J street endorsed Congressional reps vote against Iron Dome Funding

Iron Dome saves lives. During Operation Protective Edge, the system  intercepted over 600 rockets fired at Israel, a 90 percent success rate. 60  long range rockets, capable of hitting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. were neutralized- saving countless innocent lives.

Saving civilian lives. Isn't this something we all can value?

Apparently not.

Via Camera and the Washington Free Beacon

Street claims to be the “political home for pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans.” Yet, 11 members of the U.S. House of Representatives backed by J Street recently either refused to back funding for Israel’s Iron Dome short-range anti-missile system or voted against it.

“Three of the House lawmakers who voted against funding for Iron Dome—Reps. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), and Walter Jones (R-N.C.)—have received a combined $21,145 in this election cycle from J Street, according to publicly available Federal Election Commission (FEC) documents.

“The eight other J Street-funded lawmakers who abstained from the vote are Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Susan Davis (D-Calif.), Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), John Garamendi (D-Calif.), Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.), Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), and Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.)” 

California Neighbors:  Contact Zoe Lofgren. Susan Davis, Jackie Speier, Raul Ruiz and John Garamendi. Let them know you are unhappy with their choice. Thats the only thing that will make a difference

In spite of J Streets efforts, Congress overwhelmingly approved the emergency increase in Iron Dome funding  by a vote of 395 to 8.

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The Best Headline. Ever

From the Jewish Telegraph July 19, 2014, via David Ha'ivri

"Their God changes the path of our Rockets in mid-air"

Yep. We know. (Though I suspect our engineers at the Technion  may also have something to do with it)

A Song of Ascents.

 I lift my eyes to the mountains, from where will my help come?
My help will come from Hashem, Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot falter;
Your Guardian does not slumber.
Behold, the Guardian of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps.
Hashem is your guardian;
Hashem is your protective shadow at your right hand.
The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
Hashem will guard you from all evil;
He will guard your soul.
Hashem will guard your departure and your arrival from now and for all time

Full text of the article can be found here

UPDATE:
A full copy of the paper, to dispel all doubt that this was photo-shopped

From Berkeley: A blessing on seeing Iron Dome

From Berkeley's beloved Rabbi Menachem Creditor of Congregation Netivot Shalom, now visiting  Israel

"I just witnessed an Iron Dome intercept of a bomb from Gaza above me and the AIPAC Rabbinic Mission to Israel as we exited the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem. Baruch....she'asah li nisim bamakom hazeh. Blessed are you, Adonai, for made a miracle for me in this place."

"I am shaken and I am more resolved than before. This must end, and the accusations against Israel are heinous misrepresentations of a nation-wide reality of bombs that, as of today are being sent by Fatah AND Hamas against the civilian population of Israel.

Please share this widely. I bear testimony to the need for strength and for action. Peace is a long while away, and now is the time for unity in the face of threats to our very existence."

Nine months pregnant and protecting Tel Aviv

In every conflict, stories emerge of acts of heroism beyond the call of duty- of individuals whose personal commitment and dedication to their people stand out and inspire others.

Here's one of my newest personal heros.
Courtesy of IMRA via Maariv

The Nov 30, 2012 Maariv  features a photo of Hila, the 28 year old head of the testing division responsible for the testing and transfer of Iron Dome batteries  She is in her 9th month of pregnancy and is  due next week.

'The battery was completing a series of testing at the testing field when Israel assassinated Ahmed Jabri. The team realized that they could close the gap between testing and deployment and in the course of 60 hours were able to deploy the Iron Dome battery to defend Tel Aviv. Hila is an aeronautical engineer married to an Air Force officer. When her husband’s commander told him he was sending him home to be with his wife as she was about to give birth, he replied that his wife wasn’t home."

Anti-Israel activists object to saving Israeli civilian lives?

Iron Dome is an Israeli mobile air defense system designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets that might potentially land in populated areas. The system targets incoming rockets that might pose a potential threats to city centers and fires an interceptor missile to destroy them in the air. On March 2012 the Jerusalem Post reported that the system shot down 90% of its targets. By April 2012Iron Dome had intercepted 93 rockets.

Its clear that Iron Dome saves the lives of Israeli civilians.

Israel also plans to setup the Iron Dome system near its northern border. Reports indicate that Hezbollah has 55,000 missiles aimed at Israel- a testament to the effectiveness of UNIFIL "Peacekeepers".

Recently, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta recently announced an additional $70 million in funding for Israel for its Iron dome system. "My goal is to ensure Israel has the funding it needs each year to produce these batteries that can protect its citizens... That is why going forward over the next three years, we intend to request additional funding for Iron Dome, based on an annual assessment of Israeli security requirements against an evolving threat."

Pentagon spokesman George Little added "It's a proven system...Missile defense is important to Israel and we're committed to supporting the Israelis"

Well, some of us anyway.

Amy Hendrickson ( you can contact her at amyh@texnology.com) recently sent out a mass email calling for protests at Harvard to protest US taxpayer money used to save Israeli lives.

Join a Stand Out at Harvard Graduation to Protest US Military Aid to Israel
When: Thursday, May 24, 4 - 6 PM
Where: Harvard Square in front of Au Bon Pain

Did you know that the US is giving Israel an additional $680 million for its "Iron Dome" project - on top of the annual $3.1 billion in military aid we have pledged to give each year until 2017? ….
Let us raise our voices against the use of our tax dollars to kill Palestinians, destroy their land and homes and make war on neighboring countries.
Please help spread the word!

Even in the hate-driven reality challenged world of the anti-Israel activist, its hard to imagine the Iron Dome system characterized as "killing Palestinians"
No Amy, this additional aid is earmarked specifically for Iron Dome- to save the lives of Israeli civilians, living under a barrage of unrelenting missile attacks. What possible objections could you, or could anyone have to that?