Senate Democrats Force Israel Weapons Vote, Citing Biden Inaction, The Washington Post
“The vote was ‘not going to prevent the sales of any arms to Israel,’ said Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of J Street, a liberal advocacy group that urged Democrats to support the disapproval resolutions. But it was indicative of a growing disapproval of Israel’s actions and the Biden administration’s ‘unwillingness to use the leverage that it has,’ he said in an interview. It was the first vote of its kind concerning America’s closest Middle East ally, and the recipient of roughly $251.2 billion in U.S. military aid over the past 66 years. And for that reason, ‘this is a vote that has tremendous symbolic importance,’ Ben-Ami said.”
In Landmark Vote, 19 Senate Democrats Oppose Arms Sales to Israel, Haaretz
“Ben-Ami added that the supporting votes indicates ‘growing concern over the direction that the far-right government of Israel is leading the country. It is a manifestation of deep discomfort over the extent of the human tragedy the Israeli government is inflicting on Gaza and the lack of any commitment by the Netanyahu government to a feasible post-conflict plan for governance and security that leads toward a resolution of the underlying political conflict.’”
Senate Rejects Sanders-Backed Proposals to Block Arms Sales to Israel, The Hill
“Ben-Ami, the president of J Street, disputed the claims of Democratic senators who warned that limiting arms sales would put Israel’s security at risk. ‘Contrary to opponents’ claims regarding today’s vote, US support for Israel’s security was never at risk,’ he said. ‘All of the Senators who voted for a resolution of disapproval today have supported tens of billions of dollars in security assistance to Israel throughout their careers.’”
Why the Senate’s Israel Vote Matters, as Democrats Divide on the Jewish State, The Forward
“A recent pre-election poll showed that 62% of Jewish voters were open to supporting the U.S. withholding the shipment of some weapons to achieve an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. J Street, the liberal pro-Israel, pro-peace lobby, encouraged senators to support at least one of the resolutions to send a message of disapproval. The group called the outcome ‘a symbolic but deeply meaningful’ vote ‘toward a relationship in which the US can hold Israel accountable for its actions and its use of the weapons we provide in the same way we enforce US laws for all other recipients of U.S. security assistance.’”
19 Senators Vote Against More US Weapons For Israel In Rebuke To Biden, HuffPost
“‘Symbolism has meaning,’ Ben-Ami wrote in a Sunday statement. ‘Senators who vote yes can send the important message that even strong friends of Israel disapprove of the way Prime Minister Netanyahu has conducted the Gaza war, of his far-right coalition’s disrespect for the Biden administration and of the US administration’s failure to use its leverage to change Netanyahu’s policies and actions.’”
19 Senate Democrats Back Unsuccessful Attempt to Block Weapons Shipments to Israel, Jewish Telegraphic Agency
“After the votes, J Street CEO Jeremy Ben-Ami said in a statement, ‘This vote marks a milestone in the ongoing evolution of the US-Israel relationship.’ He added, ‘This debate and vote signify another step toward a relationship in which the US can hold Israel accountable for its actions and its use of the weapons we provide.’”
Bernie Sanders Is Leading a Bold New Effort to Block Arms Sales to Israel, The Nation
“A number of organizations are urging the Senate to back Sanders’s initiative, including J Street, the progressive Jewish advocacy group that bills itself as a leader of America’s ‘pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy movement’ and that has considerable influence with liberal Democrats on Capitol Hill.”
J Street Welcomes Groundbreaking Senate Debate Over Gaza War, J Street
“This vote marks a milestone in the ongoing evolution of the US-Israel relationship. This debate and vote signify another step toward a relationship in which the US can hold Israel accountable for its actions and its use of the weapons we provide in the same way we enforce US laws for all other recipients of US security assistance.”, said J Street president Jeremy Ben-Ami.
International Criminal Court Issues Arrest Warrants for Netanyahu and Hamas Officials, AP
The decision turns Netanyahu and the others into internationally wanted suspects and is likely to further isolate them and complicate efforts to negotiate a cease-fire to end the 13-month conflict. But its practical implications could be limited since Israel and its major ally, the United States, are not members of the court and several of the Hamas officials have been subsequently killed in the conflict.
Democrats Split as Senate Rejects Bills to Block Weapons Transfers to Israel, The New York Times
Seventeen Senate Democrats and two independents backed at least one of the measures, a display of deepening divisions over Israel’s conduct after 13 months of war and the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians. The vote showed that support for restricting Israel’s military operations has grown beyond just the most progressive lawmakers, with notably more senators joining them than in previous efforts.
US Envoy in Israel After Progress on Hezbollah Ceasefire, BBC
Details of the ceasefire proposal remained unclear, but some of the earlier differences included the formation of a supervision mechanism and Israel’s demand to be able to strike Lebanon if a deal was violated, which had been rejected by Lebanon.
US Slaps Fresh Sanctions on Six Senior Hamas Officials, The Times of Israel
The Treasury Department said in a statement the sanctions targeted the terror group’s representatives abroad, a senior member of its military wing, the Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, and those involved in supporting fundraising efforts and weapons smuggling into Gaza.
Fresh Protest in White House on Biden’s Israel Policy, Politico
In the latest missive, obtained by Nat Sec Daily, a group of at least 20 White House staffers call out the Biden administration for failing to follow through on demands issued by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Pentagon Secretary Lloyd Austin on Oct. 13, which required Israel to take “concrete measures” within 30 days to improve the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Israeli Attack on Syria’s Palmyra Kills 36 People, Syrian State Media Says, Reuters
An Israeli attack on Syria’s historic city of Palmyra killed 36 people and wounded more than 50 on Wednesday after it hit residential buildings and an industrial zone, the Syrian state news agency SANA reported.
Witnesses Say Israel Is Using Sniper Drones in Gaza and They’re Shooting Civilians, NPR
Last week British surgeon Nizam Mamode testified in front of a committee in the U.K. Parliament. Dr. Mamode had recently returned from working at a hospital in Central Gaza. He told parliamentary members what he witnessed, including drones that would come down and “pick off civilians, children. And we had description after description. This is not, you know, an occasional thing. This was day after day after day.”
The Group Behind Project 2025 Has a Plan To Protect Jews. It Will Do the Opposite., The Forward
Dove Kent writes, “Project Esther has nothing to say about any of the explicitly antisemitic hate groups aligned with the far right. Ditto for one of the core drivers of antisemitic violence in the United States: conspiracy theories regularly promoted by figures within President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration, Trump’s friends like Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson, and Trump himself.”
Israel and Iran Seemed on the Brink of a Bigger War. What’s Holding Them Back?, The New York Times
Lara Jakes shares, “Israel’s debilitating attacks on Hezbollah and Hamas, on which Iran has long relied for what it calls forward defense, are a blow to Tehran. And the re-election of President Donald J. Trump, a staunch ally of Mr. Netanyahu, changes the equation again.”