Rabbis support House bill to make US aid to Israel more transparent

The bill does not intend to change or diminish the amount of aid going to Israel, but it will prohibit the use of US funding to go towards acts categorized as human rights abuses.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
AN IDF SOLDIER stands next to an entrance to a cross-border attack tunnel dug from Gaza to Israel, near Kissufim last year. (photo credit: JACK GUEZ)
AN IDF SOLDIER stands next to an entrance to a cross-border attack tunnel dug from Gaza to Israel, near Kissufim last year.
(photo credit: JACK GUEZ)
Rabbis and Jewish community leaders in the US have voiced their support for a bill that would bring transparency to US foreign aid spending in Israel.
The organization, T'ruah, which represents over 2,000 rabbis and cantors, endorsed bill HR 2590, the Defending the Human Rights of Palestinian Children and Families Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act, which was introduced in the House of Representatives last week, T'ruah said in a statement.
“United States tax dollars allocated for Israel should not be used to violate the human rights of people living in the occupied territories, including detaining children, demolishing and seizing homes, forcibly transferring populations, or aiding the further annexation of Palestinian land," said executive director of T’ruah Rabbi Jill Jacobs.
"Specifically, HB 2590 would require the Secretary of State to certify to Congress that no US funding has been used by Israel for a range of activities that involve human rights abuses," she said.
If unable to make such a certification, the Secretary of State would be obligated to report in detail on such violations and the US funds spent on them. The bill would also require reporting on US funds granted to Israel for offshore procurement – that is, how Israel is spending American aid earmarked by Congress specifically for military-related purchases from within Israel or from countries other than the United States (Israel is the only country that receives such an earmark).
The current security assistance Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Israel gradually phases out this offshore procurement, but through 2028, billions of dollars will be granted under this category, which effectively constitutes a blank check.
The bill does not intend to change or diminish the amount of aid going to Israel, but it will prohibit US funding to go towards the detention of minors, demolishing or seizing Palestinian property or annexation efforts. It will also require officials to report on any abuses of US funding that comes to light.
Jacobs added that the Secretary of State Antony Blinken would be responsible for reporting these abuses.
"The bill would also require reporting on US funds granted to Israel for offshore procurement -- that is, how Israel is spending US aid earmarked by Congress specifically for military-related purchases from within Israel or from countries other than the United States (Israel is the only country that receives such an earmark)," Jacobs added.
"The current security assistance Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Israel gradually phases out this offshore procurement, but through 2028, billions of dollars will be granted under this category, which effectively constitutes a blank check."
“Transparency is crucial both in human rights law and in Judaism, as one cannot address human rights abuses without first exposing them," Jacobs said, concluding that "T’ruah supports the passage of HR 2590, representing a concrete step toward bringing transparency to the manner in which US funding is used; ensuring that US money is not used to detain children, demolish homes, seize property, transfer populations, or extend annexation; and holding Israel to the same moral standard as other countries.”