J Street, a prominent Jewish American organization working on Middle East issues, is joining the growing push to stop President Donald Trump from sending $23 billion in military arms and equipment to the United Arab Emirates. The group’s opposition, which has not been previously reported, bolsters the effort to block the deal through a congressional vote later this week.
“We oppose this arms sale and urge Senators to vote for the bipartisan resolutions rejecting it introduced by Senators [Bob] Menendez, Chris Murphy and [Rand] Paul,” J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami told HuffPost in an email. “The sale of a massive quantity of such destructive weapons systems to the UAE would only further fuel an escalating arms race in a region already suffering from destabilizing wars that endanger civilians and undermine U.S. interests.”
Menendez (D-N.J.), Murphy (D-Conn.), Paul (R-Ky.) and other opponents of Trump’s dangerous deal with the UAE could benefit from the added support. Congress has 30 days from when the State Department notified it of the weapons transfer to vote to block the sale. The Senate is expected to vote on resolutions opposing the arms deal on Dec. 10 or 11, just within that 30-day window. Those resolutions will need support from all Democrats and a handful of Republican senators to pass. If they do, the Democratic-led House is all but guaranteed to immediately take them up and pass them as well.
While Trump is almost certain to then veto the legislation ― as he has previously done to defend UAE ally Saudi Arabia ― votes against the deal would be a major rebuke of the UAE government’s policies and would send a message to President-elect Joe Biden, who could halt the weapons shipments.
J Street’s decision, in particular, to oppose the deal is highly significant because of the group’s status as a pro-Israel voice that’s respected by progressives, mainstream politicians and even some hawkish figures.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/uae-arms-sale-israel-j-street_n_5fcabc06c5b619bc4c32fd2f
No comments:
Post a Comment