US Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) gives an interview in his office in the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, Jan. 18, 2024. Photo: Rod Lamkey / CNP/Sipa USA for NY Post via Reuters Connect
A group of eight liberal and progressive US senators demanded US President Joe Biden stop military assistance to Israel in a letter sent to the White House on Monday, claiming the Israeli government has violated federal law by blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza.
“Israel’s restrictions on humanitarian access, both at the border and within Gaza, are one of the primary causes of this humanitarian catastrophe,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), along with seven Democratic colleagues, wrote in the letter. “The severe humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza is nearly unprecedented in modern history.”
Aside from Sanders, the letter was signed by Democratic Sens. Chris Van Hollen (MD), Jeff Merkley OR), Mazie Hirono (HI), Peter Welch (VT), Tina Smith (MN), Elizabeth Warren (MA), and Ben Ray Luján (NM).
Citing the Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act — which reads “No assistance shall be furnished under this chapter or the Arms Export Control Act to any country when it is made known to the President that the government of such country prohibits or otherwise restricts, directly or indirectly, the transport or delivery of United States humanitarian assistance” — the senators went on to claim that the US should not give any more assistance to Israel.
Between Oct. 21 and Feb. 1, about 95 aid trucks containing food, water, and medical supplies entered Gaza from both Israel and Egypt each day, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.
Still, the senators concluded that the US “should not provide military assistance to any country that interferes with US humanitarian assistance.”
The letter came amid rising Democratic pressure on the Biden administration to distance itself from Israel as it fights to remove the Hamas terror group from power in Gaza and rescue the 134 hostages remaining in the Palestinian enclave. Hamas launched the ongoing war with its Oct. 7 invasion of southern Israel, where Palestinian terrorists murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped about 250 others.
A recent letter from Democratic members of the US House of Representatives argued an Israeli invasion of Rafah — Hamas’ last stronghold in Gaza — “should not be supported by US taxpayer-funded assistance” if it “runs counter to the specific principles outlined” by the Biden administration on necessary conditions to give aid — a situation they considered “likely.”
A number of senators, including Biden allies, concurred, signaling a major shift within the party against Israel.
Meanwhile, a coalition of progressive groups is now reportedly pushing Democratic lawmakers to reject money from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the foremost pro-Israel lobbying group in the US, in the upcoming election cycle. The coalition includes the Justice Democrats and the Democratic Socialists of America.
Not all Democrats are moving in this direction, though. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), upon hearing that Biden may condition aid to Israel, wrote that “Israel has the right to fully engage Hamas to its end. Hamas deliberately harms and hides behind civilians, not Israel. Until Hamas surrenders, frees the hostages, and ends this humanitarian tragedy, I do not support any conditions.”
Fetterman has taken significant blowback for his pro-Israel stance since Oct. 7. After making clear that he does not support conditioning aid, former congressional candidate Nina Turner asked, “Why are you going against the president and helping Trump?” A prominent progressive commentator called him a “f—king idiot.”
However, none of the attacks from people Fetterman used to consider progressive allies have caused him to change his stance. After being protested numerous times, he said, “There’s only one clear right side and that’s with Israel.”
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