CONTEXT: According to Open Secrets, the current House candidate who is the top lifetime recipient of donations from pro-Israel PACs is Brad Schneider, with $1,154,780; the lowest is Nanette Barragan with $10. All donations listed here took place between 1989 and the current cycle. Data for the current cycle were released by the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday, August 21, 2018. This information is from the Center for Responsive Politics. SOURCE

A political action committee (PAC) is an organization that raises money privately to influence elections or legislation, especially at the federal level. They endorse candidates and help raise money for them. There are currently 28 pro-Israel PACs; one of them - J-Street - is supportive of some pro-Palestinian positions. SOURCE

SCORING KEY FOR PRO-ISRAEL HOUSE BILLS:
(Each flag symbol represents 1 point)

4 pro-Israel points for sponsoring
3 pro-Israel points for cosponsoring
2 pro-Israel points for voting Yay where there was a roll call vote
2 pro-Palestine points for Nay, Present, or Not Voting

The Taylor Force Act (now law) grew out of one of the most misunderstood practices of the Palestinian Authority: the provision of financial assistance to widows and children of those killed or imprisoned by Israeli forces. Israel calls it "pay to slay" and insists that it incentivizes terrorism. This characterization dehumanizes Palestinians. Please read about this important social safety net program here. SOURCE

Yet the U.S. has not cut aid to Israel after 50 years of West Bank occupation, numerous unlawful killings or beatings, even of American citizens.

While voting against the Taylor Force Act may represent concern for Palestinians, in some cases the vote may actually represent a pro-Israel motivation. Some Israeli officials and pro-Israel Americans opposed the Taylor Force Act out of concern that it will harm Israel by undermining the Palestinian Authority, which often takes actions useful to Israel.
SOURCE

Read the bill here.

SCORING KEY FOR PRO-PALESTINE HOUSE BILLS:
(Each flag symbol represents 1 point)

4 pro-Palestine points for sponsoring
3 pro-Palestine points for cosponsoring
2 pro-Palestine points for voting Yay where there was a roll call vote
2 pro-Israel points for Nay, Present, or Not Voting

Palestinian children in the West Bank, like adults, face arrest, prosecution, and imprisonment under an Israeli military detention system that denies them basic rights.

Since 1967, Israel has operated two separate legal systems in the same territory. In the occupied West Bank, Israeli settlers are subject to the civilian and criminal legal system whereas Palestinians live under military law.

Israel applies civilian criminal law to Palestinian children in East Jerusalem. No Israeli child comes into contact with the military courts.

Israel has the dubious distinction of being the only country in the world that systematically prosecutes between 500 and 700 children in military courts each year. Ill-treatment in the Israeli military detention system remains “widespread, systematic, and institutionalized throughout the process,” according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report Children in Israeli Military Detention Observations and Recommendations.

Defense for Children International - Palestine collected affidavits from 429 West Bank children detained between 2012 and 2015 that show three-quarters of them endured some form of physical violence following arrest. In 97 percent of the cases, children had no parent present during the interrogation or access to legal counsel. Israeli police also did not properly inform them of their rights in 84 percent of the cases. SOURCE

Cosponsor list

Read the bill here.

SCORING KEY FOR PRO-ISRAEL HOUSE BILLS:
(Each flag symbol represents 1 point)

4 pro-Israel points for sponsoring
3 pro-Israel points for cosponsoring
2 pro-Israel points for voting Yay where there was a roll call vote
2 pro-Palestine points for Nay, Present, or Not Voting

"This bill allows a state or local government to adopt and enforce measures to divest its assets from, prohibit investment of its assets in, or restrict contracting with: (1) an entity that engages in a commerce- or investment-related boycott, divestment, or sanctions activity targeting Israel; or (2) an entity that owns or controls, is owned or controlled by, or is under common ownership or control with such an entity. Such measures are not preempted by federal law." SOURCE

Cosponsor list

Read the bill here.

SCORING KEY FOR PRO-ISRAEL HOUSE BILLS:
(Each flag symbol represents 1 point)

4 pro-Israel points for sponsoring
3 pro-Israel points for cosponsoring
2 pro-Israel points for voting Yay where there was a roll call vote
2 pro-Palestine points for Nay, Present, or Not Voting

This bill does not use the word "settlement," but legitimizing settlement-made products as "Israeli" is one of its main objectives. S720 opposes calls by the United Nations or the EU to boycott or “blacklist" companies that support Israeli activities in the territories occupied in the 1967 war. The bill further prohibits any US person from supporting this UN call to boycott and establishes stiff fines and/or imprisonment for Americans who violate this prohibition. SOURCE

According to The Hill, this legislation was written by AIPAC. It makes it criminal to heed calls from non-state actors (like the UN) to boycott. The maximum civil penalty is $1 million and maximum prison sentence is 20 years. As the ACLU makes clear, the bill makes no distinction between doing business with Israel and doing business with companies that are part of the occupation. SOURCE

Read the bill here.

