Democratic leaders in the US House of Representatives have appointed one of the party’s strongest and most consistent supporters of Israel to a pivotal foreign-policy post — a move that immediately put progressives on the defensive.
Representative Gregory Meeks, the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, announced Tuesday that Representative Jared Moskovitch will serve as the ranking member of the Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee. Meeks also named Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Wesley Ball — both pro-Israel — to the larger Foreign Affairs Committee, alongside progressive Mark Pocan.
As ranking member, Moskovitch will have a hand in shaping the Middle East policy legislation the subcommittee sends to the floor, and he is positioned to chair the panel if Democrats win back the House in the November midterms.
On accepting the appointment, Moskovitch said he would work “to strengthen America’s relationship with Israel and our Gulf allies, expand regional peace, and ensure our foreign policy is rooted in strength, security, and reality.”
Progressives quickly objected. “Don’t put Israel hawks who are out of touch with our voters in charge of [the subcommittee],” one Democratic organizer told the Times of Israel.
The appointment lands in the middle of a broader fight over whether Democrats’ foreign policy — including on Gaza and Iran — should move closer to or farther from the Israeli government’s position as the party prepares to face voters in what will be one of the most contested midterms in decades.
Reported by The Times of Israel, Washington desk.