Nine United States House members, including four African-Americans, voted against funding for the Israel Iron Dome missile defense system. The $1 billion in the Iron Dome funding bill is intended to replace missile interceptors Israel used to ward off rockets fired from the Palestinian enclave Gaza during the May conflict.

The "no" votes included African-Americans Ilhan Omar, D-MN; Ayanna Pressley, D-MA; Cori Bush, D-MO, and André Carson, D-IN. Rashida Tlaib, D-MI, who represents a majority Black district, also voted no. The other no votes were Marie Newman, D-IL, Raúl Grijalva, D-AZ; Chuy Garcia, D-IL; and Thomas Massie, R-KY. All three Muslim members of Congress, Omar, Carson, and Tlaib, voted against the bill.

Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. and Hank Johnson, D-GA, who is African-American, voted present. The bill passed 420-9.

The vote came after a contentious exchange on the House floor. On her Facebook page, Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American member of Congress, said “We keep hearing that there’s not enough money to cover needs like healthcare or housing for struggling communities here at home . . . then, Congressmembers brought up a last-minute measure to give an extra $1 billion in taxpayer dollars to the Israeli military.”

The lone Republican to vote no added, “My position of ‘no foreign aid’ might sound extreme to some, but I think it’s extreme to bankrupt our country and put future generations of Americans in hock to our debtors,” Massie tweeted.

Senator Tim Scott, who just failed to reach a police reform deal with Senator Cory Booker, responded, “Iron Dome prevents deaths which then allows for us not to see a war in the Middle East because if you start killing thousands of Israelis they have to respond. It is their ability to defend themselves that reduces the likelihood of war in the Middle East—and why would we not stand by our allies? It feels akin to the Afghan crisis, now an Iron Dome crisis. It’s just dead wrong.”

Critics also noted that Israel provides universal health care coverage to citizens and permanent residents as part of its national health insurance law. Residents choose from four competing nonprofit health plans that provide a mandated benefit package, including hospital, primary, specialty, mental health, and maternity care, as well as prescription drugs and other services. There are no deductibles, but some cost-sharing is required for specialist visits and prescription drugs.