Twelve senators led by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) are urging House and Senate leaders to strip three provisions from the Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act that would expand U.S.-Israel defense technology cooperation and intelligence sharing, according to a press release from Van Hollen’s office.
The letter was signed by Van Hollen and Sens. Patty Murray, Ron Wyden, Bernie Sanders, Jeff Merkley, Brian Schatz, Elizabeth Warren, Ed Markey, Tammy Duckworth, Tina Smith, Peter Welch and Andy Kim, according to Van Hollen’s office. The Jerusalem Post noted that Sanders, one of the signers, is an independent.
🚨🚨NEW: 12 senators led by Chris Van Hollen want to strip NDAA provisions that expand US-Israel defense technology cooperation and intelligence sharing.
Their dangerous blind spot: Stronger U.S.-Israel security ties protect both nations, save lives and bolster global security. pic.twitter.com/h39erxyHhe
— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) November 11, 2026
What the senators want removed
The senators asked leaders to drop Section 1217 of the Senate Armed Services Committee’s bill and Section 219 of the House-passed bill, according to the press release. Both sections would create a “United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative” covering technology sharing, co-production of weapons systems, and joint research in fields including artificial intelligence, quantum computing, autonomous systems, biotechnology and cyberwarfare, the release said.
Jewish Insider reported that the defense technology language is based on the FUTURES Act.
The third target is Section 618 of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s FY2027 Intelligence Authorization Act, which is typically folded into the final NDAA, according to Van Hollen’s office. That section would require the executive branch to “expand and enhance intelligence sharing with the Government of Israel” and states that such sharing “shall not be suspended, reduced, or otherwise materially limited,” the release said.
The senators’ argument
“The agreements and projects these provisions envision threaten US national security interests by handing Israel leverage over American weapons systems and military technology,” the senators wrote, according to The Jerusalem Post.
The senators wrote that the provisions “would constrain the Administration’s ability to independently determine how best to protect U.S. national security and would lock in long-term commitments despite our serious concerns with the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza, the West Bank, and other parts of the region,” according to the press release.
“For all these reasons, we should not legally mandate an expansion in defense co-production or a requirement to increase intelligence sharing with the Government of Israel,” the letter concludes, according to Van Hollen’s office.
The letter went to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, according to the press release. Van Hollen’s office said the effort follows a “Dear Colleague” letter he sent in July urging senators to oppose moving forward on the NDAA until the provisions were addressed.
The Jerusalem Post noted that the letter does not call for ending existing U.S. defense assistance or intelligence cooperation with Israel. It instead challenges efforts to require deeper cooperation by law, the Post reported.
Pushback from Israel’s supporters
Supporters of the U.S.-Israel alliance criticized the move. “Stronger U.S.-Israel security ties protect both nations, save lives and bolster global security,” the account Israel War Room said in a post on X responding to the letter.
What comes next
The request comes as House and Senate negotiators prepare to conference the final FY2027 NDAA, according to the letter as quoted by Van Hollen’s office. Jewish Insider reported that the Intelligence Authorization Act language could be folded into the NDAA during that process.
Sources
Sources cited
- https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/news/press-releases/van-hollen-leads-push-for-senate-house-leadership-to-strip-provisions-in-ndaa-that-mandate-us-israel-defense-intelligence-cooperation
- https://www.jpost.com/american-politics/article-914528
- https://jewishinsider.com/2026/11/van-hollen-leads-push-to-remove-u-s-israel-cooperation-provisions-from-defense-funding-bill/
Sources
- Original post: Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) on X, Nov 11, 2026
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