Bernie Sanders on Face the Nation, Feb. 19, 2023. Screenshot.
Last week Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) announced that he had introduced legislation to block a $20 billion arms sale to Israel.
The Joint Resolutions of Disapproval would prevent the delivery of offensive weapons that the State Department approved in August, just days before ceasefire talks were set to resume. The package includes fighter jets and advanced air-to-air missiles.
“Sadly, and illegally, much of the carnage in Gaza has been carried out with U.S.-provided military equipment,” said Sanders in a statement. “Providing more offensive weapons to continue this disastrous war would violate U.S. and international law. The sales would reward Netanyahu’s extremist government, even as it continues to cause massive destruction in Gaza, undermine the prospects of a ceasefire deal that would secure the release of the hostages, and advance its effort to illegally annex the West Bank. Congress must act to save lives, uphold U.S. and international law, and stand up for U.S. interests. We must end our complicity in Israel’s illegal and indiscriminate military campaign, which has caused mass civilian death and suffering.”
The effort was cosponsored by Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Brian Schatz (D-HI).
“While Members of Congress previously have attempted to block weapons sales to Israel through JRDs, this latest move is extremely significant because it will be the first time ever that Congress will vote on such a measure,” author and Georgetown University Adjunct Professor Josh Ruebner told Mondoweiss. “As Israel’s genocidal violence against Palestinians in Gaza reaches the one year mark and as Israel dangerously escalates this violence to Lebanon, it is imperative for the Senate to vote in favor of these resolutions in order to block future weapons deliveries to Israel that would make the US even more complicit in Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
Democratic voters support arms embargo
Congressional efforts aimed at conditioning military aid to Israel have historically gained little traction. However, recent polling shows that Democratic voters overwhelmingly support such measures.
In March the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) published a survey showing that 52% of Americans wanted to force a ceasefire in the region by stopping weapons shipments to Israel. 62% of respondents who voted for Joe Biden in 2020 agreed with the statement, “The US should stop weapons shipments to Israel until Israel discontinues its attacks on the people of Gaza. Only 14% of them disagreed.
More than 60% of voters said the United States should not send Israel more weapons in a June CBS News poll. When broken down by party, 80% of Democratic voters said they shouldn’t be sent.
This shift isn’t limited to the past year. A 2019 Data for Progress survey found that 46% of Americans support conditioning aid to Israel over its human rights violations, 65% among Democrats. A 2021 Chicago Council Survey found that 50% of Americans supported conditioning aid to Israel, 62% among Democrats. A 2021 Data for Progress had 72% of Democrats expressing support for conditioned military aid.
Jennifer Bing has organized with American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) for 30 years and has been involved in Palestine activism for decades. The AFSC’s No Way to Treat a Child campaign helped push Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MI) to introduce a historic set of bills aimed at ending Israel’s detention of Palestinian children.
Bing told Mondoweiss that such work has grown increasingly challenging lately, but that groups like AFSC have continued to pressure lawmakers.
“It has been a difficult year to do Congressional advocacy, in part because many of our traditional allies in Congress didn’t prioritize introducing legislation early on that might have stopped the flow of U.S. weapons to Israel – even as it clearly committed daily atrocities in Gaza, the West Bank and now in Lebanon in violation of our own U.S. laws on weapon sales,” said Bing.
“I’m glad that every week, people all across the U.S. are still trying to hold their elected officials accountable, even when too few in Congress have stood up to the Biden administration’s complicity in genocide,” she continued. “We are all frustrated by members of Congress citing ‘presidential election year’ excuses to avoid taking even symbolic disapproval of Israel’s actions, especially when we know that every day another Palestinian home is bombed, prisoners are tortured in detention, humanitarian relief is blocked, hospitals and schools are hit with US bombs, leaders are assassinated, and those held captive are not released.”
Lawmakers look to stop Sanders
The disconnect between the Democratic base and its lawmakers was exemplified at this summer’s Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago. As a result of more than half a million Democratic voters selecting “Uncommitted” on their primary ballots, the movement gained 30 DNC delegates.
Activists arrived at the event pushing their “Not Another Bomb” campaign, which calls on lawmakers to endorse an arms embargo against Israel.
“Adopting an arms embargo against Israel’s assault on Gaza is not only a moral imperative but also a strategic move to defeat Trump and MAGA extremism. It is difficult for the Democratic candidate to champion democracy while arming Netanyahu’s authoritarian regime,” read an open letter to Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris from the campaign. “Supporting Israel’s war on Gaza undermines our fight against MAGA extremism and contradicts our core values of human rights and justice. By taking a strong stand against Netanyahu’s authoritarian policies, the Biden-Harris administration can unify the Democratic Party and regain the trust of key voter bases, including young people, Arabs, and Muslims.”
Uncommitted’s message was rejected, not just by the Harris campaign which refused to heed their call, but also by the leadership at the convention, which rejected Uncommitted’s request to have a Palestinian speaker at the event.
Such internal opposition was apparent soon after Sanders announced the introduction of his resolutions, as pro-Israel Democrats have already distanced themselves from the legislation.
“At a time when Israel is under attack from Iran’s terrorist proxies like Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis, calls to limit security assistance to our democratic ally Israel are wrong and dangerous. As Iran, China, and Russia deepen their military ties, it’s in our interest that America’s allies can defend themselves,” Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) told Jewish Insider. “This resolution would undermine Israel’s ability to defend against mounting regional threats, which is why I’ll do everything in my power to block it.”
Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) echoed Rosen’s sentiments.
“We passed aid to Israel on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis, and turning back on that aid would be reckless and irresponsible,” he said in a statement. “I remain committed to standing with Israel and its right to protect itself while we also work to bring the hostages home and provide much-needed humanitarian aid to Gaza.”
The resolutions are not likely to get a vote until after the presidential election.
“When they do, we certainly hope members of Congress will finally listen to their constituents and take action to stop fueling endless wars and destruction,” says Bing.
