Congress quietly moved to further deepen military ties between the United States and Israel by advancing a provision buried in the House’s 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
The NDAA released late May includes a measure embedded in section 224 called the “United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative,” which would strengthen military cooperation between both counties in the form of research, development, and even defense industrial base co-production. The provision also proposes “network integration” and “data fusion,” further intertwining the U.S. military with Israel. (RELATED: Trump Tries To Restrain Israel, Hezbollah After Bibi Orders Strikes On Beirut)
The measure specifies several areas of cooperation between Israel and the United States, should the NDAA be adopted in its current form. Some of these “cooperative efforts” include cyber defense, artificial intelligence, anti-tunneling and subterranean threats, biotechnology, and any other “emerging technologies.”
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 24: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of Congress in the chamber of the House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol on July 24, 2024 in Washington, DC. Netanyahu’s visit occurs as the Israel-Hamas war reaches nearly ten months. A handful of Senate and House Democrats boycotted the remarks over Israel’s treatment of Palestine. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
“Remember last year when they tried to sneak that definition of antisemitism into federal law that would have banned portions of the New Testament?” Auron MacIntyre, host of the Auron MacIntyre Show, said in a post on X. “This is somehow just as absurd. Why does the GOP congress try to do this every summer?” (RELATED: Italy Suspends Defense Agreement With Israel After IDF Fired Warning Shots At Country’s Peacekeeping Convoy)
This push to further integrate the two militaries comes at a time where popular perception of Israel in America hits record lows.
Public opinion of Israel has plummeted in recent years, particularly among young Americans. A recent Pew Research poll found that a majority of adults, 60%, have an unfavorable view of Israel, up from 53% in 2025. Another 59% of adults have “little to no confidence” that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will “do the right thing” regarding foreign policy, which is another increase from 52% in 2025.
This trend has reached adults in both political parties, with a majority of adults under the age of 50 having a negative view of Israel and Netanyahu, according to the poll.