Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the minority leader, told fellow House Democrats on Tuesday that he plans to oppose a measure that would eliminate United States aid to Israel, weighing in on a debate that has bitterly divided his party.
The proposal, which the House is expected to vote on as early as Wednesday night as part of a broader foreign affairs spending bill, and as the United States has reignited its war with Iran, will mark House Democrats’ first up-or-down vote in this Congress solely on the issue of cutting taxpayer subsidies to Israel. It is expected to highlight an intense rift among Democrats over support for Israel, which has become a major liability with young and left-leaning voters who are an important constituency in the party.
Dozens of Democrats are expected to vote for the amendment, which would eliminate all $3.3 billion the United States provides to Israel.
The timing is precarious for lawmakers, months before the midterm elections. It is expected to hit the floor only weeks after three incumbent Democrats lost primaries in which their support for Israel became a major issue.
Over the past few weeks, Democrats have twice huddled privately to discuss the measure, which is being offered by Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican who opposes foreign intervention and who recently lost his primary to a Trump-backed challenger who made Mr. Massie’s opposition to aiding Israel a major line of attack.
Democrats had asked Mr. Jeffries, who is known to be strongly supportive of Israel, to hold off on announcing his position on the amendment until after the July 4 break.
In an interview last week with The New York Times, Mr. Jeffries, who represents one of the largest Jewish communities in the country and is endorsed by both the hard-right lobbying group AIPAC and the center-left organization J Street, defended his relationship with AIPAC, which has drawn derision from progressives.
“Nobody can point to a single instance of me taking a vote that had anything to do with being influenced by any outside group,” Mr. Jeffries said. “I challenge people to do that.” He blamed “people outside of Congress” for pushing a narrative that he was beholden to lobbying groups.
But the letter Mr. Jeffries released on Tuesday morning highlighted the squeeze he is under from the left on the issue of Israel.
He was careful to note that his position was also backed by Representative Rosa DeLauro, Democrat of Connecticut, an outspoken progressive on Israel, as well as J Street.
J Street, however, issued a statement on Tuesday that somewhat hedged their opposition to the measure.
“For many Democrats, this is one of the few opportunities to cast a recorded vote expressing opposition to the way American military assistance and American-supplied weapons have been used by the Israeli government in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and elsewhere,” Jeremy Ben-Ami, the group’s president, said in a statement.
Mr. Ben-Ami added that members could vote “no, present or yes” to “reflect those competing concerns.”
Mr. Jeffries also indicated that he and other leaders would not be imposing a party position on the vote, as they normally would on major amendments.
“There are good faith reasons that will result in members voting in a variety of different ways with respect to the amendment,” he wrote, acknowledging that because of the actions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, “a major reset is necessary.”
He also noted that he supports legislation that would seek to prevent settler violence in the West Bank and punish people who committed those acts, and said that “a meaningful change in direction is needed,” regarding the soon-to-expire 10-year memorandum of understanding that commits billions of dollars of security assistance to Israel. That hinted at the kind of legislation he might bring to the floor next year if Democrats win back the House and he is elected speaker.
The amendment vote will serve as something of a preview of the fissures in the Democratic caucus that Mr. Jeffries will have to navigate next year. A crop of new Democratic Socialists who have been winning primaries across the country want the party to unify around halting military aid to Israel, and they view Mr. Jeffries as the kind of establishment politician standing in the way of their progressive goals.
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