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arms embargo
Sanders Leads New Senate Effort to Stop Flow of US Arms to Israel
"There is extensive evidence that these systems are being used in violation of U.S. and international law," said the senator.
Sep 18, 2024
Demanding that the Biden administration follow the lead of several close U.S. allies in recent months, Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday announced his intention to take action on the Senate floor to stop the flow of American weapons to Israel.
The Vermont independent said in a statement that he plans to file Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRD) regarding the sale of offensive weapons to the Middle Eastern country, which for nearly a year has bombarded civilian infrastructure and blocked humanitarian aid to Gaza, killing more than 41,000 Palestinians and pushing the enclave into famine.
The JRD is the only congressional mechanism that can prevent weapons sales from moving forward, and after months of demanding the Biden administration end military support for Israel, Sanders said that "Congress must act to save lives, uphold U.S. and international law, and stand up for U.S. interests."
HuffPost journalist Akbar Shahid Ahmed reported that other lawmakers, including Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) are involved in the JRD effort, "a key factor in how much support this can get" before a vote, which would "most likely" take place in November.
After a Hamas-led attack last October, said Sanders on Wednesday, Israel did not "have the right to wage an all-out war against the Palestinian people, which is what Prime Minister Netanyahu's extremist government has done."
"As a result of Israel's blocking of humanitarian aid into Gaza, many thousands of children there face malnutrition and even starvation," said the senator. "Sadly, and illegally, much of the carnage in Gaza has been carried out with U.S.-provided military equipment. Providing more offensive weapons to continue this disastrous war would violate U.S. and international law."
Sanders noted that continuing to export weapons to Israel—like the $20 billion in arms sales that President Joe Biden approved in August—would violate U.S. laws including the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Arms Export Control Act (AECA), as U.S. weapons have been directly linked to attacks by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Palestinian civilians.
As Amnesty International reported in April, the IDF used U.S. bombs and other weapons in several attacks, including four strikes in the southern Gaza city of Rafah that killed at least 95 civilians, including 42 children last December and January.
Sanders noted that other weapons included in the August arms sales approval—Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs), totaling $262 million; and 120mm tank rounds, totaling $774.1 million—were "particularly concerning, given their indiscriminate use in Gaza."
The senator cited an Israeli JDAM strike on October 31, 2023 in Jabalia, which killed at least 126 civilians, including 69 children. He also pointed to the 120mm tank rounds used by the IDF in Gaza City on January 29, 2024 in an attack that killed six-year-old Hind Rajab and two paramedics.
"There is extensive evidence that these systems are being used in violation of U.S. and international law," said Sanders, citing the administration's own report pursuant to National Security Memorandum 20 (NSM-20), which stated that "it is reasonable to assess that defense articles covered under NSM-20 have been used by Israeli security forces since October 7 in instances inconsistent with its [international humanitarian law] obligations or with established best practices for mitigating civilian harm."
"In light of this reality," said Sanders, "it is inappropriate to move ahead with these sales."
The senator noted that U.S. allies including the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, and the Netherlands are among those that have restricted weapons sales to Israel, with officials citing the risk that the transfers could make their governments complicit in violations of international law.
"The sales would reward Netanyahu's extremist government, even as it continues to cause massive destruction in Gaza, undermine the prospects of a cease-fire deal that would secure the release of the hostages, and advance its effort to illegally annex the West Bank," said Sanders. "We must end our complicity in Israel's illegal and indiscriminate military campaign, which has caused mass civilian death and suffering."
James Zogby, founder of the Arab American Institute, applauded Sanders' plan to file the JRD, calling it a "critically important step to block $20 billion in U.S. arms to Israel."
"Genocide in Gaza, annexation in the West Bank, and expansion of the war in Lebanon will continue as long as Israel's impunity continues," said Zogby. "We must act now."
