Democrats rise up against White House sale of missiles to Israel — then collapse

Update: House Foreign Affairs Chair Gregory Meeks has backed down on his effort reported last night to delay U.S. weapon sales to Israel because of its killings of civilians in Gaza.

Politico reports that Meeks changed tack after the White House said it would hold an “informational session” for legislators tomorrow. “What we wanted to do is to have a dialogue,” Meeks said on Tuesday.

Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee had agreed last night that they would seek to postpone sale of “Joint Direct Attack Munitions” to Israel, in an effort to press for a ceasefire.

Our original post: The shocking news out of Washington last night was that Gregory Meeks, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC), has called for a delay on $735 million in U.S. military aid to Israel that the White House approved 12 days ago. Meeks, a reliable supporter of Israel in recent years, sensed the shift in his own party during an emergency virtual meeting of his committee. Jerusalem Post:

He will also send a letter to US President Joe Biden calling to pause the sale… 

According to the Washington Post, Meeks said he was blindsided by the sale. “Meeks just told HFAC [House Foreign Affairs Committee] Dems during this virtual emergency meeting that he was caught unaware of this weapons sale to Israel, per a source.”

Alex Ward of Vox reported that the holdup, supported by Democrats, includes “precision-guided missiles.”

HFAC Chair @RepGregoryMeeks will send a letter to Biden admin in next few days requesting a delay of the sale of $735 million in precision-guided missiles to Israel. Delay would allow lawmakers to review the sale. Idea received support among HFAC Dems in mtg.

The Washington Post says that Democrats on the committee were caught off guard by the White House sale, and that sale also includes bombs that kill Palestinians:

“New details: the Biden admin’s arms sale to Israel also includes GBU-39 small diameter bombs, which are also used against Palestinians.”

Just look at the bombs in this photo. Small diameter indeed.

Zachary Cohen of CNN reports that Congress can’t stop the sale but it may seek to pressure the White House to demand a ceasefire:

Rep. Meeks expected to send a letter to admin tomorrow calling for arms deal w/ Israel to be delayed… Meeks can’t put formal “hold” on deal at this point in review process. But letter could be pressure point to work towards ceasefire, per source.

Media are reporting a rift among Democrats over the arms sales with Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey supporting the arms sales, and of course the White House backing them, but progressives up in arms.

Here is an Ilhan Omar statement, per CBS: “It would be appalling for the Biden Administration to go through with $735 million in precision-guided weaponry to Netanyahu without any strings attached in the wake of escalating violence and attacks on civilians… If this goes through this will be seen as a green light for continued escalation and will undercut any attempts at brokering a ceasefire.”

In yet another sign of the shift, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has joined the call by 30 Senate Democrats and one Republican for a ceasefire, defying Israel. Writes Beth Miller of Jewish Voice for Peace: “Chuck Schumer is scared. He’s scared of us. It is time to push hard. Harder than you every thought you could.”

The progressive base wants an end to U.S. arms sales to Israel. Yesterday on the BBC News, the scholar Rashid Khalidi said that American F-15s and Apache helicopters were sending those missiles into Gaza apartment buildings, while the Treasury Department assures tax-exempt status for contributions to West Bank settlements– and Khalidi said the Treasury secretary could end that status with the stroke of a pen. The anti-Zionist Jewish group, Jewish Voice for Peace, has echoed Khalidi’s points and called for an end to U.S. aid to the “apartheid” state.

The young Jewish group IfNotNow has also come out firmly against the arms sale:

If Joe Biden continues to push through his deal to sell the Israeli government bombs to drop on Palestinian civilians, he will be squarely on the wrong side of history — and his own party.

IfNotNow exulted over the Meeks news last night and released a statement against the arms, from Morriah Kaplan, blasting the Israel lobby:

“This is an encouraging sign of what’s to come. For decades, AIPAC has cynically used false accusations of antisemitism to make it impossible for Democrats to question the ways the US is funding Israeli apartheid policies. Now, thanks to a Palestinian-led movement in Israel/Palestine and in the diaspora, everyone paying attention can see that these US-made and funded bombs are being used to kill Palestinians and commit war crimes. Israeli airstrikes are exacerbating tensions and making both Palestinians and Jewish Israelis increasingly unsafe.”

J Street, the liberal Israel lobby organization, refuses to oppose military aid to the Gaza attacks, saying that Israel has a right to defend itself and J Street remains “committed to Israel’s security and to the full amount of assistance currently promised to Israel.”

J Street does support conditioning U.S. aid that serves the occupation of the West Bank: “While remaining committed to Israel’s security and to the full amount of assistance currently promised to Israel, the US must recognize that allowing US-sourced military equipment — including equipment bought with US aid — to be used in connection with evictions, demolitions and settlement expansion, facilitates the creeping annexation of Palestinian territory and cements a permanent undemocratic and unacceptable one-state reality. That must stop.”