Senate Democrats Vote to Potentially Freeze US Military Aid to Israel, Reflecting Rising Dissatisfaction in Party

Further complicating the situation for President Joe Biden, a group of Senate Democrats on Tuesday voted in favor of advancing a resolution to potentially freeze US military aid to Israel. The resolution, sponsored by Senator Bernie Sanders, sends a pointed message to President Biden that the war in Gaza is becoming a major problem for the Democrats. The Senate voted 72 to 11 to reject the resolution, but the number of Democrats who supported the measure reflects rising dissatisfaction within a section of the party over the civilian casualties in Gaza, which has now reportedly crossed 24,000. Sanders, a leading critic of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the siege and invasion of Gaza, called it immoral and criticized the extensive use of American-supplied bombs in heavily populated civilian areas. The other Democrats who voted for the resolution included Senators Laphonza Butler, Martin Heinrich, Mazie Hirono, Ben Ray Lujan, Ed Markey, Jeff Merkley, Chris Van Hollen, and Peter Welch. The Biden administration has put pressure on Netanyahu’s government to reduce civilian casualties and end the fighting, but to little effect. Netanyahu has declared that no one will stop Israel’s mission to eliminate Hamas, despite skepticism from foreign policy experts. Meanwhile, polls show that Biden’s handling of the conflict is turning into a political liability for his reelection. A New York Times/Siena College poll showed that 57 percent of registered voters nationwide disapprove of Biden’s response to the conflict, including 37 percent of Democrats. Notably, 72 percent of voters aged 18 to 29, a demographic that strongly supported Biden in 2020, disapprove of his performance on the issue.