On Tuesday, April 23 the U.S. Senate approved a $95.3 billion foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. Despite a Senate that often struggles to pass bills, the bill had large bipartisan support, passed 79 to 18 reflecting universal support from Democrats and republicans. The bill provides needed aid to Ukraine that has been struggling with a lack of ammunition, troops and air defenses. However, the aid toward Israel included in the package, an indication of the US continued support of Israel despite the humanitarian crises in Gaza, is detrimental to the validity of the bill. The bill reveals the United States hypocritical and complicated role in foreign affairs.
The bill was split into four parts and divided into different sections. sixty point eight billion was given to aid in Ukraine, 26.4 billion for Israel and humanitarian aid for Gaza and other conflict zones, 8.1 billion towards Taiwan, and what has been labeled a “sweetener” bill which includes Republican priorities such as imposing sanctions on Iranian and Russian officials and includes legislation to force the parent company of Tik Tok to sell the platform or face a ban in the U.S. Joe Biden signed off and praised the bill, stating the bill “is going to make America safer. It’s going to make the world safer. And it continues America’s leadership in the world.” The claim that the bill is making the world safer falls incredibly flat given that the bill provides aid to a state who has killed nearly 35,000 Palestinians, a large part of whom are civilians. The Ukraine portion of the bill, though, was a necessary step in Ukraine’s fight for statehood.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 in which they bombed cities, sent tanks, missiles, and jets across its border, and seized territory shocked the world, and has resulted in a devastating humanitarian crisis. The UN Refugee Agency reports that as of February 2024, nearly 6.5 million refugees from Ukraine have been reported globally, and approximately 14.6 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. For the past two years, Ukraine has been at war with Russia for its very existence — receiving incredible amounts of military aid from Europe and the U.S. The war between Ukraine and Russia is not only a fight for Ukraine’s survival but also could lead to more conflicts across Europe, as Russia wants to return to its totalitarian past. However, despite the dire need for Ukraine to win the fight against Russia, the United States has stalled recently in passing a foreign aid bill, as the GOP has been resisting the US support of Ukraine. Many republicans have argued that Putin cannot be stopped and that it is a waste of taxpayers dollars. The aid provided to Ukraine in the bill is necessary for Ukraine and the world and marks a moment of the U.S. being on the right side of history. However, while the bill shows support to one state facing a humanitarian crisis, it also backs a regime committing human rights atrocities.
Since Hamas’ attacks in October 2023, which killed approximately 1,200 individuals, Israel has waged an unrelenting offensive on Gaza. Tel Aviv has imposed a blockade on Gaza, making it nearly impossible for Palestinians living in Gaza to seek refuge. There have been thousands of civilians in Gaza injured or dead, and there have been dwindling resources of food, water, and medical personnel. The human atrocities committed by Israel are going to the International Court of Justice. In December, South Africa asked the International Court of Justice to immediately stop the war, alleging that Israel is violating the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment on the Crime of Genocide. In response, the ICJ ordered Israel “to take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian aid.” Israel has clearly disrespected these orders, instead continuing to enact major human rights abuses. The funding of Israel provided within the bill, shows a complete disregard from congress and the president towards the human rights atrocities Palestinians are experiencing towards Israel. In addition, by supporting a state who has disrespected the ICJ rulings, the U.S. itself is also disrespecting the Court. Their stance on human rights is even more complicated, as the bill provides $9 billion to civilians in conflict zones, which will include funding towards civilians in Gaza.
Some may argue that the multi-faceted nature of the bill was necessary to provide aid to Ukraine, for Republicans would not have signed a bill providing funds solely to Ukraine. However, what is the cost? The US is funding a regime who is committing major human rights crimes. In addition, the bill’s aim to “make the world safer” loses credibility. The bill shows that foreign aid packages need to be separated by conflict and state. Each international affairs conflict should be evaluated by the U.S. government separately — this includes the amount the United States gives aid to different states.
All of this being said, the U.S. announced that they have paused a shipment of thousands of bombs to Israel, the first instance of the U.S. withholding military funding to Israel. JoBiden announced that if Israel goes into Rafah, the southernmost city of Gaza, he will not supply weapons to Israel to “deal with Rafah.” This hopefully will be the end of the U.S. supporting Israel militaristically. The bill forces us to reflect on how foreign aid packages are created in Congress, and where the U.S. is on the world stage.
