7 Democrats Vote to Kill Bill Blocking Arms Sales to Israel

Senate Democrats on Wednesday refused to rally behind a joint resolution sponsored by Senator Bernie Sanders to block nearly $660 billion in weapons sales to Israel. Seven Democrats joined every Republican in the Senate to vote against the resolution, which failed by a vote of 59-40. Despite protests at their offices on Monday urging them to support the resolution, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and fellow New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand still voted against it. This was the latest in a series of efforts by Sanders to halt weapons sales to Israel, which is bombing Lebanon and Iran with U.S. weapons and continues to kill Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank despite a ceasefire, exacerbating an ongoing humanitarian crisis. Israel is also accused of encouraging ethnic cleansing against Shia Muslims in southern Lebanon.Last July, 19 Democrats including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer blocked Sanders’s last attempt. This time, the resolutions are intertwined with President Trump’s unpopular war in Iran, which nearly every Democrat says they oppose and Israel is also participating in. A vote to continue weapons sales, which include $150 million in 1,000-pound bombs and $300 million in bulldozers, could be seen by voters as an endorsement of the war, which has hurt the economy and caused gas prices to skyrocket. Here is the full list of Democrats who voted to continue sending bombs to Israel: Richard Blumenthal (CT)Chris Coons (DE)Catherine Cortez Masto (NV)John Fetterman (PA)Kirsten Gillibrand (NY)Jackie Rosen (NV)Chuck Schumer (NY)