Half of House Dems vote to end US aid to Israel

The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to block an amendment to the National Security and State Department appropriations bill that would have struck $3.3 billion in aid to Israel.The amendment, introduced by outgoing Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), was never expected to pass given the near-unanimous opposition from Republicans. But the vote was nonetheless closely watched because of what it revealed about a growing rift among Democratic elected officials concerning the U.S-Israel relationship. In the end, the amendment failed by a vote of 104-314. A slight majority of voting Democrats – 103