Senate Vote to Halt Some Arms to Israel Fails

The Senate voted on November 20 on three resolutions that would have prevented the transfer of various types of weapons to Israel. They were all defeated overwhelmingly, with no Republicans and only 19 Democrats — out of a total of 47 — voting for them. While no one expected any of the three resolutions to pass, there were some on the left who had hoped for a much better showing. Those 19 represented only 37% of the Senate Democrats. More on the votes can be found here: “Nineteen Senate Democrats vote to block U.S. aid to Israel,” by Marc Rod and Emily Jacobs, Jewish Insider, November 20, 2024:

A total of 19 Senate Democrats voted to advance some or all of a series of three resolutions led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) seeking to block transfers of several types of weaponry to Israel.

The resolutions were never expected to pass, but the results reflect growing Democratic opposition to and division over U.S. support for Israel a year after Oct. 7, prior to which such a result would have been nearly unimaginable.

It will likely cause concern in the pro-Israel world about the future ideological direction of the Democratic party, though a handful of lawmakers who’d been vocally critical of Israel’s operations ultimately voted against the measures.

The Biden White House, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and various mainstream Jewish groups strongly opposed the resolutions, while J Street and other left-wing Jewish groups supported them.

The three resolutions pertained to transfers of tank rounds, mortar shells and guidance kits for bombs, known as joint direct attack munitions or JDAMs. None of the transfers are set to arrive in Israel for at least a year, meaning they would have no impact on Israel’s current stockpiles.

Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Angus King (I-ME), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Rafael Warnock (D-GA) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) voted in favor of all three resolutions.

Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) voted in favor of two, regarding the tank rounds and mortar shells, but against the JDAMs resolution. Appointed Sen. George Helmy (D-NJ) voted in favor of the resolution on the mortar shells, but against the other two.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), who just won a close re-election contest, voted present on all three….

Only 16 Democrats, and one Independent (Angus King of Maine) voted for all three resolutions,

One Senator (Jon Ossoff) voted for two of the resolutions, and another (George Helmy) voted for one of them. Another Senator (Tammy Baldwin) voted present.

“This war must end,” Durbin said in a statement after the vote. “Israel’s strategy of deadly attacks on and near civilian populations must end as well. The United States should not be sending arms and ammunition that continue to take the lives of innocent people. It is time for real humanitarian aid to reach the Palestinian people. I will stand by Israel, but I will not support the devastation of Gaza and the deaths of thousands of innocent Palestinians.”

Israel has been doing its level best to minimize civilian casualties by warning them away from the sites about to be targeted. It has dropped millions of leaflets, sent millions of text messages, made millions of robocalls. It is Hamas, that by embedding its operatives and weapons in civilian areas and buildings that is responsible for the civilian deaths that Durbin deplores. As for Durbin’s complaint about humanitarian aid not reaching Gaza, is he aware that the IDF has facilitated the entry of tens of thousands of trucks, carrying 840,000 tons of food, into Gaza, and that the real problem is not the aid sent into the Strip, but what happens to that aid once it is inside Gaza? Much of it is taken to Hamas warehouses, where it is unloaded, to be distributed to Hamas members and their families. Some of the aid, too, is kept by Hamas for sale, at inflated prices, to Gazan civilians who were supposed to receive the aid for free.

Prior to the vote, one senator told JI [Jewish Insider] that Democrats had argued behind closed doors against calling a vote on the JDAMs resolution, given how the kits allow for more precisely targeted strikes.

“This one I really don’t understand,” Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), who is retiring, said before the votes. “It’s counterproductive to the safety of the communities. I don’t understand why we would want to prevent Israel from having the technology to have precision use of its munitions.”

The guidance kits for bombs, known as joint direct attack munitions or JDAMs, are what allow the IDF to be so precise in its targeting, thus minimizing collateral damage. Those Democratic Senators claim to be most concerned with civilian casualties, yet the effect of that  resolution they voted for — the one that would prevent the transfer of JDAMS to the IDF — would simply make it harder for the IDF to be as precise as it could  be with those guidance kits.

Nineteen Democratic Senators would deprive the embattled Jewish state of weapons it needs to conduct its four-front war against Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iran. Take their names, and make sure their votes on Sanders’ resolutions are remembered when they next come up for election.