Washington, DC – Following today’s Senate vote in which a total of 27 senators, over half of the Democratic Caucus, voted to disapprove of certain offensive weapons transfers to the Netanyahu government, J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami released the following statement:
“Tonight’s Senate vote is another strong indication of the growing American disapproval of the Netanyahu government’s actions in Gaza and of growing concern globally over the deteriorating humanitarian situation. It follows a flurry of congressional letters demanding that the Trump Administration and the Israeli government change course, including a letter signed by 44 Senators earlier this week.
American voters, former Israeli defense officials, the Israeli public and hostage families – all of whom recognize Hamas’ responsibility for October 7 and the ongoing suffering – are coming together to say that the Israeli government has a moral and legal responsibility to prevent starvation and civilian casualties.
The fact that over half of the Democratic Caucus, 27 senators, all of whom are long-time supporters of the state and people of Israel, are willing to vote to withhold certain offensive weapons from Israel is a sobering and significant milestone. It reflects just how far Prime Minister Netanyahu and his extremist coalition have strayed from the shared values that have long grounded the US-Israel relationship.
Like most Jewish and pro-Israel Americans, J Street continues to support US security assistance to Israel for legitimate defensive needs. That aid must be provided in a manner consistent with US law, which bars transfers of offensive weapons likely to be used in serious violations of international humanitarian law or in conjunction with obstruction to humanitarian aid. One of today’s votes was to stop the transfer of rifles that the Biden Administration had held for over a year because Itamar Ben-Gvir was distributing them to violent settlers.
We are confident that today’s vote will not impact Israel’s ability to defend its citizens against the very real and ongoing threats it faces in the region.
The overwhelming majority of Jewish and pro-Israel Americans want to see a change of course. We commend those senators who have taken a difficult vote in order to say that it is not ‘pro-Israel’ to enable this government’s disastrous path.”