{"text":[[{"start":7.9,"text":"More than 100 Democratic lawmakers voted to cut off all US aid to Israel on Wednesday, laying bare a divide within the party over support for a longstanding US ally in the Middle East."}],[{"start":19.8,"text":"The measure, introduced by Republican Thomas Massie, ultimately failed 104-314 with 103 Democrats joining the Kentucky lawmaker to support a defence spending bill amendment that would have eliminated the $3.3bn the US provides to Israel annualy. "}],[{"start":37.7,"text":"Wednesday’s vote nevertheless will be seen as a dramatic display of how American support for Israel has become a polarising issue in the Democratic Party."}],[{"start":48.7,"text":"Hakeem Jeffries, the top House Democrat, said in a letter to colleagues on Tuesday that he planned to oppose a measure but would not ask fellow Democrats to do the same. "}],[{"start":59.2,"text":"Jeffries described the amendment as “overly broad” in restricting humanitarian aid and said it would limit Washington’s ability to confront Hamas, Hizbollah and other groups designated by the US government as terrorist organisations."}],[{"start":72.35000000000001,"text":"“In my view, there are more decisive ways to achieve the urgent change necessary when it comes to the far-right Netanyahu government,” Jeffries said."}],[{"start":81.15,"text":"But in a move that exemplified how the vote split the Democratic caucus, Jeffries’ second-in-command, House minority whip Katherine Clark, came out in favour of the amendment on Wednesday."}],[{"start":92.15,"text":"Clark in a statement also called the measure “overly broad”. But she said the “status quo is not tenable”, adding: “We should not provide a blank check for military aid to any country that does not comply with US law, interests, and values.”"}],[{"start":107.7,"text":"Nancy Pelosi, the former Speaker of the House and a longtime defender of Israel who will retire from Congress after the November midterms, on Wednesday described herself as “committed to a strong US-Israel relationship and supportive of a two-state solution”. "}],[{"start":122.9,"text":"But she said in a statement that she was voting in favour of the Massie amendment “for the message that it sends”, adding: “The American people are rightly demanding an end to a perpetual cycle of war, and the Netanyahu government cannot maintain its current course.”"}],[{"start":137.8,"text":"This week’s vote comes at a fraught moment for the US-Israel relationship. The ongoing war with Hamas has precipitated a sharp drop in public support for Israel, especially among Democrats and younger voters across the political spectrum."}],[{"start":152.15,"text":"An AP-NORC poll out last week showed a dramatic decline in voter support for Israel, with about one-third of US adults, including roughly half of Democrats, saying that Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians during the war in Gaza."}],[{"start":167.05,"text":"Fifty-eight per cent of Democratic voters said the US was “too supportive” of Israel, compared to 45 per cent when pollsters asked the same question a year and a half ago in January 2024."}],[{"start":178.75,"text":"Sixty-two per cent of Democrats said the US was “not supportive enough” of the Palestinians, compared to 49 per cent in 2024. "}],[{"start":196.7,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1784163135_8195.mp3"}