaining that the billionaires are their enemies. They will only build class consciousness when they see the material benefits to their lives of leftist politics. And their whole lives they have been conditioned into believing that that is something as neoliberal and capitalist as “Obamacare”.
Citizen’s United, and AIPAC.
Do not vote for ANY politician who has received a single dollar from the Israeli lobby. It’s more important than voting with your preferred party.
“National interest” has always been a euphemism for “bourgeois class interest.” It has never meant our interests, those of the proletarian majority. Previously.
they’re bought and paid for
You suffer from the illusion that congress as it currently exists represents humans. Congress represents corporate persons and special interests. There are two categories of corporate persons, a) those with just enough foresight to still be mildly afraid human persons will catch on and do something to overthrow them (Democrats), b) those who don’t care what you cattle think, because they have the psychological tools to manipulate you into doing whatever they want (Republicans). At no point is your opinion relevant because neither party actually cares, they’ll have their public relations team tell you what you’re permitted to care about closer to election day. AIPAC, the special interest group representing the Israeli government funds both, and so extracts favors as they see fit. It’s not at all crazy once you recognize the underlying structure. Evil, but not crazy.
they are fascists. this is the kind of thing fascists do.
It’s more than that, it’s just straight up fucking treason and grifting at its highest.
as is tradition for us fascists
i think you have not been paying attention since the us was founded