Senate rejects effort to block arms sales to Israel

The U.S. Senate has rejected a legislative effort that would have blocked some arms sales to Israel.

In September Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced the Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRDs), which apply to ammunition, fighter jets, and other weapons.

Congress members have the power to introduce resolutions blocking weapons sales as a result of the Arms Export Control Act, but the JRDs have to pass the Senate and House and be signed by the President in order to be adopted.

The first resolution, S.J. Res. 111, applied to tank cartridges sales. The final vote was 18-79-1.

Senators supporting the JRD on tank cartridges sales were Dick Durbin (D-IL), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Angus King (I-ME), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Peter Welch (D-VT).

Sen. George Helmy (D-NJ) joined the group to vote against shipments of military equipment and mortar rounds.

On Tuesday, Sanders held a press conference with Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) to discuss the resolutions.

“All of this death and destruction is being supported by U.S taxpayers. [The U.S.] has provided, in recent times, over $18 billion in military aid to Israel and delivered more than 50,000 tons of armaments and military equipment,” he told attendees. “In other words, as Americans, we are complicit.”

A group of House members, including Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Joaquin Castro (D-TX), and Barbara Lee (D-CA), released a statement saying they would vote for the JRDs if they were given an opportunity.

“We urge Senators to support these joint resolutions of disapproval to block specific offensive arms sales to Israel, upholding U.S. law that prohibits arms transfers to countries that engage in a consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights or restrict the delivery of U.S. humanitarian assistance,” they said. “The U.S. must use its leverage to safeguard civilian lives, secure a lasting ceasefire, and advance a pathway toward peace.”

Leading up to the vote 50 activists were arrested for occupying the Senate Hart atrium, demanding that Senators back the JRDs.

“The U.S. has already sent at least $18 billion dollars of weapons to Israel since the start of the genocide, which Israel has expanded at this point from Gaza to across Palestine and to Lebanon,” said Action Center on Race & the Economy (ACRE) Campaign Director Ramah Kudaimi, one of the main organizers of the action. “These weapons have been used to kill tens of thousands of men, women, and children, and have destroyed schools, hospitals, and homes. Meanwhile our community needs like healthcare, food, and jobs continue to go unmet. We need an arms embargo now and we need to put people at the forefront of U.S. policies, not the profits of weapons companies.”

Over 110 human rights organizations, including Amnesty International USA and Human Rights Watch, issued a statement urging Congress to vote for the resolutions.

“Continued arms transfers to the Israeli government are contrary to U.S. law and the Biden administration’s own arms transfer policy, which include restrictions on arms transfers to any country based on human rights, international humanitarian law, and humanitarian assistance criteria,” it notes. “For example, U.S. law prohibits military aid to governments that restrict the delivery of U.S. humanitarian assistance. As demonstrated by the National Security Memorandum 20 process, the Biden administration has not complied with these standards.”

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which represents nearly 2 million workers put out a statement in support of the resolutions. “SEIU members have made clear that they want an end to taxpayer dollars being used to fund military aid that enables attacks against innocent civilians in Gaza,” said SEIU International President April Verrett. “It’s time for Senators to take action to help bring about a peaceful resolution to this conflict.”

The JRDs were also backed by the pro-Israel lobbying group J Street, although the organization acknowledged that they were only supporting the effort because they knew it would not have an impact. “We are urging Senators to vote yes to send a message, understanding that the sales are going to go through,” J Street president Jeremy Ben-Ami told Jewish Insider.

Pro-Israel groups, like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI), have lobbied against the resolutions.

“Let’s be clear: Sanders’ proposal is dangerous, misguided and counterproductive — especially while Iran and its terrorist proxies continue bombarding Israel with rocket and drone fire daily,” reads a DMFI email to supporters.

“Let’s stand together to strengthen international security and support our ally, Israel in this difficult time,” it continues.

The Times of Israel reports that the White House is also pressuring lawmakers to reject the resolutions. A U.S. official told the website that State Department and Pentagon members have contacted Senators on the issue.

“At a time when Hezbollah is about to agree to a ceasefire, now is not the time to send a message to Israel’s adversaries that there is a break in the relationship between the United States and Israel,” claimed the official. “It actually only encourages Israel’s adversaries to be more obstinate and sends a terrible message to Iran, as Iran considers retaliation against Israel.”

Huff Post obtained a copy of the talking points that the Biden team circulated on Capitol Hill. “Disapproving arms purchases for Israel at this moment would … put wind in the sails of Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas at the worst possible moment,” they read.

A Senate aide also told the website that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is pressing his colleagues to vote against the measures.

Recent polling indicates substantial support for a weapons freeze among Democratic voters. A March 2024 survey from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) found that 62% of 2020 Biden voters think the U.S. should halt weapon sales to Israel. A June 2024 poll from CBS News found that 77% of Democrats wanted them stopped.

The Senate vote comes just a week after the Biden administration abandoned its ultimatum to cut off some weapons to Israel if the country continued to block humanitarian aid from entering Gaza.

The demand had been made in a letter to Israeli ministers from Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. It identified a number of conditions that Israel would have to meet within 30 days. “Failure to demonstrate a sustained commitment to implementing and maintaining these measures may have implications for U.S. policy,” the letter claimed.

More than 30 days have passed and a group of aid organizations have published a report showing that Israel has failed to meet any of the letter’s conditions, but there has been no policy change on the part of the Biden administration.

“Israel’s actions failed to meet any of the specific criteria set out in the U.S. letter,” reads the report. “Israel not only failed to meet the U.S. criteria that would indicate support to the humanitarian response, but concurrently took actions that dramatically worsened the situation on the ground, particularly in Northern Gaza. That situation is in an even more dire state today than a month ago.”