Bernie Sanders pushes resolutions to block US weapons sales to Israel

An attempt set for Wednesday by senator Bernie Sanders to block sales to Israel of bombs and bulldozers will serve as the latest litmus test of support for the longtime US ally among Democrats.

Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Senate Democrats, plans to call up for a vote a resolution halting a $151.8m sale of 12,000 1,000lb bombs to Israel’s military, as well as a second resolution that would prevent the sale of $295m in bulldozers.

It will be the fourth time Sanders has forced consideration of resolutions cutting off military aid for Israel in the Senate, but all have been rejected by the chamber’s Republican majority, and many Democrats.

Wednesday’s vote could nonetheless serve as an indicator of the depth of support for Israel among the chamber’s Democrats, who are grappling with souring sentiment among their voters towards prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conduct in the invasions of Gaza and southern Lebanon, and its collaboration with Donald Trump in the the conflict with Iran.

“Let us be clear: given the horrific and illegal behavior of the Netanyahu government over the last three years, the American people have had enough. Support for Israel in this country has plummeted,” Sanders said ahead of the vote, citing a Pew Research Center survey released this month finding that 80% of Democrats and 41% of Republicans view the country negatively.

He went on to describe the vote as an opportunity for Congress to “stand up to” the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac), which has spent tens of millions influencing races in the lead up to the 2024 US elections, and continues to spend heavily ahead of the November midterms.

“Maybe, just maybe, the Senate should start listening to their constituents and not just to the wealthy individuals who fund Aipac. And that is what today’s vote is all about,” Sanders said.

Support for resolutions introduced by Sanders addressing weapon sales to Israel may be on the upswing among Senate Democrats. A first batch of measures won the support of 18 Democrats in November 2024, but only 15 members of the caucus supported similar measures last April. In July of last year, 27 Democrats backed another batch of resolutions.

In the House of Representatives, sentiment has built among some progressive lawmakers for cutting off all military aid to Israel, even for defensive weapons such as the Iron Dome missile shield.

The Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez earlier this month said she would “not support Congress sending more taxpayer dollars and military aid to a government that consistently ignores international law and US law”. Fellow progressive Ro Khanna endorsed that approach in an interview with Zeteo, saying: “I do believe Iron Dome is important in terms of saving lives. Israel can buy it with their own money.”

Groups opposed to Israel’s policies have stepped up the pressure on Democrats to support the resolutions set to be considered.

On Monday, dozens of people were arrested at a protest held outside the New York City offices of senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer, the chamber’s top Democrat. Protesters urged them to vote in favor of Sanders’s resolutions.

Neither senator supported the previous measures, though Schumer called two years ago for Netanyahu to step down as prime minister.

Last week, a coalition of progressive groups including Indivisible, MoveOn, J Street and Jewish Voice for Peace sent senators a letter urging them to support halting weapons sales, casting it as “an opportunity send a clear message that senators oppose any continuation of the war with Iran.”

They describe the sale of the 1,000lb bombs as raising “urgent legal and moral concerns”, saying the munitions have been used “in densely populated areas in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran, with significant documented civilian casualties.” The bulldozers, the groups write, “have been widely used in operations involving large-scale demolition of homes, civilian infrastructure, and entire neighborhoods in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon, contributing to forced displacement and de facto annexation”.

Separately, Senate Democrats are expected to force a vote on a war powers resolution that would prevent Trump from continuing hostilities against Iran. The party has used such votes as a pressure tactic against the administration to conclude a war that polls show is unpopular with the public, but their measures have been voted down by Republicans.