In a letter to House Democrats Tuesday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said he would oppose an amendment to the appropriations bill by Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) to bring the current roughly $3 billion in annual military aid to Israel down to zero.

Jeffries argued that the bill would restrict U.S. humanitarian efforts in the region and undermine the security of both the United States and Israel.

“It is overly broad in that it prohibits or would limit the use of funds for longstanding initiatives related to humanitarian aid, refugee resettlement, peace-building and U.S. Embassy operations,” Jeffries wrote.

The amendment “would restrict our country’s ability to confront Hamas, Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations in the region who are sworn enemies of both the United States and Israel,” he added.

He also said that opposition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should take the shape of pushing for preferred policies rather than cutting off aid. While he promoted the idea that Israel should gradually wean itself off dependence on U.S. military aid, he nevertheless warned that Israel must be allowed to preserve its military superiority in the region.

“Israel’s qualitative military edge against Iran and other malign actors in the region” must be sustained, he wrote, and “mutually beneficial joint technology, innovation, research and further development of defensive programs like Iron Dome, Arrow and David’s Sling” must also be maintained.

“America’s commitment to Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state and homeland for the Jewish people must remain ironclad,” he stated. “Equally significant, the United States must strongly support the creation of an independent Palestinian state that provides dignity, respect and self-determination for the Palestinian people,” he added, while calling for more humanitarian aid in Gaza and an end to settler violence.

Surprisingly, the progressive left-wing organization J Street joined AIPAC in opposing the amendment as well.

In a message to lawmakers, AIPAC explained why opposition to Massie’s proposal is crucial.

“U.S. assistance to Israel, along with cooperative defense programs, has been massively successful,” the group wrote. “It has ensured Israel can defend itself. Assistance has created tens of thousands of jobs in the United States and helped Israel develop its own industrial base.”