Senate Democrats are grappling with an intraparty divide over United States support for Israel that has only grown wider as its war against Hamas drags into a second year.
Roughly a third of Senate Democrats voted in favor of three failed resolutions to block the sale of offensive weaponry to Israel on Wednesday, the clearest sign yet that restricting military aid is becoming a mainstream Democratic position.
The resolutions, offered by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), were never expected to pass, but they amounted to a first-ever rebuke of its kind in Congress, with progressives successfully eroding the bipartisan consensus of unconditional support for the Jewish state as its war extends into Lebanon.
The resolutions could have practical consequences for U.S. foreign policy, though Republicans will resist any attempt to weaken military support for Israel as they assume control of Congress and the White House.
But there is a political danger for Democrats, too, as pro-Israel groups signal they plan to target incumbents such as Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA), who voted in favor of the restrictions. The issue proved a liability for Democrats in the 2024 elections, particularly in battlegrounds with large Jewish populations.
Some pro-Israel Democrats expressed concern about the ideological direction of the party and the notion that support for Israel is becoming less bipartisan.
“I think there’s a growing faction that has become very loud about conditioning aid to Israel, and that was shown by the large number of Democrats who participated in this vote,” said a Democratic Senate aide, speaking on condition of anonymity. “I fear those voices will become even louder once Biden leaves office.”
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) spoke to the frustration among Democrats about the growing number of civilian casualties in Gaza. The war has led to the deaths of 44,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which is run by Hamas and does not distinguish militants from civilians.
“I just think that this is an important moment when these weapons are not being used any longer to defeat Hamas — they are being used potentially to unwind any future of a Palestinian state,” Murphy told the Washington Examiner. “I think many of us believe that we can be strong supporters of the U.S.-Israel relationship while still having lines that should not be crossed.”
Despite pausing one shipment of bombs to Israel in May after Israel ignored U.S. concerns and proceeded to conduct operations in Rafah, the White House has largely avoided conditioning U.S. military aid.
The Biden administration actively lobbied senators to vote against this week’s resolutions, making calls and circulating a memo to Democratic Senate offices on Capitol Hill stressing that lawmakers who vote for the resolution are putting “wind in the sails of Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas,” according to HuffPost.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) had also privately pressed senators to ensure Israel continues to receive military equipment, according to an aide familiar with the situation.
“There was a lot of pressure to vote no, but we’re in this — we have a strong backbone,” said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Kaine noted there is a difference between offensive and defensive aid, pointing out that 15 of the Democratic senators who voted for the resolutions had also voted for the foreign aid package in April that provided over $34 billion to Israel and Taiwan.
“If those resolutions had passed, it wasn’t going to reduce the amount of aid to Israel by a penny,” Kaine told the Washington Examiner. “It was just going to be different kinds of aid.”
Ossoff, who is Jewish, voted in favor of two resolutions to block the sale of tank rounds and mortar shells but against the third resolution on bomb guidance kits known as JDAMs. In a speech on the Senate floor after the vote, he called it “entirely appropriate” for the U.S. to “insist that foreign powers use American weapons consistent with our interests.”
“The evidence that force has repeatedly been applied with reckless disregard for the innocent is too credible for us to ignore,” Ossoff said. “We seem to have forgotten that we have the power to influence our allies’ conduct and that we can do so without betraying our ally.”
Ossoff, a first-term senator representing Georgia, is the only Democrat to vote for the resolutions who is up for reelection in 2026 in a state that President-elect Donald Trump won in 2024, though he showed little concern about how his votes could impact his reelection chances.
“I always vote merits policy. If you review my floor speech, I think you’ll understand my view of America’s national security interests in this case,” he told the Washington Examiner.
2026 elections here we come — @AIPAC is already sending out texts to voters, putting the spotlight on the 19 Democrats who voted for the resolutions of disapproval that would block sales of certain weapons to Israel.
Here is the website sent in the text: https://t.co/g6Uhsh5Lg9 pic.twitter.com/DniAfyiLgr
— Samantha-Jo Roth (@SamanthaJoRoth) November 21, 2024
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee framed the Senate’s rejection of the resolutions as a reaffirmation of strong bipartisan support for Israel. But it also sent out an action alert via text asking voters in states where senators voted for the resolutions to “express your disappointment.”
“You better believe AIPAC and other pro-Israel organizations were watching that vote closely — and there could be consequences for those who voted for the resolutions,” the Senate Democratic aide said.
Meanwhile, J Street, a liberal pro-Israel group, encouraged senators to support at least one resolution to send a message. The organization called the vote outcome “symbolic but deeply meaningful” in the push to “hold Israel accountable for its actions.”
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, voted against the resolutions and gave passionate speeches on the Senate floor urging his colleagues to do the same. Cardin, who is Jewish, downplayed any idea that blocking or conditioning aid to Israel has become mainstream among Democrats.
“There’s a lot of frustration about the Netanyahu decision-making, which is perfectly legitimate, but I think with solid support for Israel,” he said.
Cardin, who will be handing his spot on Foreign Relations to Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), who voted for the resolutions, said he believes the committee will remain pro-Israel.
“I think that the understanding of the special relationship [with Israel] is there, and it would be healthier if we could find a way toward peace in the Middle East,” Cardin said.
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The Republican Jewish Coalition pointed out that Senate Republicans voted in unanimous opposition to the resolutions, calling it a “betrayal of Israel” and declaring the results mark “a dangerous new low for anti-Democrats in the U.S. Senate.”
Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), the incoming chairman of the foreign relations panel, admitted he was “surprised by the number of votes there were” in support of the resolutions but believes this should not be any kind of indication of less support for the Jewish State.
“I’m in the middle of this, every day I talk to my Democrat friends — support is not weakening, we are with Israel,” Risch said.
