40 Out of 47 Democratic Senators Just Voted to Block Arms Sales to Israel

On Wednesday night, the Senate rejected a pair of resolutions that would have blocked the sale of bombs and bulldozers to Israel.

Although the Joint Resolutions of Disapproval, which were introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) failed to pass, a record number of Senators backed the effort. 40 Senators backed a resolution would have blocked the sale of $295 million in D9R and D9T Caterpillar bulldozers to Israel and 36 members voted for a resolution that would have stopped a $151.8 million sale of 1,000-pound bombs to Israel.

“The fact that 40 of 47 Democratic Senators voted to withhold military hardware from Israel is a new high water mark in holding Israel accountable for violating US and international law,” tweeted Center for International Policy Vice President for Government Affairs Dylan Williams.

Sanders has attempted to pass similar resolutions on three other occasions. Last April, just 15 Senators voted for them, while 27 Senators supported them in July.

In a statement released after the vote, Sanders pointed out that 80% of the Democratic caucus backed the mesaures.

“When we started this effort there were just 11 votes,” said Sanders. “Now, there are 40.”

“That shift reflects where the American people are,” he added. “Americans, whether they are Democrats, Republicans or independents, want to see our tax money invested in improving lives here at home — not used to kill innocent women and children in the Middle East and put American troops in harm’s way as part of Netanyahu’s illegal wars of expansion.”

The Sanders resolutions come amid a growing debate over military aid within the Democratic Party, which is just one component of a wider, ongoing battle over Israel.

Earlier this week, almost 100 activists were arrested outside the offices of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), two longtime supporters of Israel.

The action, which was organized by Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), called on the lawmakers, who are both longtime supporters of Israel, to block a pending U.S. sale of bombs to the country.

“Schumer, Gillibrand, talk is cheap! / They’re sending bombs, how can you sleep?,” chanted the protesters.

Chelsea Manning, the former Army analyst who spent 7 years in military prison for leaking classified documents to Wikileaks, was one of the activists detained by police.

“From personal experience I understand that the cruelties of war are not inevitable. Our actions matter in shaping the course of history,” she said in a statement. “Senators Schumer and Gillibrand have repeatedly supported weapons sales to Israel that are being used to commit atrocities across Palestine, Lebanon, and Iran. We call on Senators Schumer and Gillibrand to follow the will of New Yorkers and vote to block weapons and bulldozer sales to Israel.”

Schumer and Gillibrand were two of the seven Democratic Senators to vote against the Sanders measure.

Earlier this month, at a forum held by New York City Democratic Socialists of America (NYC DSA), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) told attendees that she would vote against any military aid to Israel, including Iron Dome funding.

The stance marked a public shift for the House member, as she voted present on an Iron Dome funding bill in 2021 and added her name to a 2024 letter opposed the sale of offensive weapons to Israel, but expressed support for the Iron Dome system.

Groups like DSA have been pressuring Ocasio-Cortez on the issue for years, and the New York chapter of organized endorsed her for reelection shortly after she clarified her position. Additionally, many have speculated that AOC is preparing for a 2028 presidential run and her shift firmly aligns her with a Democratic base that has completely turned on Israel as a result of the genocide in Gaza. A recent Pew poll showed that eight-in-ten Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents now have a negatibe view of Israel.

“Israel is going to be so villianized across the Democratic base that it will burn candidates like [California Governor] Gavin Newsom who fumble it,” political consultant Peter Feld told Mondoweiss.

“More than anything, the Iran war has probably been the issue,” an anonymous swing-district House Democrat told Axios. “That’s the bigger issue because you have people like, ‘Why are we in this f*cking war?’ And all lines lead to Netanyahu.”

This political reality that Feld describes has produced a situation where longtime supporters of Israel are recalibrating their public position on the issue.

This includes former Chicago Mayor and presidential hopeful Rahm Emanuel, who has been a strident supporter of the country for decades.

“Look, nobody else has the Iron Dome,” Emanuel recently declared. “There’s a lot of other countries that want it! Now, what you can say about Iron Dome is that it was jointly developed, so that’s something we have to think through. But what I’m saying is, you won’t get taxpayer support anymore. You’re going to pay full price. You don’t have special status.”

Emanuel’s comments align with statements from the liberal Zionist group J Street, who have called for a “reassessment” of the U.S./Israel relationship and U.S. aid to be phased out by 2028. The organization’s decision has generated headlines, and earned more condemnation from AIPAC, but activists point out the move is merely cosmetic, as J Street still believes that the U.S. government should continue selling weapons to Israel.

“The United States should continue to sell short-range air and ballistic missile defense (BMD) capabilities to Israel,” explains J Street’s website. “Systems such as Iron Dome, David’s Sling and Arrow are jointly developed by Israel and the United States, with American companies working alongside Israel to produce the interceptors for these systems. As such, even though the systems are Israeli, they incorporate U.S. technology.”

This position, where Israel is expected to buy weapons rather than receive them for free, does not contradict comments from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who told The Economist that his country would attempt to wean itself off U.S. military aid over the next decade.

“We want to be as independent as possible,” claimed Netanyahu.

Ahmad Abuznaid, Executive Director of the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR), told Mondoweiss that activists have to keep pushing for a full arms embargo.

“The writing is on the wall, and we see politicians reacting to the fact that aid to Israel and AIPAC are toxic,” said Abuznaid. “But we have to dig deeper because there is a distinction. We need to control the narrative. We need to end support for genocide and occupation. That’s the moral, ethical, and legal position.”

Last month, NBC News released a poll showing that just 13% of Democrats view Israel positively, while almost 60% view it negatively.