SCORING KEY FOR PRO-ISRAEL HOUSE BILLS:
(Each flag symbol represents 1 point)

4 pro-Israel points for sponsoring
3 pro-Israel points for cosponsoring
2 pro-Israel points for voting Yay where there was a roll call vote
2 pro-Palestine points for Nay, Present, or Not Voting

The AP reports that two bills in the House and Senate would:

"create a new category of U.S. ally – ‘major strategic partner’ – designating Israel as the only such nation. And they would call for the inclusion of Israel on a list of countries whose citizens can visit the United States for up to 90 days without a visa, granted they register electronically before boarding a flight.

"The administration and some lawmakers are concerned the legislation doesn’t do enough to eliminate Israeli discrimination against Palestinians and Arab-Americans seeking to enter its borders."

Techniques and policies Israel uses against Palestine supporters have been likened to "Jim Crow."

The Arab American Institute has documented hundreds of these cases, including Americans being asked humiliating questions, detained for hours, denied entry or strip-searched. Israeli authorities even mistreated an African-American U.S. Congresswoman before they realized who she was. SOURCE

Israel's discrimination has gotten even more blatant recently. Read about it here.

Cosponsor list

Roll call vote

Read the bill here.

SCORING KEY FOR PRO-ISRAEL HOUSE BILLS:
(Each flag symbol represents 1 point)

4 pro-Israel points for sponsoring
3 pro-Israel points for cosponsoring
2 pro-Israel points for voting Yay where there was a roll call vote
2 pro-Palestine points for Nay, Present, or Not Voting

BACKGROUND: On August 16, 2007, the US and Israel Signed a ten-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on US military assistance to Israel. The total assistance over the course of this understanding would equal $30,000,000,000. SOURCE

The 2016 MOU reflected grant assistance to Israel from fiscal year 2019 to fiscal year 2028 at a level of $3,300,000,000 annually, totaling $33,000,000,000, the largest single pledge of military assistance ever and a reiteration of the seven-decade, unshakeable, bipartisan commitment of the United States to Israel’s security. The MOU also reflected US support for funding for cooperative programs to develop, produce, and procure missile, rocket, and projectile defense capabilities from FY 2019 to FY 2028 at a level of $500,000,000 per year, totaling $5,000,000,000.

This was a Memorandum of Understanding – a non-binding agreement. Currently Congress is considering legislation to make it law (and even more pro-Israel) : S.2497 – United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act of 2018.

Read the bill here.

SCORING KEY FOR PRO-ISRAEL HOUSE BILLS:
(Each flag symbol represents 1 point)

4 pro-Israel points for sponsoring
3 pro-Israel points for cosponsoring
2 pro-Israel points for voting Yay where there was a roll call vote
2 pro-Palestine points for Nay, Present, or Not Voting

Regarding the bill, Palestine Legal states "The redefinition of antisemitism is so broadly drawn—and its examples so vague—that any speech critical of Israel or supportive of Palestinian rights could conceivably fall within it. For example, a human rights supporter who speaks out for Palestinian rights, citing reports by such bodies as the United Nations or Amnesty International regarding Israeli human rights abuses, could be labeled antisemitic for applying a double standard by requiring of Israel behavior not expected or demanded of others.

"If U.S. government entities adopt and apply this overbroad re-definition of antisemitism to censor political viewpoints critical of Israel, they would likely violate the First Amendment.

The ACLU comments, “The First Amendment prevents the federal government from using its great weight to impose severe penalties on a person simply for sharing a political viewpoint critical of Israel.” SOURCE

Cosponsor list

Read the bill here.

SCORING KEY FOR PRO-ISRAEL HOUSE RESOLUTIONS:
(Each flag symbol represents 1 point)

3 pro-Israel points for sponsoring
2 pro-Israel points for cosponsoring
1 pro-Israel points for voting Yay where there was a roll call vote
1 pro-Palestine points for Nay, Present, or Not Voting

The Arab American Institute: "Though H.Res.11 claims to be about defending Israel and supporting the peace process, in reality it is about shifting long standing bi-partisan policy that opposes illegal Israeli settlements, and shielding Israel from well-founded criticisms.

