NC Democrat finds himself in the middle of political war trying to help Israel

Daniel Greyber, a rabbi at Beth El Synagogue in Raleigh, said he thinks it’s clear that there is broad bipartisan support — both nationwide and in North Carolina’s congressional delegation — for Israel’s fight against Hamas terrorism.

“Both the Senate and House have already overwhelmingly passed pro-Israel resolutions,” Greyber said in a written statement to McClatchy. “Going forward, I’m hoping that the focus can be on harnessing that bipartisan support for the Israel funding bill in the Senate and then gaining final congressional passage. It’s too important for politics; this moment demands our best.”

So far, though, the moment has not been immune to politics.

It’s been a month since Hamas, a Palestinian militant group, brutally attacked Israel, and members of Congress almost universally agree that the United States needs to provide funding as Israel invades the Gaza Strip in retaliation.

But House Republicans made their proposed $14.3 billion in aid contingent on clawing back $14.3 billion in funding to the Internal Revenue Service, part of the Inflation Reduction Act that had been a win for the Biden administration.

Just 12 Democrats, including Rep. Don Davis of North Carolina, helped Republicans approve the aid last week.

“While I condemn House leaders for unprecedentedly tying conditional funds to security assistance, we must continue to stand together with our ally, Israel, and simultaneously call for the humane conduct of war consistent with international law,” Davis said in a news release immediately after the vote.

Davis, a Democrat from Snow Hill, is in a unique position compared to his 13 colleagues from North Carolina in the House.

North Carolina lawmakers recently released new congressional districts ahead of candidate filing for the 2024 election, and Davis was placed in the state’s only true swing district, meaning that based on past voting data, it could go to either a Democrat or a Republican.

Republicans add ‘poison pill’ for vulnerable Democrats

Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Democrat from Florida, spoke to The Hill following the vote and explained what’s at stake for Democrats being targeted in the 2024 election, like Davis.

“Don’t listen to me, the [National Republican Congressional Committee] put out a tweet…within moments of the bill being dropped that said ‘Democrats are going to have to choose between the IRS and Israel,” he said. “That’s the mailer they wanna [send] out. That’s the trap that the NRCC is doing.”

The NRCC, which is chaired by Rep. Richard Hudson, a Republican from Southern Pines, released in March a list of Democratic seats the organization is targeting for 2024.

In North Carolina, that included Davis’, along with Reps. Jeff Jackson and Wiley Nickel.

State lawmakers redrew both Nickel and Jackson’s districts for Republicans to win. Jackson announced he would instead run for state attorney general.

Nickel has not announced what he’ll do, so he got the NRCC treatment that Moskowitz warned about.

Immediately following the vote, NRCC sent out an email about Nickel saying he voted “against providing Israel with the capability to defend itself while they are under attack by barbaric terrorist groups.”

“By refusing to help Israel, Wiley Nickel is perpetuating the growing antisemitism rotting the Democratic Party to the core,” NRCC spokeswoman Delanie Bomar wrote. “Israel has a right to defend itself and America has an obligation to stand alongside the Jewish people — but not according to Wiley Nickel.”

Nickel was also out quickly with a statement about his vote.

“In one of his first moves as Speaker, Mike Johnson is choosing partisanship over unconditionally supporting our ally Israel, so I’m a no on this version of the bill in its current form,” Nickel said. “Let me be clear: Israel isn’t just any ally — it’s a cornerstone of democracy in one of the most volatile regions of the world. Security assistance should never be tethered to hyperpartisan, domestic financial concession.”

Nickel added to his statement that defunding the IRS actually added to the federal deficit and he believed it would allow billionaires to get away with cheating on their taxes.

The Congressional Budget Office announced that if lawmakers enacted this bill, cutting $14.3 billion from the IRS would result in a net increase in the country’s deficit by $12.5 billion between 2024-2033 due to fewer enforcement actions and revenue collections.

“If a supplemental appropriations bill containing aid for Israel comes to the floor without poison pills, I’ll wholeheartedly support it,” Nickel added in his news release. “That’s the clear path forward.”

Support for Israel funding

As soon as House Republicans introduced their bill, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called the bill “a joke” and said it would be dead on arrival in his chamber.

“Israel has suffered the worst terrorist attack in its history,” Schumer said on the floor last week. “It needs help. But House Republicans are asking a price for helping them by cutting off funding that holds rich tax cheats accountable. That ain’t happening, House, it ain’t happening.”

Schumer said that instead of relying on the House to come up with aid for Israel, the Senate would put together funding for Israel, Ukraine, help in efforts to compete against China and humanitarian aid to Gaza.

He reiterated this on the Senate floor Tuesday morning and said Republicans and Democrats need to work together to ensure it happens.

Protests against the war

But as Congress delays providing assistance to its ally in the Middle East, protests across the United States continue to grow calling for a ceasefire.

At the White House Monday, protesters left graffiti that imitated bloody handprints on the white brick along the fence.

In downtown Durham, hundreds of protesters gathered for two hours Saturday where they called on Rep. Valerie Foushee to sign on to a ceasefire resolution in the House.

Similar demands were made of Foushee Thursday night, as the House voted on Israeli funding. Protesters blocked N.C. 147 during rush hour. One of their conditions for leaving was if Foushee would talk to them by phone.

Foushee’s campaign took or benefited from millions of dollars in funding from a pro-Israeli super PAC, United Democracy Project.

Foushee said in a written statement to McClatchy that she wasn’t previously aware of the protest, but recognized and understood the hurt, human tragedy and humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Israel and the surrounding region.

“Under international law, Israel has the right to defend itself in the aftermath of Hamas’s terrorist attacks,” Foushee said. “The current humanitarian crisis must be addressed urgently and I stand with the Biden Administration in ensuring that clean water, food, medicine and aid is delivered to any civilian affected by this conflict.”

Reps. Cori Bush, Rashida Tlaib, André Carson, Summer Lee and Delia Ramirez urged their colleagues in a resolution to call on President Joe Biden to demand a ceasefire and send humanitarian aid and assistance to Gaza.

Rep. Alma Adams, a Democrat from Charlotte, is the only North Carolina representative to sign on to the resolution.

Biden, himself, told reporters that there was a need for a temporary ceasefire, which National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said meant ceasing violence in specific locations for a specific time frame to allow humanitarian aid to get in, or hostages and others caught up in the war to get out.

Late Tuesday night, Tlaib, a Palestinian American, became the 26th member of Congress to be censured by her colleagues, accused of making antisemitic remarks and spreading misinformation online about the war. Davis, Nickel and Rep. Kathy Manning, a Democrat from Greensboro, who is Jewish, voted in favor of her censure, as did all of North Carolina’s Republicans.

“I share my colleague’s deep concern for the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza,” Manning wrote on X. “My heart breaks for the loss of innocent life and the suffering of civilians in the region. But spreading propaganda and misinformation will not bring about peace we all seek. The only way to do that is to stop the spread of misinformation, support all efforts to bring hostages home, and pass an aid package that gives Israel the resources it needs to defend itself from terrorism and includes life-sustaining humanitarian aid.”

She added that allowing Israel to defeat Hamas ensures that Hamas won’t continue to use Palestinian civilians as “human shields.”

Rep. Greg Murphy, a Republican from Greenville, added on X that he doesn’t take lightly censuring a member of Congress, and while he knows that Tlaib’s speech is protected under the First Amendment, “it is beneath the conduct of a member of Congress.”

Earlier, the entire North Carolina delegation voted in favor of a resolution to stand with Israel while it defends itself against Hamas. The resolution also reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to Israel, including providing it the supplies it needs to defend itself.