US Congress
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Two liberal groups, J Street and Americans for Peace Now, are backing a House bill to be presented this week that would list actions Israel may not fund with US money.

The measure, which will be introduced by Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., and was first reported by The Intercept, would restrict Israel from using US funds to detain Palestinian Authority (PA) Arab minors, appropriate or destroy PA property or forcibly move PA Arabs, or annex PA areas.

The endorsement by two groups that claim to be pro-Israel and McCollum’s new seniority as the chairwoman of the defense subcommittee of the powerful Appropriations Committee suggest that the bill could attract broader Democratic support than previous attempts to restrict how Israel spends US assistance. Americans for Peace Now is a member of the umbrella Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

J Street prides itself as being “pro-Israel” and “pro-peace,” but many, if not most, Jewish constituents believe that the organization actually undermines the interests of the State of Israel and Jewish people. In the past, the group has expressed support for BDS of Jewish goods made in Judea and Samaria.

“It’s time that Congress stand up and defend the human rights of the Palestinian people,” McCollum said Wednesday on Twitter.

Spokesmen for J Street and Americans for Peace Now confirmed that they backed the bill. The latter’s president, Hadar Susskind, said that the bill does not condition aid to Israel but restricts it. Thus Israel may carry out the activities named in the bill, but would incur no penalty if it can show the actions were completed without the use of American funds.

US assistance to Israel, $3.8 billion a year, overwhelmingly goes to weapons systems.

The bill requires State Department and General Accounting Office reporting on whether Israel is using US funds to carry out the restricted activities, but it does not describe a mechanism to penalize Israel.

“The one thing this bill does is that it requires reporting,” Susskind said.

The bill expands prior attempts by McCollum to restrict areas where Israel may spend US funds. McCollum has sought previously to keep Israel from spending US funds on detaining PA minors, even those who engage in terror activities. Center and right-wing pro-Israel groups, chief among them AIPAC, have forcefully opposed the McCollum initiatives.

APN and J Street, which launches its annual conference this weekend, did back separate legislation last year that would have banned Israel from spending US money on annexation.