Biden Fights Progressives Over $20 Billion Israel Arms Deal

The Biden administration is lobbying Democratic senators to vote against legislation being advanced by several of the party’s most progressive members that would block more than $20 billion in weapon shipments to Israel, two US officials told The Times of Israel on Tuesday.

The series of Joint Resolutions of Disapproval co-sponsored by Senators Bernie Sanders, Peter Welch, Jeff Merkley and Brian Schatz are slated to come to a vote on Wednesday and aim to block six weapon transfers to Israel, which include guided missiles, tank rounds, mortars, tactical vehicles and F-15 fighter jets.

While the votes are all but certain to fail, given the strong support for Israel in both parties — particularly the GOP, they are likely to mark a watershed moment in a more divided Democratic Party that is still working to understand the lessons of this month’s election, which saw Republicans win the White House and Senate while keeping their majority in the House.

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The Biden administration’s decision to engage on the matter demonstrates its desire for the Democratic Party to maintain a more pro-Israel posture post-election.

While moderates have argued that the party did too much to cater to its progressive wing, including by staking out adversarial positions toward Israel, lawmakers such as “Squad” Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have charged that the party catered to special interest groups such as the pro-Israel AIPAC lobby and therefore lost support — a claim denounced by several…  Read more mainstream Jewish organizations.