US Senate blocks Sanders’ Israel arms ban as anti-Israel sentiment rises in Congress

The U.S. Senate voted down two proposals by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) seeking to block arms sales to Israel on Wednesday. Introducing the measures on the Senate floor, Sanders declared that “The time is long overdue for members of the US Senate to start listening to the American people and not to AIPAC. The time is now for us to end all US. military aid to the extremist Netanyahu government."

Forty of his Democratic colleagues supported his first proposal – the highest number of votes such a measure has ever received – while 59 voted against it. The second measure failed by a vote of 63 to 36.

Since 2024, Sanders has introduced similar legislation four times and has repeatedly made statements sharply critical of Israel in general and Netanyahu in particular, calling the war against Hamas in Gaza a “genocide” and describing Netanyahu as a “war criminal.”

Sanders first bill would have blocked the sale of $295 million worth of D9R and D9T Caterpillar bulldozers, parts and other support. The bulldozers have become a symbol of the campaign in Gaza as they have seen heavy use in the rubble-filled streets of Gaza City, Khan Yunis and Rafah. This might explain why many Democrats were willing to cast a largely symbolic vote for the measure, which would have blocked their sale.

The other measure would have blocked the $151.8 million sale of 12,000 BLU-110A/B general-purpose 1,000-pound “dumb” bombs and related logistics and technical support services.

These weapons have been heavily used in campaigns against Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Iranian regime, making them less controversial. Still, a substantial number of Democratic senators were willing to vote for Sanders’ proposal to block their sale to Israel.

More broadly, a growing number of Democrats in the U.S. Congress have expressed increasing antagonism toward Israel in recent years, reflecting a wider shift in public opinion. A recent poll found that, for the first time, a majority of American voters hold an unfavorable view of Israel.

At the same time, voices on both the political Right and Left have called for the United States to distance itself from the Jewish state.

Sanders has been a particularly vocal figure in Congress, calling for changes to the relationship between Washington and Jerusalem. On Wednesday, he continued that theme, declaring that “The United States must use the leverage we have – tens of billions in arms and military aid to demand that Israel ends these atrocities.”

Last July, shortly after the 12-Day War with Iran, Sanders introduced similar legislation that was blocked by wider margins, with votes of 73 to 24 and 70 to 27. Political analysts in Washington and Jerusalem have warned that he is unlikely to abandon these efforts and that, as the narrowing vote counts suggest, support for his position in the Senate is growing.

Israeli officials have acknowledged the rise in anti-Israel sentiment in the United States and other Western allies. Proposed responses include expanding ties with other powers, particularly India, and increasing Israel’s domestic defense production capacity.