Westchester Progressives urges Senator Gillibrand to withdraw her sponsorship of Section 1217, the United States-Israel FUTURES Act, from the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and work to remove this provision from the Act. This unacceptable provision would permanently institutionalize military and intelligence integration between the United States and a foreign
government.
Sen. Gillibrand stated that this initiative “will enable long-term collaboration on shared security goals between the United States and our vital democratic ally Israel” and that it will strengthen our military and technological capabilities against future regional threats. We disagree.
Rather than advancing national security, Sec. 1217 binds our military to a government whose actions have repeatedly destabilized the region and the world, including drawing us into the current war with Iran, which 89 percent of Democrats oppose and 93 percent say has not been worth fighting (Quinnipiac U. National Poll, July 29, 2026). Last month, the Pentagon elevated concerns about Israeli espionage against the US to its highest threat category. Deepening military integration under these circumstances raises serious questions about whose interests this legislation serves.
The timing of this proposal is especially troubling. Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has produced catastrophic civilian suffering that Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, B’Tselem, multiple U.N. bodies, and the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention, inter alia, have concluded constitutes genocide. At the same time, settlement expansion and the violent displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank have accelerated.
Sec. 1217 is also out of step with the views of the people Sen. Gillibrand represents. Polling shows Democratic voters increasingly support conditioning or restricting military aid to Israel and demanding greater accountability. A July 2026 Economist/YouGov poll found that 71 percent of Democrats believe Prime Minister Netanyahu is guilty of war crimes in Gaza. Instead of reflecting those views, Sec. 1217 advances Prime Minister Netanyahu’s long-standing goal of permanently deepening the U.S.-Israel military alliance.
Sen. Gillibrand argues, correctly, that President Trump is waging an illegal war—that he lacks “the temperament and judgment” to be trusted with the war powers he holds—yet she proposes permanently fusing this executive’s military and intelligence capacity with a far-right foreign government, all without so much as a debate. Nor does voting against the NDAA absolve her of what she wrote into it; should Sen. Gillibrand fail to act now to withdraw Section 1217 and the NDAA passes, history will no doubt record it as a devastating betrayal of the American people.
Congress has a duty to ensure that U.S. foreign and defense policy serves American interests, reflects our values, and remains subject to meaningful congressional oversight. Section 1217 does the opposite. We therefore demand Senator Gillibrand withdraw her sponsorship and
oppose any provision that weakens congressional oversight of U.S. military assistance to Israel.
Westchester Progressives