Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger attacked Israel on Monday, saying the United States should stop helping the Jewish state "unless Israel supplies arms to Ukraine in the fight against the Russian invasion."
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Kinzinger, who backs massive military action to defend Ukraine, lambasted Israel after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke to Knesset (Israel's parliament) members on Sunday asking them to provide him with the Iron Dome system to defend himself against Russian military missiles.
"If we don't want to attack Russia directly, then our leverage is for the world to be united in sanctions and helping the Ukrainian people," he said.
"That includes everyone, and Israel doesn't have a special exemption for that. I hope they do the right thing," he added.
Israel's reaction to #Ukraine will have bearing on future aid from the US to #Israel. Pay it forward
— Adam Kinzinger (@AdamKinzinger) March 20, 2022
Kinzinger, the first Republican congressman to suggest such an idea, immediately drew the ire of conservatives, who argued that suspending aid to Israel would be unjustifiable.
o far, the Jewish state has sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine but has refrained from imposing sanctions on Russia or providing military assistance to Kyiv.
Israel's foreign minister strongly condemned the incursion, while Prime Minister Naftali Bennett refrained from doing so.
Some critics have argued that Israel was slow to speak out against the Russian invasion because of its financial and military ties to Moscow.
Israel relies heavily on the support of Russia to facilitate its military intervention in Syria. Additionally, many Russian oligarchs are Jews who have close ties to Israel and have donated millions of dollars to major Jewish institutions.
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