The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, is urging all Americans to contact their members of Congress and demand opposition to two dangerous Israel First provisions moving through Congress that would mandatorily merge America’s military, intelligence, technological, and regional security infrastructure with the government of Israel.
Congress is currently considering two separate but closely related proposals:
• Section 224 of the House’s proposed FY2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would establish a permanent framework for expanded U.S.-Israel military integration, including joint weapons development, artificial intelligence systems, cyber capabilities, defense technology transfers, battlefield networking, military innovation programs, and emerging warfighting technologies. The proposal would move beyond traditional military aid and, by law, mandatorily align American defense planning, military research, and strategic capabilities with those of the Israeli government.
• Section 622 of the FY 2027 Intelligence Authorization Act would mandate expanded intelligence sharing with Israel, restrict the ability of future presidents to reduce or suspend intelligence cooperation, deepen intelligence integration across cyber operations, missile defense, surveillance, threat assessment, and regional security coordination, and further embed Israel within U.S.-backed intelligence architectures throughout the Middle East.
In a statement, CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert S. McCaw said:
“Congress must act to block these Israel‑first bills that would force a deeper U.S. and Israel military and intelligence merger, a merger that will weaken independent American oversight, compromise U.S. national interests, and pull the country into foreign conflicts without democratic consent.
“The American people did not elect Congress to merge our military infrastructure, intelligence systems, defense technologies, artificial intelligence capabilities, cyber operations, and regional security architecture with a foreign government accused of genocide, apartheid, war crimes, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, collective punishment, torture, starvation policies, and the unlawful targeting of civilians.
“Sections 224 and 622 represent a dangerous attempt to permanently lock the United States into deeper military and intelligence integration with Israel, regardless of its conduct.
“Instead of demanding accountability for the destruction of Gaza, the starvation of civilians, attacks on hospitals, schools, places of worship, aid workers, journalists, medical personnel, and the repeated killing of American citizens by Israeli forces and illegal settlers, Congress is seeking to reward the Israeli government with even deeper access to American military capabilities, technologies, intelligence resources, and strategic infrastructure.
“The American people deserve a foreign policy that serves American interests and American values, not legislation that places the priorities of a foreign government above American sovereignty, accountability, and self-government.”
These provisions are not isolated measures. Together, these bills represent a broader effort to permanently entrench Israel within America’s military, intelligence, technological, and regional security systems while making it increasingly difficult for future administrations or Congresses to change course.
Israel is not a normal security partner. It is a government currently facing credible allegations of genocide, apartheid, war crimes, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, collective punishment, torture, starvation policies, and the unlawful targeting of civilians. As Gaza lies in ruins and Palestinians continue to face displacement, siege, military occupation, and systematic deprivation, Congress should be working to end American complicity, not expanding it.
Every dollar in military assistance, every bomb transfer, every weapons system, every artificial intelligence capability, every technology-sharing agreement, every cyber capability, every intelligence product, every surveillance platform, and every new integration mechanism provided to Israel contributes to Israel’s ability to carry out policies and actions that have resulted in allegations of genocide, apartheid, war crimes, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, collective punishment, and unlawful attacks on civilians. Congress should not be creating new pathways for military, technological, and intelligence cooperation with a government accused of committing some of the gravest crimes recognized under international law.
CAIR previously issued an action alert opposing Section 224 in the House and has since urged the Senate Armed Services Committee to reject the provisionand prevent its inclusion in the Senate version of the NDAA.
Israel already receives $3.8 billion annually in guaranteed U.S. military aid under a ten-year agreement. Since October 2023, Congress has approved billions more in military assistance, weapons transfers, missile defense funding, and emergency aid packages. Israel has received more U.S. foreign assistance than any nation in modern history, totaling more than $300 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars.
Yet supporters of Israel in Congress are now pursuing a new strategy. Rather than relying solely on direct military aid, they are seeking to permanently embed Israel within America’s military, technological, intelligence, and regional security systems through legislation that future administrations may find difficult to reverse.
Congress should ask:
• Why are existing military and intelligence cooperation authorities insufficient?
• Why should Congress deepen military and intelligence integration with a government accused of genocide, apartheid, war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture, ethnic cleansing, and collective punishment?
• How would these provisions affect America’s strategic independence and ability to conduct foreign policy based on U.S. interests rather than the priorities of a foreign government?
• What safeguards exist to prevent deeper integration from increasing the likelihood of future U.S. involvement in regional conflicts?
While Americans struggle with rising housing costs, healthcare expenses, childcare costs, inflation, and economic uncertainty, Congress continues finding new ways to deepen commitments to a foreign government. Congress should prioritize the American people – not create new military and intelligence integration frameworks that further entangle the United States in foreign conflicts and shield Israel from accountability.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com