Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) joined far-left House Democrats in pushing for restrictive arms sales to Israel.
The “Block the Bombs Act,” to which Raskin signed on as a co-sponsor, would require Congress to authorize each sale or transfer of a variety of weapons systems and to identify how those weapons would be used.
The conditions imposed by the law would be unprecedented in the U.S.-Israel relationship.
Raskin, who is Jewish, represents a suburban Maryland district with a significant Jewish population.
The bill has 34 co-sponsors, with Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, among the most prominent names. Other Jewish members of Congress who have signed on are Reps. Becca Balint (D-Vt.), Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.).
Raskin has not released a statement about his support for the bill, but it falls in line with his growing anti-Israel stance, including accusations in December 2024 that Israel violated U.S. law in its use of American weaponry.
Raskin voted against providing supplemental aid to Israel in May 2024 and also pushed for the United States to halt offensive arms transfers to Israel last year, following an April air strike in Gaza that killed seven aid workers.
He has also supported funding UNRWA, voted against the Antisemitism Awareness Act and defended Mahmoud Khalil, the former Columbia University student who is facing deportation for organizing protests in support of Hamas on campus.
The “Block the Bombs Act” is not expected to pass the House.
