Dozens of civil rights and advocacy groups are urging Congress to scrap section 219 of the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which would deepen U.S.-Israeli military technology ties, Reuters reported on Thursday, saying that it had seen the letter. The 56 groups said in the letter, sent to leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees on Thursday, that deeper integration with Israel’s defense sector would be “exceptionally dangerous” and urged lawmakers to remove the provision.
The only signers of the letter named by Reuters were Amnesty International and the civil rights network National Lawyers Guild who were joined by Arab and Jewish advocacy groups. “At a time in which American interests are increasingly diverging from those of Israel, and American public opinion is turning increasingly against unconditional support to Israel, creating new points of influence for Israel in the U.S. defense-technology ecosystem is exceptionally dangerous,” said the letter. The letter reportedly criticizes Israel for its potential violations of international humanitarian law in its war in Gaza and rising settler violence against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. It says such developments should prevent any discussion of deepening military ties.
