New Bipartisan Bill Aims To Ensure Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge
Israeli Fighter Jet Image by Getty Images
WASHINGTON (JTA) — A bipartisan bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives would strengthen the processes that have ensured Israel’s qualitative military edge.
Under the legislation introduced Friday, the president would be required to consult with officials in the Israeli government about their defense needs before authorizing arms sales or defense items to countries in the Middle East.
Reps. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., and Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., introduced the Defending Israel’s QME Act of 2017.
“The United States must continue to ensure that Israel, our closest, most reliable ally in the Middle East, if not the world, has the tools to maintain its qualitative military edge over those who seek to do it harm,” Schneider said.
The legislation comes as Congress is considering a possible $350 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia that has caused U.S. and Israeli leaders to question the future of Israel’s qualitative military edge in the Middle East.
The Defending Israel’s QME Act also would expand on existing laws by including non-state actors such as the Islamic State, or ISIS, in the assessment process. The Reagan administration was the first to explicitly commit to Israel’s qualitative military edge.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