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Young Swing State Voters Demand Arms Embargo, Real Climate Plan From Harris
In its get-out-the-vote push launched late last month, the Sunrise Movement has engaged with more than 300,000 young people so far, and many of them have two key concerns in common.
Sep 16, 2024
Since launching its major voter mobilization push late last month, the national climate action group Sunrise Movement has contacted 344,437 young voters in key swing states—and organizers are hearing that young people are waiting to hear two announcements from Vice President Kamala Harris before they engage heavily in making sure the Democrat wins the presidential election.
Both voters and potential volunteers for the Harris campaign want the vice president to "deliver a strong climate plan and support an arms embargo" over Israel's war on Gaza, said the Sunrise Movement Monday.
"Young people are recognizing their power and owning it. People are fired up and getting engaged with the election, but there is a sizable number of young people who don't want to get out the vote for Kamala Harris until she backs an arms embargo and puts forward a real climate plan," said Noah Foley-Beining, an organizer with the group. "Kamala Harris is missing a huge opportunity to energize and turn out young voters in historic numbers."
The group emphasized that the "critical importance" of the 2024 election is not lost on the youngest voters, and the people organizers have spoken to via door-knocking, phone-banking, and texting campaigns are committed to participating in the election.
"We're seeing very high numbers of young people not only commit to voting but also commit to turning out voters in their community," said Yara Changyit-Levin, who has led phone banks for the national organization. "When we asked young voters in Wisconsin to get their friends and family members to cast a vote, 84% of them said yes to that commitment."
But when asked if they are willing to join volunteer efforts for Harris and her vice presidential candidate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, many have been saying they don't want to volunteer "until she has a climate plan and supports and arms embargo."
Harris released an extensive list of policy priorities earlier this month, including a section on tackling the climate crisis with promises to build on the clean energy progress made by the Inflation Reduction Act.
But the debate between Harris and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump last week found her pledging to continue allowing fracking in Pennsylvania—despite polls that have shown majorities of Pennsylvania residents oppose the methane-heavy practice.
One report by the Civil Society Equity Review last year found wealthy countries must phase out all fossil fuel extraction by 2031 at the latest to ensure planetary heating doesn't rise above 1.5ºC.
Harris has told organizers with the Uncommitted National Movement that she is open to discussing an arms embargo on Israel, which has killed more than 41,000 people in Gaza—a third of whom have been children, according to officials in the enclave—since beginning its bombardment there nearly a year ago.
But her campaign has since stated it does not support cutting off the flow of U.S. weapons to Israel, which has received at least $12.5 billion in U.S. military aid since last October.
A poll published earlier this month by the Arab American Institute showed that if Harris were to support an arms embargo and a suspension of diplomatic support for Israel until there was a cease-fire in Gaza, her national support at the time would increase by five points.
The Sunrise Movement's dispatch from its canvassing and outreach campaign suggested young voters would also ramp up their support for Harris if an arms embargo were announced.
With plans to reach 1.5 million young voters, the group intends to launch digital ads in the coming weeks targeting GOP candidates and highlighting the stakes of the election for the climate emergency.
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After Harris-Trump Debate, Progressives Say 2024 Contrast 'Couldn't Be More Stark'
The president of the AFL-CIO called the November election a "fundamental choice," slamming Trump as "an unhinged serial union buster who betrays working people."
Sep 11, 2024
The 2024 U.S. presidential debate in Philadelphia Tuesday night presented what progressive organizers and labor leaders described as a stark choice between a former president dedicated to slashing taxes for the rich and assailing fundmental freedoms and a vice president committed to protecting abortion rights, combating corporate abuses, and alleviating the nation's housing crisis.
Over the course of the 90-minute debate, Republican nominee Donald Trump repeated well-worn lies about the 2020 election, regurgitated racist falsehoods about immigrants, bragged about the conservative-dominated Supreme Court's decision revoking the constitutional right to abortion care and refused to say he would veto a national abortion ban, and doubled down on his plan to "cut taxes very substantially."
