Watson Coleman Statement on Massie Amendment

Today, Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) voted in favor of the Massie Amendment to strip $3.3 billion in U.S. military assistance to Israel from a State Department spending bill (H.R. 8595). Congresswoman Watson Coleman released the following statement:

"The ongoing horror in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon has shocked the world. The United States places an expectation on its allies to hold up certain standards of humanity. Israel has not only failed to meet those standards; it has engaged in a genocide against the Palestinian people. U.S. law prohibits assistance to foreign security forces when there is credible information of significant violations of human rights. Therefore, the continued military aid to the Netanyahu government violates both our morals and our laws. Last year I stated that:

"The United States is not merely an observer in this tragedy - we are an active participant. We have supplied the weapons that have flattened neighborhoods, wiped out entire generations of families, and enabled Netanyahu's relentless assault. The United States has an obligation to identify a red line and hold our allies accountable when they behave in a way that threatens every person's right to peace and self-determination. We cannot claim to support a ceasefire while providing Prime Minister Netanyahu with the fire that has engulfed Gaza. There must be an arms embargo. If we truly believe in human rights and the dignity of all people, we must stop arming the very forces that are carrying out these atrocities."

"The Massie amendment holds Israel to the same standard we should hold all our allies to and so I voted for it."