U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) said Oct. 24 that she and more than half of the Senate Republican Conference plan to introduce the Stand with Israel Act in November when Congress reconvenes.
The legislation would cut off U.S. funding to United Nations (UN) agencies that expel, downgrade, suspend, or otherwise restrict the participation of the State of Israel, according to a bill summary provided by Sen. Capito’s staff.
“The UN and its agencies have increasingly become a platform for anti-Israel forces to target the world’s only Jewish state,” Sen. Capito said. “At the same time, countries like Iran and Russia have been free to maintain their status while launching ballistic missiles at their neighbors.
“If this ridiculous project to downgrade the membership of Israel — a free, democratic country and rightful member state — moves forward in the UN, the U.S. has no choice but to finally withdraw all support from a failed institution,” she added.
Sen. Capito cited media reports indicating that the Palestinian Authority (PA) will attempt to downgrade Israel’s status at the UN after the UN General Assembly passed a resolution on May 10 that enhanced the PA’s status at the UN.
The Stand with Israel Act is modeled after the current prohibition of funding to any UN entities that elevate the status of the PA to a member state, said the senator.
The bill, which will be sponsored next month by U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Jim Risch (R-ID), is companion legislation to the same-named H.R. 9374 introduced in August by U.S. Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL).