Senator Bernie Sanders tried to block arms sales to Israel, but all three of his resolutions failed across party lines.

From National Review. A bipartisan group of Senators voted overwhelmingly Wednesday afternoon against limiting arms sales to Israel as it fights a multi-front war against Iran’s terror proxy groups.

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Senator Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.), an avowed socialist, brought a vote on three joint resolutions of disapproval to block the U.S. from sending some of the $20 billion of weapons to Israel the Biden administration approved in August.

On a bipartisan basis, the Senate rejected Sanders’s push to halt offensive weapons sales to Israel as many Republicans and some Democrats reaffirmed their pro-Israel stances. Sanders’s three resolutions failed 18–79 with a Senator voting present, 18–79–1, and 17–80–1, respectively, with each vote addressing a different offensive weapon.

Republicans have been almost uniformly behind Israel’s war effort against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon that began after Hamas’s mass civilian slaughter on October 7, 2023. All the GOP Senators present for the vote opposed Sanders’s joint resolution. …

“Our colleague began by characterizing Israel’s response to the horrors of October 7th as ‘all-out war against the Palestinian people.’ There is, indeed a side in this conflict waging all-out war,” outgoing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said on the Senate floor Wednesday morning, addressing Sanders’s assertions.

“The side waging all-out war is the one for whom civilian casualties are the end goal – the side that butchered, raped, and kidnapped Israeli civilians and continues to use Palestinian civilians as human shields. The side that pilfers humanitarian aid intended for its own citizens,” he added.

“Recognizing this distinction isn’t just important to this discussion. It ought to be the price of admission.” …

Plenty of Democrats joined Republicans in voting against Sanders’s resolutions, a reflection of the party’s deep divide on what the U.S. relationship with Israel should look like.

“I urge all of my Senate colleagues to join me in strongly opposing the proposal to restrict arm sales to Israel, particularly when it continues to be under constant attack,” Senator Jacky Rosen (D., Nev.) said in a statement ahead of the vote. …

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) similarly explained on the floor about why he “strongly” opposes the motions Sanders put forward.

“Israel is surrounded by enemies dedicated to its annihilation,” Schumer said. …

The weapons Sanders objected to included joint direct attack munitions, 120mm mortar rounds, and 120mm tank rounds. He believes the U.S. should impose harsher conditions on Israel in exchange for more military aid and security cooperation.

Sanders’s attempt to restrict weapons sales to Israel follows the GOP’s successful recapturing of the Senate. In all likelihood, Republican control will marginalize the anti-Israel faction of the Democratic Party.

Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.) said Tuesday the GOP will send more aid Israel’s way and sanction the International Criminal Court for issuing arrest warrants for Israeli officials.

“To our allies in Israel, and to the Jewish people around the world, my message to you is this: Reinforcements are on the way,” Thune promised at a press conference. …

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(Excerpt from National Review. Photo Credit: Cole Keister on Unsplash)