Supporters of Palestinian rights say although bill to block arms to Israel failed to pass, vote shows ‘shift’ on issue.
Washington, DC – Palestinian rights advocates are hailing the growing number of lawmakers in the United States showing willingness to restrict weapons to Israel over the atrocities in Gaza after a Senate vote on the issue.
The majority of Democrats in the Senate voted late on Wednesday in favour of a resolution to block a weapons sale to Israel in what rights advocates have hailed as a major blow to the bipartisan support that Israel has traditionally enjoyed in Congress.
The measure, introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders, ultimately failed in a 27-70 vote, but a record number of lawmakers backed it compared to similar bills in the past.
“It was incredibly significant. We’re seeing a fundamental shift in the Democratic Party on Israel,” said Yasmine Taeb, legislative and political director for the advocacy group MPower Change Action Fund.
All Republican Senators voted against the measure. But within the Democratic caucus, the tally was 27-17. The bill aimed to block the transfer of assault rifles to Israel.
Another bill that targeted bomb shipments also failed, in a 24-73 vote, with three senators who backed the first bill defecting.
The vote came amid domestic and international anger at Israel’s atrocities in Gaza, where leading rights groups have accused the Israeli military of carrying out a genocide against Palestinians.
‘We just need to continue to fight’
Taeb said Palestinian rights advocates are making progress on the issue, noting that only 15 Senators backed Sanders’ measure to block weapons to Israel in April.
“It’s frustrating, but we just need to continue to fight,” she told media.
“We need to continue to do everything we possibly can to pressure our leaders in the House and Senate to stop funding these atrocities. We’re absolutely seeing a shift, and these bills show that. So, it shows that the pressure is working.”
Israel, which receives billions of dollars in US military aid annually, largely relies on US weaponry to carry out its wars on Palestinians and neighbouring countries.
For decades, support for Israel on Capitol Hill seemed unshakable. But restricting the flow of US weapons is steadily becoming a mainstream proposal, especially among Democrats.
The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) expressed gratitude for the senators who backed the bills, calling the vote a “historic sign of progress”.
“Although last night’s Senate vote should have been 100–0 in favor of these resolutions, the fact that a majority of Senate Democrats voted yes is a historic moment and a sign that sentiments in Congress are gradually catching up to the American people,” CAIR government affairs director Robert McCaw said in a statement.
Some key Democrats supported Sanders’s bill – well beyond the small group of progressive lawmakers who have been vocally supportive of Palestinian rights for years.
They included Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee; Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee; and Amy Klobuchar, a prominent centrist.
‘Enough is enough’
Senator Tammy Duckworth, who has been a strong Israel supporter throughout most of her career, also voted in favour of the measure.
“Enough is enough,” Duckworth said in a statement.
She highlighted the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where Israeli-imposed starvation has killed more than 150 people.
“Israel’s unacceptable choice to restrict humanitarian and food aid from entering Gaza – for months – is now causing innocent civilians, including young children, to starve to death,” Duckworth said.
“Ending this famine is not only a moral imperative, it is also in the best interests of both Israel’s and our own country’s long-term national security.”
Four out of the six new Democratic senators, elected last year, voted in favour of blocking arms to Israel, highlighting the generational shift on the issue. The other two freshman senators were not present for the vote.
Public opinion polls show that young Americans, especially Democrats, are increasingly opposing Israel’s abuses against Palestinians.
Only 9 percent of respondents under the age of 35 in a recent Gallup survey said they approve of Israel’s military action in Gaza and 6 percent said they had a favourable opinion of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Sanders said after Wednesday’s vote that the increased support from Democratic lawmakers for restricting arms to Israel shows that the “tide is turning”.
“The American people do not want to spend billions to starve children in Gaza,” the senator said in a statement.
“The Democrats are moving forward on this issue, and I look forward to Republican support in the near future.”
AIPAC responds
IfNotNow, a youth-led progressive Jewish group, also lauded the vote as a “historic moment”.
“As Israel’s blockade forces virtually all Palestinians in Gaza to the brink of starvation, we must use every tool at our disposal to end the blockade and push for a ceasefire and hostage exchange,” the group’s executive director, Morriah Kaplan, said in a statement.
“It is shameful that a shrinking minority of the Democratic caucus, 17 senators, sided with Republicans to continue the flow of deadly weapons to the Israeli military.”
Some senior Democrats, including the party’s top senator, Chuck Schumer, voted against the resolutions.
Taeb said Schumer’s vote shows that he is “simply out of touch with the vast majority of Democratic voters and, incredibly, his own caucus”.
She added that Republicans will soon start to pay an electoral price for their unflinching support for Israel as Americans’ opinions continue to turn against the US ally.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which has spent millions of dollars to help defeat Israel’s critics in Congress, welcomed the defeat of Sanders’ bills, but it said that the vote “highlights the growing attempts to advance anti-Israel policies in Congress”.
“We know our detractors are working to take the battle from the floor of the Senate and the House to the ballot box next year, seeking to elect more candidates who want to undermine the US-Israel alliance,” the group said in an email to supporters.
“With the midterm elections rapidly approaching, we must ensure we have the political strength and resources to help our friends win and help defeat our detractors.”