"H.Res.11, introduced by Rep. Royce (R-CA), objected to the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 which deemed Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 as having “no legal validity” and constituting a “flagrant violation” of international law. The United States abstained during the UN Security Council vote, and UNSCR 2334 passed by a vote of 14 to 0." SOURCE

Cosponsor list

Roll call vote

Read the bill here.

SCORING KEY FOR PRO-ISRAEL HOUSE RESOLUTIONS:
(Each flag symbol represents 1 point)

3 pro-Israel points for sponsoring
2 pro-Israel points for cosponsoring
1 pro-Israel points for voting Yay where there was a roll call vote
1 pro-Palestine points for Nay, Present, or Not Voting

SOURCE

Legislation to give Israel $38 billion over the next ten years has been working its way through Congress. This is the largest military aid package in U.S. history. Yet, while Israeli media are covering the legislation, virtually no U.S. news reports have informed American taxpayers about this proposed disbursement of their tax money. The proposed military aid amounts to $23,000 per every Jewish Israeli family of four. (Aid to Israel has been on average about 7,000 times greater per capita than U.S. aid to others around the world.) SOURCE

Roll call vote

Read the bill here.

SCORING KEY FOR PRO-ISRAEL HOUSE RESOLUTIONS:
(Each flag symbol represents 1 point)

3 pro-Israel points for sponsoring
2 pro-Israel points for cosponsoring
1 pro-Israel points for voting Yay where there was a roll call vote
1 pro-Palestine points for Nay, Present, or Not Voting

Background: In 2014, Israel attacked Gaza with the declared purpose of stopping "unprovoked" rocket attacks (this was the 3rd such attack since 2008), although Israel had provoked Gaza by imposing a brutal blockade since 2007, and Israel had already killed approx. 1,600 Palestinians in the previous "wars" to avenge 17 peacetime Israeli rocket deaths in 11 years. The US Senate supported this incursion even though the previous 2 had been bloodbaths. In this "war," 2,200 Palestinians and 73 Israelis were killed.

"Condemns the unprovoked rocket fire at Israel and calls on Hamas to cease all rocket and other attacks against Israel."

Read the bill here.

SCORING KEY FOR PRO-ISRAEL HOUSE RESOLUTIONS:
(Each flag symbol represents 1 point)

3 pro-Israel points for sponsoring
2 pro-Israel points for cosponsoring
1 pro-Israel points for voting Yay where there was a roll call vote
1 pro-Palestine points for Nay, Present, or Not Voting

The resolution summary:
Reaffirms support for a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict resulting in two states, a democratic Jewish state of Israel and a democratic Palestinian state living in peace and mutual recognition.

States that any Palestinian unity government must forswear terrorism, accept Israel's right to exist, and reaffirm previous agreements made with Israel.

Opposes any attempt to establish or seek recognition of a Palestinian state outside of an agreement negotiated between Israel and the Palestinians.

Urges Palestinian leaders to: (1) cease efforts at circumventing the negotiation process, including through a unilateral declaration of statehood or by seeking recognition of a Palestinian state from other nations or the United Nations (U.N.); and (2) resume direct negotiations with Israel.

...and more. SOURCE

Cosponsor list

Roll call vote

Read the bill here.

SCORING KEY FOR PRO-ISRAEL HOUSE RESOLUTIONS:
(Each flag symbol represents 1 point)

3 pro-Israel points for sponsoring
2 pro-Israel points for cosponsoring
1 pro-Israel points for voting Yay where there was a roll call vote
1 pro-Palestine points for Nay, Present, or Not Voting

See background on 2008-9 "War in the next column, "H. Res. 34." After the "war," the UN established a fact-finding mission to investigate possible violations of human rights laws by Israel. Richard Goldstone, head of the team, a Jew and Zionist, insisted on also investigating Hamas. The team's findings, a 574-paage report published in Sept 2009, indicated possible war crimes and crimes against humanity on both sides, but allegations against Israel were much more serious, including the use of disproportionate force and the targeting of civilians. In 2011, Richard Goldstone unexpectedly rescinded parts of the report; however the rest of the team stood by the report.

