Two resolutions, which Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced to block arms sales to Israel, fell handily in the Senate on Wednesday night, but more than half of the Democrats in the Senate supported the measures.
The Senate voted 70-27 against S.J.Res. 41, which called for Washington to halt the sale of tens of thousands of automatic assault rifles to Israel. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) voted against the resolution.
A dozen Democrats, who voted against a similar Sanders resolution in April, flipped their votes on Wednesday. The 12 were Sens. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).
A vote on the second Sanders resolution, S.J.Res. 34, which aimed to block the sale of $675.7 million worth of bombs and related items to Israel, also failed to pass, 73-24. Ossoff, Reed and Whitehouse, who had voted for the other resolution, voted against the second one.
Sanders has not said publicly that Israel is committing genocide in the Strip, but told CNN on Tuesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netaayhu is a “disgusting liar” for saying there is no starvation in Gaza.
“Of course he’s lying,” Sanders told the station.
After Wednesday’s votes, Sanders stated that “the tide is turning” and that “Democrats are moving forward on this issue, and I look forward to Republican support in the near future.”
AIPAC applauded the Senate for “standing with Israel and once again rejecting Sen. Sanders’s attempt to ban vital weapons sales to the Jewish state as it fights to protect its families from Iran and its terrorist proxies.”
“Several times in less than a year, the overwhelming bipartisan majority of the Senate has repeatedly rebuffed Bernie Sanders’s dangerous efforts to undermine Israel’s security,” AIPAC said. “The majority of the Senate sent a strong bipartisan message that America stands with Israel in its just fight.”
“Once again, the Senate overwhelmingly rejected Sen. Sanders’s reckless attempt to deny Israel the support it needs to defend itself,” stated the American Jewish Committee. “His latest effort to undermine our democratic ally in the face of enemies seeking their destruction was met with firm, bipartisan opposition, reaffirming that the United States stands with Israel in both principle and practice.”
