One of the Largest Unions in the US Backs Sanders Bid to Block Israel Arms Deal

One of the largest unions in the U.S. has thrown its weight behind Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vermont) bid this week to block a huge tranche of weapons sales to Israel amid its genocide in Gaza.

The Service Employees International Union, or SEIU, announced on Monday that it supports Sanders’s joint resolutions of disapproval to halt the deals, in compliance with U.S. humanitarian law. The union, which has 2 million members across the U.S., says that it supports the resolutions blocking the transfer of “certain offensive weapons” to Israel.

“SEIU members have made clear that they want an end to taxpayer dollars being used to fund military aid that enables attacks against innocent civilians in Gaza,” said April Verrett, president of SEIU International, in a statement. “It’s time for Senators to take action to help bring about a peaceful resolution to this conflict.”

The union cited Israel’s blockade of food and medicine to Gaza, which is worsening the humanitarian crisis, while also criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for blocking a ceasefire deal and putting “the remaining hostages’ lives in danger.” The union also emphasized a resolution passed at its convention this spring calling for a ceasefire, release of all captives held by both sides, and an end to the use of taxpayer dollars to fund Israel’s attacks in Gaza.

The Senate is slated to vote on the resolutions on Wednesday, according to Sanders. There are six resolutions in total, each blocking a different part of the Biden administration’s massive $20 billion weapons sale. The vote will mark the first time either chamber of Congress will undergo a vote to block arms transfers to Israel.

In an op-ed promoting the legislation in The Washington Post, Sanders emphasized that Israel has been worsening the humanitarian crisis it has created in Gaza at every turn, meaning that sending further weapons to Israel would be in violation of the Foreign Assistance Act and Arms Export Control Act.

“I have met with doctors who have served in Gaza, treating hundreds of patients a day without electricity, anesthesia or clean water, including dozens of children arriving with gunshot wounds to the head,” he wrote. “All of this is unspeakable and immoral. But what makes it even more painful is that much of this death and destruction has been carried out with U.S. weaponry and paid for by American taxpayers.”

“During the last year alone, the United States has provided $18 billion in military aid to Israel and delivered more than 50,000 tons of armaments and military equipment,” Sanders went on. “In other words, as Americans, we are complicit in these horrific and illegal atrocities. Our complicity must end.”

The union’s endorsement comes as a growing chorus of advocacy groups and lawmakers are voicing their support for the legislation. So far, six senators have announced their support for certain resolutions within Sanders’s bid: Tim Kaine (D-Virginia), Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland), Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) and Peter Welch (D-Vermont).

“U.S. taxpayer-funded assistance should not come in the form of a blank check — even to our closest partners,” Van Hollen said in a statement expressing his support on Tuesday. “[W]e’ve seen Prime Minister Netanyahu repeatedly violate the terms of American security assistance, disregard U.S. priorities, and ignore our requests, only to be rewarded by President Biden. That pattern undermines the credibility of the United States.”

Advocates for Palestinian rights have pointed out that the passage of the resolutions may be one of the only remaining chances for lawmakers to act on the genocide and humanitarian catastrophe before Donald Trump takes office.

“For over a year, the Biden administration has funded the Israeli government’s brutal genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, despite overwhelming opposition from across the country,” said Jewish Voice for Peace Action’s political director, Beth Miller. “These Joint Resolutions of Disapproval are one of the last chances that Senate Democrats have before Republicans take control in January to uphold human rights, honor the will of the American people, and stand on the right side of history by blocking weapons to the Israeli military.”

Arab and Muslim advocacy groups are also urging the Senate to pass the resolutions.

“The Biden Administration has lost all credibility when it comes to its complicity and participation in Israel’s genocide, going so far as to completely ignore U.S. law,” said the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in a statement, per Al Jazeera. “It is long past time for Congress to step in and do what President Biden, Secretary [Antony] Blinken, and Secretary [Lloyd] Austin will not — enforce U.S. law and say no more weapons for Israeli genocide.”