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military aid
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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Senators Decry Biden's Decision to Fully Fund Egypt Despite Ongoing Rights Abuses
"Over the last year, for every single political prisoner Egypt has released, it has jailed two more," lamented U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy.
Sep 12, 2024
Several Democratic U.S. senators on Thursday denounced the Biden administration's decision to send $1.3 billion in military aid to Egypt despite enduring human rights abuses by the Middle Eastern country's authoritarian regime.
U.S. State Antony Blinken this week waived human rights conditions attached to $225 million of the aid package, citing Egypt's strategic importance and the country's role in attempts to broker a cease-fire agreement that would halt the assault on Gaza by Israel, which is on trial for genocide at the International Court of Justice.
"It's no secret that Egypt remains a deeply repressive autocratic state."
"This decision waives requirements on an additional $225 million of military aid to Egypt that is tied to broader improvements on democracy and human rights," Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Ct.) said in a statement on Thursday.
"It's no secret that Egypt remains a deeply repressive autocratic state, and I see no good reason to ignore that fact by waiving these requirements," the senator added. "We have previously withheld this portion of Egypt's military aid package, while still maintaining our strategic relationship, and we should continue to do so."
On Wednesday, Murphy and Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) issued a joint statement decrying Biden's decision to fully fund Egypt, focusing on a separate $95 million share of aid released by the administration.
"The law is clear: Egypt is required to make 'clear and consistent progress' in releasing political prisoners in order to receive $95 million—a small portion—of its $1.3 billion military aid package this year," the senators wrote. "The Egyptian government has failed that test."
"Over the last year, for every single political prisoner Egypt has released, it has jailed two more," Murphy and Coons noted. "That's not clear and consistent progress—it's one step forward and two steps back. And among the thousands and thousands of political prisoners the government has continued to refuse to release are two U.S. legal permanent residents, Hosam Khalaf and Salah Soltan."
Last week, Murphy and Coons were among the nine Democratic senators and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) who urged Blinken to "enforce the conditions set forth by Congress on holding Egypt accountable for progress on human rights" by withholding aid "until Egypt's human rights record improves."
According to the most recent State Department annual country report, "there were no significant changes in the human rights situation in Egypt" between 2022-23.
The report cited violations including:
Credible reports of arbitrary or unlawful killings, including extrajudicial killings; enforced disappearance; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by the government; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention; serious problems with the independence of the judiciary; political prisoners or detainees; transnational repression against individuals in another country; arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy; punishment of family members for alleged offenses by a relative.
"Egypt has failed to make consistent progress, yet the State Department has decided to release additional military aid," Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) said on Thursday. "The administration should use the leverage Congress provided to defend the fundamental rights of Egyptian political prisoners and dissidents. That's what the Egyptian people, and people everywhere, rightly expect of the United States."
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