Senator Ossoff’s Disappointing Votes Against Israeli Defense.
Last night the lame-duck U.S. Senate took up three discharge motions authored by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders aimed at blocking military supplies and aid to the state of Israel. A discharge motion is an attempt to bring a piece of legislation blocked by a Committee (in this case the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations) to a vote in the full Senate.
S.J. Res. 111, and S.J. Res. 113 would have blocked what proponents termed offensive weapons, while S.J. Res. 115 would have blocked sales of Boeing Direct Attack Weapons, or JDAMS. If I’m not mistaken, JDAMS are used in Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system.
All three motions failed by wide margins. What’s newsworthy is that Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock voted for all three (no surprise there), while Senator Jon Ossoff voted in favor of 111 and 113 while voting against 115.
I must confess I am disappointed in Sen. Ossoff’s vote in support of two of these discharge motions. Israel has every right to attack Hamas in Gaza, and Hezbollah, which operates in southern Lebanon. Israel also has every right to respond militarily to attacks from Iran. As a long-standing ally, why Ossoff thinks we should block sales of these supplies at this time is a real head-scratcher.
The timing of these votes is interesting. It happened on the same day that the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The vote also took place on the same day the U.S. blocked a ceasefire resolution in the U.N. because it did not call on Hamas to release hostages. Remember them?
Two days ago Berlin’s police chief warned Jews to “hide their identity” and less than two weeks ago scores of Israeli soccer fans were ambushed and attacked in Amsterdam. One can make the case that Jews are under assault across the globe and the U.S. Senate decides now is the time to take up resolutions that benefit Hamas and Hezbollah. #Sad.
Aside from being really bad policy, Senator Ossoff’s vote will have negative political consequences for him as he gears up for reelection in 2026. The Commentary Magazine Podcast explains.
I’m certain we have not heard the last of this issue and these votes.
