More than 100 House members threaten UN funding over Israel’s ‘hostility’

IN letter sent to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, members expressed outrage that the UN was implementing a “unilateral” advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice, which they say “undermines Israel’s right to self-defense” following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks that killed more than 1,200 Israelis.

In September, 124 countries voted to end Israel’s “occupation” of Palestinian territories, and 14 countries, including the United States, voted against this. The vote came after the court issued an opinion in July calling the Israeli occupation illegal and that the Jewish state has an obligation to quickly end the war and provide reparations for any harm caused to people in Palestinian territory.

“Congress has taken note of numerous UN actions aimed at delegitimizing Israel’s right to self-defense, raising serious questions about the future of U.S. funding to the UN,” the lawmakers wrote. “We have come to the conclusion that the UN is not a neutral party, but one that has definitively sided with Israel.”

“We will not accept the UN’s continued hostility towards our ally Israel,” they added, reminding Guterres that the US is the UN’s “largest donor” and American contributions make up one-third of the collective budget.

The letter is led by Representatives Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) and Mike Lawler (R-NY) and signed by 105 fellow Republicans and Democrats, including Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). Ten other House Democrats joined Moskowitz in signing the letter to Guterres.

The war, which followed the terrorist attacks on October 7, 2023, has displaced thousands of Palestinians and resulted in the deaths of more than 40,000 civilians, according to the Gaza Strip Health Ministry, which is controlled by Hamas.

Funding for Israel has become a divisive topic in Congress, especially as a growing number of Democrats in Congress called for a ceasefire in the Gaza war and criticized the Jewish state for its methods of fighting Hamas at the expense of civilians. About half of Democrats missed Speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before a joint session of Congress in July.

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The Biden administration has recently warned Israel That his actions in the Gaza Strip could jeopardize future U.S. military aid to the Jewish state, prompting a backlash from GOP lawmakers who believe the U.S. should stand in solidarity with Israel for as long as necessary.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday that he expects “negotiators to come together in the coming days” to discuss ways to a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas and the release of the hostages.