The Shift: Israel lost Lindsey Graham. Now it’s lost half of House democrats, too.

Lindsey Graham is dead at the age of 71. He represented South Carolina in the House and then the Senate for over 30 years and, despite public reservations about his 2016 presidential campaign, became one of Donald Trump’s closest allies in Congress.

Graham never encountered a military intervention that he didn’t love. He backed the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, was one of the Senate’s most stalwart Russia hawks, and called for invasions in Venezuela and Cuba.

On the question of Israel, Graham was an absolute zealot. Amid the genocide, he suggested that Gaza be nuked and declared that there was no limit to the number of Palestinians civilians that Israel would be justified in killing.

“If America pulls the plug on Israel, God will pull the plug on us,” he told attendees of a South Carolina Republican Party meeting last year.

Graham’s devotion to U.S. militarism and the Zionist cause inevitably made Iran his major obsession. For decades, he pushed for an attack on the country, as did his close ally Benjamin Netanyahu. This year, he was able to make the Israeli Prime Minister’s case to Trump and successfully push for the bombing.

In March, the Wall Street Journal reported that Graham made multiple trips to Israel to meet the members of Mossad. (“They’ll tell me things our own government won’t tell me,” he explained.) During these trips he also “coached” Netanyahu on how to convince Trump to go to war.

It’s no surprise that, after his death, the most effusive praise for Graham came from Israeli officials.

“Israel has lost one of its greatest friends. America has lost a great patriot. I have lost a beloved friend,” said Netanyahu.

“Senator Graham was a beacon of moral clarity and a true leader of the US-Israel partnership,” said President Isaac Herzog in a statement. “We will never forget how he stood by the people of Israel in our most difficult moments, and we will remain eternally grateful for his sense of justice, truth, and loyalty.”

In Haaretz, Ben Samuels says Graham’s death is a blow to Israel as they no longer have a “clear voice in Trump’s ear.”

“Graham, like no other U.S. lawmaker or adviser, consistently had Trump’s full attention on matters relating to foreign policy,” wrote Samuels. “He served as both a private middleman between Trump and Netanyahu, but also as a megaphone for pushing Netanyahu’s party line in public forums.”

“It was true during Trump’s first term but even more so during his current stint in the White House: Graham’s hits on Fox News and his posts on X concerning Israel and the Middle East were often messages effectively lifted from Netanyahu’s mind and aimed at an audience of one.”

Graham lived just long enough to see his dream realized, but also long enough to see the United States lose yet another war in embarrassing fashion. He’ll be remembered as one of the foremost hawks of his era and a symbol of the U.S./Israel relationship that has begun to erode.

Massie Amendment

When Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) recently introduced an amendment to block military aid to Israel, no one actually believed it had any chance of passing.

However, many were eager to know how many Democratic House members would back the measure. Two years ago, just 37 Democrats endorsed a similar amendment, but that was before Trump and Netanyahu launched a disastrous war. It was also before multiple pro-Israel candidates (including multiple incumbents) lost their primaries.

This time around, it was 103 Democrats. That’s nearly half of the House. A Politico headline referred to the vote as a “seismic shift.”

“Think about this just for a moment. Starting today, a majority of Democrats in this building refused to vote to send billions of dollars in weapons to the Israeli military,” said Congressional Progressive Caucus leader Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) after the vote. “That sends a strong message to Netanyahu that the days are over of an unaccountable blank check to his wars and his war crimes, at least from the Democratic Party”

“Proud of my colleagues who voted to stop funding Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people,” tweeted Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI). “When folks talk about this vote, remember it’s been over 3 years of this violent ethnic cleansing campaign where over 73,000 Palestinians have been killed, millions made homeless, and thousands of amputee children. The genocide continues. Keep talking about Gaza. Never stop.”

“A record number of Democrats voted to stop sending more aid to Israel,” said Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN). “This didn’t happen by accident. It happened because millions of people spoke out, organized, and refused to stay silent. Our movement is making a difference. Keep organizing. Keep building power.”

Many lawmakers who voted for the amendment are otherwise strident supporters of Israel. Chief among them is former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who said she reluctantly backed the measure to send a message to Netanyahu.

However, other YES votes from pro-Israel lawmakers point to deeper fissures.

Take House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA), who voted for the amendment and declared that no country should be given a blank check for military aid.

You might recall that Clark made headlines last August when she referred to Israel’s actions in Gaza as a genocide while responding to a question from a voter. Clark dutifully walked the comment back, explaining that she had simply repeated the questioner’s assertion and didn’t actually believe that Israel was guilty of genocide.

That was convincing enough for AIPAC, which said it would continue to funnel money to Clark.

“We appreciate that the congresswoman clarified her remarks, as Israel is fighting a just and moral war against a barbaric terrorist enemy,” said a spokesperson. “Our endorsement is unchanged and based upon her long standing support for the U.S.-Israel relationship.”

Almost exactly one year later, Clark’s vote has split Democratic leadership, as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar both voted against it.

Another sign of the times comes from New York, where Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY) (a politician who voted to censure Rashida Tlaib in 2023), not only voted for the Massie amendment, but said he’d stop taking AIPAC money and return any contributions he had already received.

“I just voted to block sending $3.3 billion of our taxpayer dollars to Netanyahu’s government. It’s wrong on every level,” Ryan tweeted. “I expect groups like AIPAC will not support me in my future elections and frankly, I don’t want their support.”

Odds & Ends

🪖 Lindsey Graham Got His War on Iran and Lived to Watch It Fail

🗣️ Inside the ‘World Symposium Against Antizionism’: Where contempt for Muslims and leftist Jews took center stage

📚 Palestine and the role of the activist intellectual

📰 The New York Times enabled the Gaza genocide and lost its legitimacy in the process

🇮🇱 Electronic Intifada: Envoy cites CIA as EU helps Israel to tighten grip on Jerusalem

⚖️ The Guardian: Marco Rubio launches campaign to dismantle international criminal court

📄 Drop Site: The New Israel-Backed Nonprofit Feeding Lawmakers Model Legislation

👀 Zeteo: Socialist Arizona Candidate Says Israel Is Interfering in His Election

🖼️ Hyperallergic: Whitney Museum Screens Taken Over With Gaza Protest Messages

🇮🇷 Al Jazeera: ‘Piracy’: Will Trump’s 20 percent Hormuz toll find takers?

🇵🇸 Democracy Now: “Disgraceful”: Rashid Khalidi Slams Israeli Attacks on Journalists, Detention of Rep. Ro Khanna

🚨 Middle East Eye: Pro-Palestine activist Fergie Chambers arrested in Spain after US extradition request

🏛️ Palestine Legal: Civil Rights Groups Condemn New Florida Anti-Terrorism Laws as State-Level Tools of Authoritarian Repression

🇰🇼 The Intercept: Iran Claims to Kill 3 U.S. Service Members in Kuwait

📊 Haaretz: 30% of Jewish American Adults Say Israel Committed Genocide in Gaza

🗳️ Missouri Independent: Cori Bush targets Wesley Bell’s Israel stance in St. Louis congressional rematch

🔩 Truthdig: Abdul Al-Sayed and Wolverine Welfarism