A Majority of Senate Democrats Voted to Block Weapons Sales to Israel. Is the Party Turning?

Time​ Magazine

20 hours ago

The Senate voted down measures from Sen. Bernie Sanders to block weapons sales to Israel on Wednesday night, but he and others long opposed to Israel's military campaign in Gaza were celebrating the result as a victory nonetheless.
That is because for the first time in history, a majority of Democrats in the Senate voted to block the sale of weapons to Israel.
Although the measures lacked sufficient support to pass, the votes are a sign of growing frustrations in the Democratic Party over Israel's handling of the war, and may signal a rupture in the party's longstanding support for the U.S. ally.
Two resolutions introduced by Sanders—one that would have barred the sale of some $675 million worth of bombs, munition kits, and other services to Israel, and another to bar the sale of tens of thousands of assault rifles—were supported by a majority of senate Democrats.
The measure on assault rifles failed by 72-27, blocked by 17 Democrats and all Republican senators. The measure on bombs and other materiel to Israel failed 73-24. Significantly, 12 Democrats changed their stance since a vote on a similar measure in April.
Senator Sanders said the result was proof that 'the tide is turning.'
'The American people do not want to spend billions to starve children in Gaza,' he said in a statement. 'The Democrats are moving forward on this issue, and I look forward to Republican support in the near future.'
A changing relationship
Both Republicans and Democrats have traditionally been strong supporters of U.S. military support for Israel, but that support has waned among Democrats in recent years, especially as the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Gaza has worsened.
Just 8% of Democrats back Israel's military action in Gaza, compared to 71% of Republicans, according to a July Gallup poll. The same poll showed voter attitudes of all Americans towards Israel's role in the ongoing war have turned sour, with just 32% approving of Israel's war, the lowest since the question was first asked in November 2023.
Matt Duss, executive vice president at the Center for International Policy and former foreign policy advisor to Sanders, says the Wednesday vote signals recognition of the 'severity of the crisis' in Gaza, but that Democratic Party leaders are still far behind their party members.
'If you look at the actual views of Democrats on Gaza, there is a super majority of Democratic voters who oppose the war in Gaza. Unfortunately, that's not reflected in the actual Democratic membership of Congress, but that's changing,' says Duss. 'It may take a long time, but it's definitely coming.'
Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois noted that while he has voted in support of military assistance to Israel in the past, he believed Netanyahu had 'gone too far.'
'The humanitarian conditions in Gaza are appalling, unconscionable, and cruel,' Durbin wrote in a Thursday post on X. 'Humanitarian aid must start immediately.'
Senator Patty Murray of Washington, who also voted against similar resolutions from Sanders in the past, voted in support of the legislation this time.
'As a longtime friend and supporter of Israel, I am voting yes to send a message: the Netanyahu government cannot continue with this strategy,' she said in a statement.
The Democrats who joined Sanders in voting against future weapon sales were Senators Angela Alsobrooks, Tammy Baldwin, Lisa Blunt Rochester, Tammy Duckworth, Dick Durbin, Martin Heinrich, Mazie Hirono, Angus King, Amy Klobuchar, Tim Kaine, Andy Kim, Ben Ray Luján, Ed Markey, Jeff Merkley, Chris Murphy, Patty Murray, Jon Ossoff, Jack Reed, Jeanne Shaheen, Tina Smith, Chris Van Hollen, Raphael Warnock, Elizabeth Warren, Peter Welch, Sheldon Whitehouse and Brian Schatz.
Still, 17 Democrats voted with Republicans to block the measure. Explaining his decision to vote against the measure to block weapons sales to Israel, Democratic Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey said in a statement that the resolution would 'restrict our country's ability to provide future security guarantees without achieving the goal of ending this war now or increasing vital humanitarian aid.'
Deaths from starvation in Gaza
The vote comes amid intensified scrutiny over widespread hunger in Gaza.
The Israeli military implemented a near-total blockade of Gaza in March, cutting off food, fuel, and humanitarian supplies. It reopened a limited number of crossings in April under a new set of restrictions, but aid organizations say the flow remains far below what is needed to stave off mass starvation.
More than 154 people, including 89 children, have died of starvation and malnutrition since the conflict began, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, and the United Nations says more than 20,000 children have been treated for acute malnutrition since April.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in recent weeks by Israeli troops while trying to find food at aid sites, according to the ministry.
Israel has paused military actions during the day in order to allow aid to enter Gaza, although the U.N. has stated that the aid is insufficient to meet increased demand.
A U.N.-backed international body earlier this week warned that a 'famine scenario' is unfolding in Gaza—though the advisory fell short of an official famine declaration.
The Israeli government has denied that its policies are causing starvation in Gaza.
'There is no policy of starvation in Gaza, and there is no starvation in Gaza. We enable humanitarian aid throughout the duration of the war to enter Gaza – otherwise, there would be no Gazans,' Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday.
Netanyahu has also claimed that Hamas has stolen humanitarian aid, stopping it from reaching Gazans.
President Donald Trump said Monday he did 'not particularly' agree with Netanyahu's assessment that there is 'no starvation in Gaza.'
'I see it, and you can't fake that. So, we're going to be even more involved,' Trump said in reference to the images of hungry children that have circulated online. The President vowed to open up food centers in the region.
Republican support remains strong
Still, Republican support for Israel in the Senate has remained strong — with all party members voting against Sanders' measure.
'These are misguided resolutions and if adopted would reinstate the failed policies of the Biden administration and would abandon America's closest ally in the Middle East,' Republican Senator James E. Risch of Idaho and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on the Senate floor.
Outside of the Senate, however, some conservative voices have also voiced disapproval of ongoing U.S. support of Israel. Rep. Thomas Massie has been vocal in his call to pause military aid to Israel, saying 'nothing' could 'justify the number of civilian casualties' in a May tweet. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a prominent right-wing MAGA voice, has more recently denounced the war, calling the crisis in Gaza a 'genocide' on Monday. The statement marks a change in attitude given Greene's previous vote to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian-American Democrat, for her criticism of Israel.
'There are a number of members of Congress…who are raising real questions about why America is so deeply embedded in this region and so closely tied to Israel,' says Duss. 'That's what's driving some of these rising questions within the Republican Party, and that will continue as well.'
More than 60,000 Palestinians have died since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. The war was triggered after a Hamas terror attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in which more than 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage.
In the absence of independent monitoring on the ground, the ministry is the primary source for casualty data relied upon by humanitarian groups, journalists, and international bodies. Its figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants and cannot be independently verified by TIME.