"AIPAC, in concert with every mainstream pro-Israel organization in the United States, supports this important resolution," said Josh Block, a spokesman for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. "In echoing the administration's condemnation and calling for concrete action, Congress will be sending the strong message that the United States will not stand for turning the victim into the perpetrator." SOURCE

Roll call vote

Read the bill here.

SCORING KEY FOR PRO-ISRAEL HOUSE RESOLUTIONS:
(Each flag symbol represents 1 point)

3 pro-Israel points for sponsoring
2 pro-Israel points for cosponsoring
1 pro-Israel points for voting Yay where there was a roll call vote
1 pro-Palestine points for Nay, Present, or Not Voting

The stated reason for Operation Cast Lead was to "stop the rockets." Rockets launched from Gaza had killed 14 Israelis from 2001-mid 2008, an average of less than 2/year. During the same period, 136 Gazans were killed. (During the US-supported incursion, 1,417 Palestinians and 9 Israelis were killed.)

Summary of the resolution includes:
Expresses commitment to the welfare and survival of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state with secure borders and recognizes its right to act in self-defense.

Reiterates that Hamas must end the rocket and mortar attacks against Israel, recognize Israel's right to exist, renounce violence, agree to accept previous agreements between Israel and the Palestinians, and dismantle its terrorist infrastructure.

Encourages the Administration to work to support a sustainable cease-fire in Gaza that prevents Hamas from retaining or rebuilding its terrorist infrastructure.

States that the lives of innocent civilians must be protected to the maximum extent possible.

Calls on all nations to: (1) condemn Hamas for embedding its fighters, leaders, and weapons in private homes, schools, mosques, hospitals, and otherwise using Palestinian civilians as human shields while simultaneously targeting Israeli civilians; and (2) lay blame for the breaking of the calm and for subsequent civilian casualties on Hamas. SOURCE

Cosponsorosponsor list

Roll Cosponsorall vote

Read the bill here.

SCORING KEY FOR OPEN LETTERS:
(Each flag symbol represents 1 point)

2 points for signing a letter

For details on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza at the time of this letter (including shootings on land and water, restriction of goods entering the enclave, etc.) read this.

Read the letter here.

SCORING KEY FOR OPEN LETTERS:
(Each flag symbol represents 1 point)

2 points for signing a letter

Read about the village demolitions here and here, for example.

Read the letter here.

SCORING KEY FOR TRYING TO VISIT GAZA (Israel kept them out): 4 points

(Numerous incumbents and challengers visit Israel, many times, but we were not able to compile this information in time for the scoreboard.)

In the wake of Israel's killing of 60 Palestinians on the day of the embassy opening in Jerusalem, Rep. Pocan (D-WI) "renewed his call for the opening of the Gaza Strip to congressional delegations. In order to advance the cause of diplomacy, and to ensure that there is proper oversight of federal spending in the Middle East, the lawmaker wants members of Congress to be allowed to visit Gaza." SOURCE

SCORING KEY FOR OPEN LETTERS:
(Each flag symbol represents 1 point)

2 points for signing a letter

Background


Read the letter here.

Read the letter here.

SCORING KEY FOR OPEN LETTERS:
(Each flag symbol represents 1 point)

2 points for signing a letter

An overwhelming majority of the US House of Representatives signed a letter urging President Barack Obama to reject any actions by the United Nations that are biased against Israel.

The letter undersigned by 394 House Republicans and Democrats — more than 90 percent of the 435 representatives — was sent to Obama Thursday amid reports that the Palestinian Authority might revive a draft resolution against Israel’s policies in the West Bank, similar to the one vetoed in 2011 at the Security Council by the United States.
The US should “maintain its indispensable role of mediator” by closely coordinating its moves with “our democratic ally Israel” and by refusing “to support counterproductive efforts aimed at imposing a solution,” read the letter. SOURCE

Read the letter here.

SCORING KEY FOR ATTENDANCE AT NETANYAHU SPEECH:
(Each flag symbol represents 1 point)

1 pro-Israel point for attending

BACKGROUND: 1/8/15 House Speaker John Boehner (R) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) arranged to have Netanyahu speak before Congress without notifying the White House, to "make sure," in Boehner's words, "that there was no interference" from the administration... Attendance at Netanyahu's speech became a litmus test of a Congress person's dedication to Israel. SOURCE

President Obama believed that reaching a deal with Iran...waas the best way to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, and to prevent a war with Iran. Netanyahu believed that the Iranians are not negotiating in good faith, and that any deal likely to be struck would be a bad one...He believes a nuclear Iran would pose a threat to Israel's very survival.