Kamala Harris, who is leading the Democratic ticket, repeatedly took aim at Trump's economic agenda, saying that "it's all about tax breaks for the richest people" and accusing the former president of being "more interested in defending himself than he is in looking out for you." Harris also touted her endorsement from the United Auto Workers and decried the offshoring of manufacturing jobs during Trump's first term.
On reproductive rights, Harris noted that Trump "hand-selected three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention that they would undo the protections of Roe v. Wade, and they did exactly as he intended."
"Now in over 20 states there are Trump abortion bans which make it criminal for a doctor or nurse to provide healthcare," said Harris. "In one state it provides prison for life. Trump abortion bans that make no exception even for rape and incest."
"Understand what that means," Harris continued. "A survivor of a crime, a violation to their body, does not have the right to make a decision about what happens to their body next. That is immoral. And one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government, and Donald Trump certainly, should not be telling a woman what to do with her body."
Kamala Harris’ full response on abortion pic.twitter.com/QEVkM5WjkR
— Acyn (@Acyn) September 11, 2024
Swing Left, a progressive advocacy group, said following Tuesday's debate that "there is only one candidate who will protect and expand our freedoms," adding that "the choice couldn't be clearer."
"Harris has a clear plan for her presidency: Building an opportunity economy, securing reproductive freedom, making housing more affordable, and protecting access to healthcare for millions of Americans," the group said. "Donald Trump wants to tax the middle class while giving tax cuts to his billionaire buddies, further strip away reproductive rights—including abortion, IVF, and birth control—and implement Project 2025 on day one. But rather than present his vision, he struggled to communicate a single coherent point."
On housing, said the co-executive directors of the Center for Popular Democracy Action, Harris "did what no other presidential candidate or elected president has done."
"Harris laid out a future to boost first-time homeowners and demonstrated her commitment to America's working people," said Analilia Mejia and DaMareo Cooper. "Trump is a racist slumlord. The contrast couldn't be more stark and for the Center for Popular Democracy Action, the choice is clear."
Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, similarly described the 2024 contest as a "fundamental choice," characterizing Harris as a "principled, tough fighter who'll work to create opportunity for all of us" and Trump as "an unhinged serial union buster who betrays working people."
"As tonight's debate reminded us, a second Trump term would be a corporate CEO's dream and a worker's nightmare," Shuler said in a statement late Tuesday. "Trump and Vance are ready to make their Project 2025 agenda a terrifying reality: eviscerating unions, slashing millions of union jobs, and making it nearly impossible for workers to organize, while cutting wages and benefits and threatening health and safety on the job. They're running a campaign based on division and fear to cover up the fact that they are in this for themselves and their rich donor friends—not the workers who make this country run."
"Harris' comments on Gaza continue to offend voters appalled by Netanyahu's U.S.-funded killing campaign."
But it wasn't all praise for Harris following her debate performance.
Climate groups voiced outrage over her expressed support for fracking and touting of "the largest increase in domestic oil production in history" under the Biden administration.
"Tonight, Harris spent more time promoting fracking than laying out a bold vision for a clean energy future," said the youth-led Sunrise Movement. "That's a big missed opportunity. With an election this close, every young climate voter we turn out matters."
Harris' response to the lone question about Israel's assault on Gaza also sparked anger from progressives who have been pushing the vice president to support an arms embargo against the Israeli military—a position that, according to recent polling, would boost her support among U.S. voters.
On the debate stage Tuesday night, Harris reiterated her support for a cease-fire while emphasizing that "Israel has a right to defend itself."
"Harris' comments on Gaza continue to offend voters appalled by Netanyahu's U.S.-funded killing campaign," said Abbas Alawieh, co-founder of the Uncommitted National Movement. "They offer nothing new and perpetuate the murderous status quo. It's simple: To stop the war, our government must stop sending the weapons fueling the war."
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