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SENATE REJECTS SANDERS’ BID TO HALT ARMS TO ISRAEL OVER GAZA
ATROCITIES  
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Jessica Corbett
November 20, 2024
Common Dreams
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_ "Our taxpayer dollars should be used to fund education, housing,
and healthcare for Americans, not to support the destruction of
innocent lives abroad," said one advocacy leader "deeply saddened" by
the votes. _

A Palestinian boy reacts at the damages at a UN-run school sheltering
displaced people, following an Israeli attack, in Jabalia in the
northern Gaza Strip, November 2, 2023., [Fadi Whadi/Reuters]

 

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday refused to pass joint resolutions of
disapproval proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders
[[link removed]] that would prevent
the sale of certain offensive American weaponry to Israel
[[link removed]], which has killed nearly
44,000 Palestinians in Gaza
[[link removed]] since last fall.

S.J. Res. 111, S.J. Res. 113, and S.J. Res. 115 would have
respectively blocked the sale of 120mm tank rounds, 120mm
high-explosive mortar rounds, Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs),
the guidance kits attached to "dumb bombs."

The first vote was 18-79
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Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) voting present and Sens. Mike Braun (R-Ind.)
and JD Vance (R-Ohio)—the vice-president-elect—not voting. In
addition to Sanders (I-Vt.), those in favor were
[[link removed]]: Sens. Dick
Durbin (D-Ill.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii),
Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Angus King (I-Maine), Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), Ed
Markey [[link removed]] (D-Mass.), Jeff
Merkley (D-Ore.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Brian
Schatz (D-Hawaii), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.),
Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Elizabeth Warren
[[link removed]] (D-Mass.), and
Peter Welch (D-Vt.).

The second vote was 19-78—Sen. George Helmy (D-N.J.) joined
[[link removed]] those voting
for the resolution. The third vote was 17-80
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Ahead of the votes, Sanders took to the Senate floor to highlight that
his resolutions were backed by over 100 groups, including pro-Israel J
Street; leading labor organizations such as the Service Employees
International Union, United Auto Workers, and United Electrical
Workers; humanitarian groups like Amnesty International
[[link removed]]; and various
faith organizations.

"I would also point out that poll after poll shows that a strong
majority of the American people oppose sending more weapons and
military aid to fund Netanyahu's war machine," the senator said,
referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "According to
a poll commissioned by J Street... 62% of Jewish Americans support
withholding weapons shipments to Israel until Netanyahu agrees to an
immediate cease-fire."

In addition to stressing that his proposals would not affect any of
the systems Israel uses to defend itself from incoming attacks,
Sanders argued that "from a legal perspective, these resolutions are
simple, straightforward, and not complicated. Bottom line: The United
States government must obey the law—not a very radical idea. But
unfortunately, that is not the case now."

"The Foreign Assistance Act and the Arms Export Control Act are very
clear: The United States cannot provide weapons to countries that
violate internationally recognized human rights or block U.S.
humanitarian aid," he continued. "According to the United Nations,
according to much of the international community, according to
virtually every humanitarian organization on the ground in Gaza,
Israel is clearly in violation of these laws."

To illustrate the devastating impact of Israel's assault on
Gaza—which has led to a genocide case at the International Court of
Justice—Sanders quoted from an October _New York Times_opinion
[[link removed]] essay authored by
American doctors who volunteered
[[link removed]] in Gaza. For
example, Dr. Ndal Farah from Ohio said: "Malnutrition was widespread.
It was common to see patients reminiscent of Nazi concentration camps
with skeletal features."

Sanders said that "what this extremist government has done in Gaza is
unspeakable, but what makes it even more painful is that much of this
has been done with U.S. weapons and American taxpayer dollars. In the
last year alone, the U.S. has provided $18 billion in military aid to
Israel... and by the way, a few blocks from here, people are sleeping
out on the street."

"We have also delivered more than 50,000 tons of military equipment to
Israel," he added. "In other words... the United States of America is
complicit in all of these atrocities. We are funding these atrocities.
That complicity must end, and that is what these resolutions are
about."

Merkley, Van Hollen, and Welch joined Sanders in speaking in favor of
the resolutions on Wednesday. Members of both parties also spoke out
against them: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sens.
Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), John
Kennedy (R-La.), James Risch (R-Idaho), and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.).

Cardin quoted talking points from the White House that were reported
[[link removed]] on
earlier Wednesday by _HuffPost_. The outlet detailed how officials in
outgoing President Joe Biden's administration suggested that
"lawmakers who vote against the arms are empowering American and
Israeli foes from Iran to the militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah,
which the U.S. treats as terror organizations."

Just hours before the Senate debate, the Biden administration vetoed
[[link removed]] a
United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an immediate
cease-fire in Gaza—the fourth time it has blocked such a measure at
the world body since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

After the Senate votes, groups that supported Sanders' resolutions
expressed disappointment.

Wa'el Alzayat, CEO of the Muslim advocacy group Emgage Action, said in
a statement that "we have a moral obligation to stand up for the
people of Gaza and demand an end to the constant bombardment they
face. I'm deeply saddened that our U.S. senators shot down the joint
resolutions calling for a halt in weapons to Israel. Our taxpayer
dollars should be used to fund education, housing, and healthcare for
Americans, not to support the destruction of innocent lives abroad."

"Continuing to provide Israel with unrestricted military aid to attack
innocent civilians in Gaza and Lebanon is a moral failure—one the
American government will look back on in horror as the situation gets
unimaginably worse," Alzayat added. "While the resolution did not pass
this time, we will continue working with lawmakers and allies to
advocate for legislation that promotes justice and adherence to
international law."

While these resolutions did not advance to the House of
Representatives, Demand Progress senior policy adviser Cavan
Kharrazian noted that "never before have so many senators voted to
restrict arms transfers to Israel, and we are extremely grateful to
those who did. This historic vote represents a sea change in how
elected Democrats feel about the Israeli military's campaign of death
and destruction in Gaza."

"We have all seen with our own eyes the thousands of innocent
civilians who have been killed, displaced, and starved by weapons paid
for with U.S. tax dollars," Kharrazian said. "Now, almost half of the
Senate Democratic caucus is backing up our collective outrage with
their votes. Supporters of this destructive war will try to claim
victory but even they know that today's vote proves that the movement
to end the war is growing, across America and in Congress, and we
won't stop."

Center for International Policy executive vice president Matt Duss,
who formerly served as Sanders' foreign policy adviser, similarly
welcomed the progress, commending those who voted in favor of the
resolutions for having "the courage to stand up for U.S. law, the
rights of civilians in conflict, and basic decency."

"As civilian deaths, displacement, and disease among Palestinians in
Gaza mount alongside open calls for ethnic cleansing by Israeli
officials, the Biden administration is not merely failing to act—it
is actively enabling the Netanyahu government's war crimes," he
continued. "Rather than taking steps to bolster democracy, rights, and
rule of law at home and abroad in advance of [President-elect] Donald
Trump's second term, President Biden and his top officials are
spending their precious last days in office lobbying against measures
to protect U.S. interests and vetoing otherwise unanimously supported
resolutions in the United Nations Security Council that reflect its
own stated policies."

"The lawmakers who stood on the right side of history today will be
remembered for their leadership and humanity," he added. "The same
cannot be said about President Biden and those who help him abet
starvation and slaughter in Gaza."

_Jessica Corbett is a senior editor and staff writer for Common
Dreams._

* Israel-Gaza War
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* Senator Bernie Sanders
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* anti-war
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* Senate vote
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* Israel bombing
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