Daylight was the problem. So New York Times columnist Bret Stephens, a passionate defender of Israel, changed the subject, sending forth an intemperate smoke-screen of anti-Semitism accusations and anti-Palestinian bigotry ("Omar, 'squad,' launch another anti-Israel strike," Opinion Exchange, Sept. 24).
Stephens was incensed that Minnesota's Fifth District U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar and her colleagues known as "the squad" were among those who opposed sending a gratuitous $1 billion tribute to Israel to restock its Iron Dome. Pro-Israel members of the House had quietly slipped that gift into an unrelated piece of urgently needed legislation intended to prevent a shutdown of the U.S. government.
It was a backdoor way to send more money to an ally that is already the largest recipient — by far — of U.S. foreign aid. But Omar and others objected.
Consequently, the $1 billion for Israel was stripped from the bill to keep our own government running. No big deal really, because the Iron Dome funding passed two days later in H.R. 5323, the Iron Dome Supplemental Appropriations Act, a special bill of its own — as everyone in Congress, as well as Stephens, knew it would.
The problem was the daylight.
American taxpayers would now see that their representatives are sending another $1 billion to Israel in addition to the annual $3.8 billion we send them. The vote in the House was 420-9. No one doubts that the Senate will also overwhelmingly approve the extra money for Israel, and that the president will sign it.
Deal almost done. But in daylight.
Lest American readers think too hard about how and why their elected representatives so quickly authorized an additional $1 billion for Israel when they can't agree on most anything else, Stephens diverted our attention by attacking the nine members of the House who voted against H.R. 5323 with his smoke-screen accusations of anti-Semitism.
