Dozens of civil rights and advocacy groups are urging Congress to scrap a defence bill provision that would deepen US-Israeli military technology ties, according to a letter seen by Reuters, at a time of growing US skepticism toward the longtime ally.
The provision would deepen co-operation between the US and Israeli defence sectors by accelerating joint military technology development and other partnerships. The bill passed the House of Representatives in July and awaits Senate action.
The provision of the 2027 National Defence Authorisation Act, known as Section 219, seeks to set up frameworks for joint ventures, licensing agreements and US-based co-production partnerships with the Israeli industry.
In Thursday’s letter addressed to leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, 56 groups said deeper integration with Israel’s defence sector would be “exceptionally dangerous” and urged legislators to remove the provision.
The groups include Amnesty International USA and the civil rights network National Lawyers Guild as well as Arab and Jewish advocacy groups.
“At a time in which American interests are increasingly diverging from those of Israel, and American public opinion is turning increasingly against unconditional support to Israel, creating new points of influence for Israel in the US defence-technology ecosystem is exceptionally dangerous,” said the letter, which has not been previously reported.
Israel is one of Washington’s closest allies in the Middle East, and the two countries co-operate extensively on defence and intelligence issues. Supporters say deeper ties could help speed military innovation and technology development.
A spokesperson from the Israeli Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this story.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a May interview with CBS that he hoped to wean Israel off US military support within a decade. In a June letter to a US congressman he wrote that the time has come for Israel “to move from aid recipient to partner.”
Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen told Reuters that it was not in US national interests to deepen such co-operation with the Netanyahu government.
US public support for Israel has fallen since the Gaza war began in 2023, particularly among Democrats. A June Quinnipiac University poll found 48 per cent of voters and 66pc of Democrats believe the United States is too supportive of Israel, up from 16pc and 20pc when the question was first asked in 2017.
Support for Israel among Democratic voters has plummeted, candidates critical of Israel are winning Democratic primaries and even moderate legislators are increasingly willing to challenge decades of US support for Israel.
The letter also criticises Israel for its potential violations of international humanitarian law in its war in Gaza and rising settler violence against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
A memorandum of understanding that provides $3.8 billion annual US military aid to Israel is approaching its expiration date in 2028 and conversations are under way on how Washington’s assistance to Israel would evolve beyond that date.
Some members of Congress have already tried to strip the provision from the fiscal 2027 NDAA. Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Democratic Representative Ro Khanna of California introduced an amendment to block it, but it did not make it into the House version of the bill.
Once the House and Senate write their versions of the NDAA, members of the two chambers work out a compromise version of the bill, which must pass both chambers – typically near the end of the calendar year – before it can be sent to the White House for President Donald Trump to sign into law or veto.
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