Senate rejects Sanders-backed proposals to block arms sales to Israel

The Senate voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to reject three resolutions sponsored by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to block the sale of certain offensive weapons to Israel in protest of its ongoing military operations in Gaza.

The Senate voted 18 to 79 to defeat S.J. Res. 111, which would have blocked the sale of 120-millimeter tank rounds.

It also voted 18 to 79 against a resolution to block the sale of 120 mm high-explosive mortar rounds and again by the same split to defeat a proposal to block the sale of kits to transform “dumb” bombs into precision-guided weapons.

Sanders emphasized the resolutions were aimed at “offensive weapons that have been used to devastating effects against the civilians of Gaza and Lebanon.” He argued the restrictions would not affect Israel’s ability to defend itself from attacks, but colleagues who opposed his proposals disputed that claim.

Sanders said under the Foreign Assistance Act and the Arms Control Act, the United States cannot provide weapons to countries that violate internally recognized human rights or block U.S. humanitarian aid, which he accused Israel of doing.

“According to the United Nations, much of the international community, and every humanitarian organization on the ground in Gaze, Israel is clearly in violation of these laws,” Sanders said on the floor. “Under these circumstances, it is illegal for the U.S. government to provide Israel with more offensive weapons.”   

Israel launched a war in Gaza against Hamas, which is the governing authority of Gaza. It did so after Hamas attacked Israel and killed more than 1,200 people, most of them civilians.

Sanders cited the deaths of more than 40,000 people in Gaza, a number compiled by the Palestinian Health Ministry, an agency in the Hamas-run government, and the destruction of most of Gaza’s infrastructure.

“The United States cannot be complicit to these atrocities,” Sanders declared.

Sanders has claimed that the destruction in Gaza is worse than what was inflicted on Dresden, Germany, a city that was firebombed, during World War II.

J-Street, a center-left pro-Israel organization, supported Sanders’s proposals, breaking with many other Jewish and Israel-supporting groups.

“This debate and vote signify another step toward a relationship in which the US can hold Israel accountable for its actions and its use of the weapons we provide in the same way we enforce US laws for all other recipients of US security assistance,” said Jeremy Ben-Ami, the president of J Street.

Sanders received strong pushback from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Ben Cardin (D-Md.).

Schumer said he was strongly opposed to Sanders’s proposals, asserting that Israel needs weapons to defend against its enemies. He said providing such munitions to Israel has been a “cornerstone” of American policy for decades.

“Israel is surrounded by enemies dedicated to its annihilation from Hamas to Hezbollah to the Houthis to most threateningly of all, Iran. These threats have been for a long time and will persist for many years into the future,” Schumer warned.

Cardin also voiced his strong opposition to Sanders’s proposals. He said that if implemented they would affect arms shipments years into the future. He warned the restrictions could have the unintended consequence of hamstringing Israel against unknown future adversaries.

“These tank munitions have a deliver date three years from now. They are replenishments. This is so Israel has the capacity to defend itself against future threats that we know are in the region, that are real,” he argued.

And he said the restriction on high-explosive mortars might put Israel in a situation where “they can’t defend themselves against future threats.”

Cardin said restrictions on sales of kits for guide bombs would likely lead to more civilian casualties.

Without precision guidance, he warned that bombs have “a much higher likelihood of missing the target.

“I don’t understand why we wouldn’t want to prevent Israel from having the technology to have precision use of its munitions,” he said.

Halie Soifer, the CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, which opposed the resolutions, applauded the “majority of Senate Democrats” for voting against the measures.”

“As the Biden White House stated in a memo to the Senate, 'Now is the time to focus pressure on Hamas to release the hostages and stop the war. Cutting off arms from Israel would put this goal even further out of reach and prolong the war, not shorten it,’” Soifer said in a statement.  

Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.), a leading Republican voice on foreign policy who has visited Israel — by his own recollection — seven or eight times since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israeli settlements, argued that Hamas continues to pose an existential threat to Israel.

“Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing more Jews than any time since the holocaust. What were they up to? Their pledge to destroy the Jewish state — they’re religious Nazis,” he declared.

Ben-Ami, the president of J Street, disputed the claims of Democratic senators who warned that limiting arms sales would put Israel’s security at risk.

“Contrary to opponents’ claims regarding today’s vote, US support for Israel’s security was never at risk,” he said. “All of the Senators who voted for a resolution of disapproval today have supported tens of billions of dollars in security assistance to Israel throughout their careers.

“No Senators are calling for anything approaching an arms embargo and all of them endorse continued support for Iron Dome and other defensive systems,” he added.

Updated at 9:15 p.m. EDT