Since the outbreak of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, polls of Democratic voters show increasing disapproval of Israel and growing sympathy for Palestinians. [Brooke Anderson/TNA]
This week, the majority of Democrats in the US Senate voted for bills to block funding for weapons and bulldozers for Israel.
Though there were not enough votes for the bills to pass (40 out of the 47 in the Senate’s minority in the bill to block weapons), this nevertheless shows a major departure from years of reliable US congressional support for Israel.
“When you have someone like [Adam] Schiff and [Alex] Padilla both voting on this, that to me is major progress. These aren’t people who were progressive on this issue,” Mirvette Judeh, a Palestinian American and chair of the Arab American Caucus of California, told The New Arab. “I believe they’re doing it because the majority of people want it.”
Following the vote on the bill to block weapons, which was introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Representative Ro Khanna of California called on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to step aside as one of seven lawmakers to vote against it.
Since the outbreak of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, polls of Democratic voters show increasing disapproval of Israel and growing sympathy for Palestinians. Israel’s war on Iran and Lebanon has further distanced many Americans from Israel.
The US sends a base aid sum of around $3.8 billion, though it sends far more in additional aid packages. Israel’s war on Gaza is estimated to have cost the US at least $30 billion.
Similar Senate and House votes in the past several years have garnered around half the support as this week’s vote, possibly a sign that party leadership are aligning with their constituents.
“To re-establish credibility with voters, they need to be concerned about losing votes,” said Judeh.
Though these recent votes are significant, similar bills are unlikely to pass with Democrats in the minority in both chambers of Congress. This could change with an expected blue wave in November.
“The next time we push it, it will pass,” said Judeh.
“As a Palestinian and a Democrat, I still believe in the principles of our party,” she said. “People are waking up.”
