By: Hannah Levin

Recently, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved, in a 30-0 bipartisan vote, $600�million in funding toward Israeli missile defense programs, mandating that Israel�s Qualitative�Military Edge must be maintained. The proposed bill will fund the short- range Iron Dome�missile program, and long-range missile projects including Arrow Weapon System, and David�s�Sling anti- missile program. This funding is part of a $576 billion Defense Appropriations bill,�which was passed with a wide, bipartisan majority. However, the Obama administration, which�has proposed missile defense funding at a much lower number, pushed back, threatening to veto�the bill.

In light of this pushback from the Obama administration, a key delegation, part of the U.S.-�Israeli Security Alliance, met with U.S. Senators who were instrumental in the $600 Million�appropriation for Israel�s defense.

�The main purpose of our coming here today,� explained co-chair Joseph B. Stamm, �is to�thank the group of bipartisan senators who have been instrumental in the passage of this�legislation.�

The delegation wanted to �make sure that the Senate stays on top of it, recognizing that this is a�two-way relationship regarding bilateral trade,� said co-chair Leon Goldenberg. Aside from the�moral responsibility to Israel, Leon Goldenberg wanted to emphasize the overall robust�partnership between the two countries. He stated, �the American defense establishment does not�only support Israeli missile defense capabilities and innovation, but also needs and appreciates it.�The law states that 75 percent of the money spent in cooperation with Israel on missile defense�must be spent in the U.S. Therefore, the U.S. not only benefits from Israeli technology, but U.S.�defense contractors also benefit by association.�

Goldenberg further explained: �Israel is now the 23 rd largest trader with the United States. There�is almost 40 billion dollars in trading going back and forth. There are a quarter of a million jobs�in the US tied into Israeli companies. Israel is the 5 th largest investor in the United States � ahead�of China. It�s not just about helping Israel, but it is also about how America benefits.�

Co-chair Sol Goldner added: �It�s a two-way street. The United States benefits as well from the�technology and the money that�s spent here for the procurement.�

�That�s a very good list of reasons to continue doing what we�re doing,� Senator Thad�Cochran, Chairman of the Full Appropriations Committee, asserted in response to Leon�Goldberg�s acute comments regarding the U.S. and Israel�s bilateral trade relations.

In further agreement, Senator Lindsey Graham, keenly stated: �Helping Israel is helping�ourselves.� As Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations,�Lindsey Graham �is in a key position to understand the need to support our allies, especially the�of Israel,� Ezra Friedlander, CEO of The Friedlander Group, explained.

Senator John Boozman shared similar sentiments: �The need to bond with Israel is more�important than ever.� The U.S. and Israel have such an important friendship, and Senator�Kirsten Gillibrand � who, in a bipartisan fashion, authored and secured a letter urging the�Appropriations Committee to completely fund the $600 million � argued that it is an��unbreakable bond, something we rely on not only for national security, but also for economic�growth. We are fundamentally tied. Their well-being is our well-being.�

After visiting an Iron Dome site, Senator James Lankford noted, �there are areas we could�share information back and forth and be mutual accessible to each other.� In regards to the Iron�Dome missile program, Senator Thad Cochran encourages Congress to keep doing what�they�re doing: �I think we�ve done very well in supporting the Iron Dome, so don�t mess it up,��he said.

�If you�re going to test the system, our friends in Israel have tested it with great success, and it�only gets better,� said Senator Roy Blunt, describing this bill as one he very much cares about.��We believe Israel knows on its own what�s best for itself,� explained Sergio Gor, Senator�Rand Paul�s (R-KY) Communication Advisor. �Last year [Senator Paul] introduced legislation�to defund the Palestine authority unless they recognize Israel as a Jewish state.�

Bukharian Chief Rabbi Itzhak Yehoshua has high hopes the administration will pass the bill,�noting, �The U.S. has introduced freedom to the world and has always supported Israel which is�the only democracy in the Middle East.�

Thanking the delegates for their advocacy, Senator David Vitter asserted: �I�m a proud�thousand percent supporter of Israel� and that will continue, but we always need to keep�enlarging that root.�

Congressman Ed Royce, chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, disclosed why�he’s such a strong supporter of Israel. Mr. Goldenberg says it over, “His father liberated Dachau�and he took pictures. And he gave those pictures his son, ‘one day they are going to deny all this,�here are the pictures that I took.'”

Ultimately, the poignant comment of Ezra Friedlander, who is behind the efforts of the U.S.-�Israeli Security Alliance, holds true: the Israel-U.S. alliance �reminds us that at the end of the�day, we all need each other.