Dear A.,

Tomorrow night, the Senate is expected to vote on Bernie Sanders’ resolutions to block arms sales to Israel. 

I encourage you to click here to email your senators and urge them to VOTE NO on these dangerous resolutions, and then ask your friends and family to visit www.aipac.org/act to contact their senators as well.

Earlier today, Israeli Opposition Leader Yair Lapid stated clearly, “No friend of Israel should vote for an arms embargo while we are fighting on multiple fronts to protect our people from terrorism and to bring our hostages home. This has nothing to do with your opinion of the current government, it is about standing with the people of Israel.”

Meanwhile, J Street champions Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Peter Welch (D-VT) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) held a press conference today to rally support for the resolutions.

Sanders accused the IDF of waging “all-out war against the Palestinian people” and parroted debunked accusations from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry and anti-Israel U.N. bodies. “The United States of America is complicit in these atrocities — that complicity must end,” he said.

Sanders also blamed Israel alone for preventing a U.S.-backed ceasefire agreement in Gaza, while ignoring that President Biden explicitly stated yesterday that Hamas is the one to blame for rejecting a ceasefire. 

As the Biden administration said, these arms sales are “vital to U.S. national interests” and “will improve Israel's capability to meet current and future threats, strengthen its homeland defense, and serve as a deterrent to regional threats.”

America must continue to stand with our ally as it defends its people from Iran and its terrorist proxies throughout the region — threats that also endanger Americans.

New Op-ed: “J Street and Bernie Sanders are Playing a Dangerous Game with Jewish Lives”

Today, Rabbi David-Seth Kirshner published a Times of Israel op-ed criticizing J Street for lobbying senators to vote for Bernie Sanders’ anti-Israel resolutions to block arms sales to the Jewish state.

“As Israel fights a war of survival on seven fronts, J Street and Bernie Sanders are working to handicap Israel and jeopardize its ability to protect its citizens,” Rabbi Kirshner writes.

“J Street and Bernie Sanders are no friend of Israel, no friend of the pro-Israel community, and must be roundly rejected by all of us working to help keep Israel safe. They are playing a dangerous game with real lives on the line for sport and headlines. They should know better.”

I encourage you to read and share the full op-ed.

New report on Russian weapons in Lebanon amid continued Hezbollah attacks

The Wall Street Journal reported today on how the IDF is finding large troves of Russian weapons, including some manufactured as recently as 2020, as it continues to advance in southern Lebanon. 

"The [Russian-made] weapons Israel is finding now are newer, more advanced, and present in larger numbers than expected by military analysts," the report notes.

At least five people were wounded and millions of Israelis were once again in bomb shelters today as Hezbollah continued its attacks, including a barrage of missiles launched at central Israel. 

Below is a picture of a damaged building in Karmiel as well as a video of the massive impact site from a projectile in a residential area near Netanya:

Amid the barrages into Israel, an errant Hezbollah rocket struck a UNIFIL post in southern Lebanon, injuring several U.N. peacekeepers and damaging the facility.

Senior U.S. official in Lebanon to push ceasefire agreement

White House senior advisor Amos Hochstein was in Beirut today for meetings with Lebanese officials, including Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, to advance a ceasefire agreement. 

After meeting with Berri, Hochstein said, “I came back [to Lebanon] because we have a real opportunity to bring this conflict to an end… It is now within our grasp. As the window is now, I hope the coming days yield a resolute decision.”

Berri said that the negotiations are going “good in principle” and that "only a few more technical details remain to be concluded."

An Israeli official made clear that while Israel was preparing to implement the deal and to withdraw forces, “We will increase the firepower as long as there is no official signature on the agreement.”

Other notable headlines

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Sincerely,

Jake Braunstein
Director of Policy Communications