Republican Congressman, pro-Israel group spar over Iron Dome funding
Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a critic of foreign aid, was the only Republican to vote against funding for Israel's Iron Dome last week.
A Republican Congressman is in a war of words with a pro-Israel group over his vote against funding for Israel’s aerial defense system.
The US House of Representatives passed a $1 billion funding bill for Israel’s Iron Dome last week. A few progressive Democrats voted against the bill, as did one Republican: Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky. The Iron Dome is an air defense system that prevents rockets from the Gaza Strip from hitting Israel.
Massie is regularly described as a libertarian, and has voted against multiple defense spending bills. He has also voted for restrictions on US military action in Iran and Syria in defiance of former President Donald Trump. In 2016, he was named an advisor of the Ron Paul Institute, which is led by the eponymous former Congressman known for his anti-war and libertarian beliefs. Massie’s opposition to the Iron Dome bill is in line with his overall opposition to foreign aid to any country.
The leading pro-Israel lobby group in the United States, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), ran an ad against Massie after the vote, which read “When Israel faced rocket attacks, Thomas Massie voted against Iron Dome.”
