The out-of-touch U.S. Senate voted on July 30 to allow the continuation of arms shipments to the increasingly isolated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The resolution S.J. Res. 34 to block the sale of certain offensive weapons, including 1,000-pound bombs and Joint Direct Attack Munitions (a guidance system for “dumb bombs"), failed by a vote of 24 to 73. A second resolution S.J. Res. 41 to block the sale of military assault rifles, which have been used against women, children, health workers, humanitarian workers, and journalists, failed by a vote of 27 to 70. (In the United States, support for the war in Gaza is at 32% and has been falling; in Israel, 75% of Israelis are calling for an immediate ceasefire.)
The two resolutions were introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in an effort to stop the genocide in Gaza. During the debate over the resolutions, Senator Sanders held a stack of papers with the names of over 18,000 children who were killed in Gaza, and demanded that each name be entered into the Congressional Record. Sanders said, “The time is long overdue for Congress to use the leverage we have—tens of billions in arms and military aid—to demand that Israel end these atrocities.” Sanders continued, “This resolution is absolutely necessary, because the United States will have no credibility in the international community if we don’t stand up against this.”
