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<\/a><\/p>\nHouse Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from New York, speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol Building on Nov. 12 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Jeffries expressed a need for such change with respect to the West Bank, to Gaza and to a memorandum of understanding with Israel over military aid set to expire in 2028. That agreement, signed by the Obama administration in 2016, pledged $38 billion in military aid for Israel from fiscal years 2019 through 2028. <\/p>\n
President Donald Trump has said he will wind the aid down before it is set to lapse, citing Israel\u2019s unpopularity, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also backs ending military aid and replacing it by strengthening U.S.-Israel military cooperation.<\/p>\n
But when asked about recent demands from Sen. Chris Van Hollen to remove provisions on defense collaborations with Israel from the National Defense Authorization Act \u2013 the model of what Netanyahu hopes to sustain \u2013 Jeffries responded that he hadn\u2019t spoken with the senator. Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland, plans to challenge Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer leadership of the Senate Democratic caucus when Democrats take over the chamber in January.<\/p>\n
Instead, Jeffries said that \u201cthings have to dramatically change over in the Middle East,\u201d without elaborating on the details of such changes. He stressed the importance of ensuring \u201ca safe and secure Israel living side by side as a Jewish and democratic state with an independent Palestinian state that provides dignity and self-determination for the Palestinian people.\u201d Netanyahu and much of the Israeli public oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state.<\/p>\n
While Jeffries noted that he wasn\u2019t saying anything he hasn\u2019t \u201cpreviously said publicly,\u201d his decision to reiterate this need for change following the election as Democrats are set to seize control of Congress demonstrates how the party is adopting a more critical posture on Israel.<\/p>\n
This past summer, Jeffries wrote to colleagues to say that he opposed an amendment proposed by Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, that would have cut military aid to Israel. While a slight majority of Democrats voted in favor of the measure, it was defeated after getting no Republican support aside from its sponsor. <\/p>\n
Jeffries had argued at the time that \u201cthere are more decisive ways to achieve the urgent change necessary when it comes to the far-right Netanyahu government,\u201d warning that Massie\u2019s amendment would have restricted Israel\u2019s ability to confront Hamas, Hezbollah and other terror groups. <\/p>\n
Nonetheless, Jeffries also noted in the letter that the Obama-era memorandum of understanding \u201cexpires imminently,\u201d and that \u201ca meaningful change in direction is needed.\u201d Writing that Israel has a robust economy and is capable of paying for its own weapons, he said that future security arrangements \u201cshould be structured consistently with defense agreements that exist with our other Western allies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since writing that letter in July in the lead-up to the midterm elections, Jeffries focused primarily on domestic issues and didn\u2019t often address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. On Thursday, however, the topic was back on the table. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll work as a caucus to make sure that we can bring about the just and lasting peace that Israelis and Palestinians deserve,\u201d Jeffries said.<\/p>\n