WASHINGTON (AP) — More than three dozen Democrats on Wednesday backed Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ effort to block arms sales to Israel, a sign of growing dissatisfaction within the party with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the wars in Gaza and Iran.
Two resolutions to prevent the United States from selling bulldozers and bombs to Israel were opposed by all Republicans and were defeated by 40 to 59 and 36 to 63 respectively. But Sanders has repeatedly forced votes on the issue, pressuring his Democratic and Republican colleagues to oppose the Netanyahu regime.
Similar resolutions proposed by Sanders in 2024 and 2025 were also rejected, but the number of Democrats supporting the Vermont Independent’s vote has more than doubled in less than two years amid heightened campaign efforts by Israel’s campaign in Gaza, Iran and Lebanon and by party activists who increasingly see support for Israel as a litmus test of support.
“It’s clear that Democrats are listening to ordinary Americans who are tired of spending billions of dollars supporting Netanyahu’s horrific wars when people in this country can’t afford housing or health care,” Sanders said after the vote.
Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., voted for both resolutions after opposing some of Sanders’ previous efforts. In a speech before the vote, Kelly said “reckless decisions made by Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump” led him to the decision, which he said he did not take lightly.
“Under Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government, we have seen the war in Lebanon expand, putting innocent Lebanese civilians at risk, and violence against Palestinians persisting, with their homes being demolished in the West Bank,” Kelly said. “All of this undermines the path forward for peace.”
Democrats who voted against the resolutions included Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. Nearly 100 protesters were arrested Monday during a demonstration calling on the two New York senators to vote for two Sanders measures.
Hundreds of people, led by the anti-war group Jewish Voice for Peace, initially attempted a sit-in inside the senator’s office because they said they were encouraging Israel to step up attacks in Lebanon and the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. But they were blocked and many protesters were arrested.
“The majority of Americans and New Yorkers want to be addressed for what the Israeli government has done,” said Sonia Meyerson-Knox, the group’s communications director.
Earlier Wednesday, Democrats voted 47-52 in support of a resolution aimed at halting Trump’s war on Iran, but it was also defeated. Democratic Sen. Chris Coons, who voted against Sanders’ Israel resolution, said he voted to end the war with Iran but didn’t want to give up on Israel.
“My vote should not be viewed as an endorsement of the Netanyahu government’s actions, nor as an abandonment of the state of Israel, the Jewish people, or the U.S.-Israel relationship,” Coons said in a statement after the vote.
Republicans said the vote could harm U.S. efforts in the Iran war.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Reish, an Idaho Republican, said the resolutions could embolden Iran and “send a message that the United States is prepared to leave our ally Israel vulnerable.”
“They’re not going to help the United States of America,” Risch said before the vote.