What to expect when the US Senate finally votes on weapons to Israel
www.middleeasteye.net
Ahead of new administration, this may be last chance lawmakers have to go on record about Israeli human rights violations

On Wednesday, the US Senate will hold a vote on whether to approve the Pentagon’s request to send another $20bn in armaments to Israel, after a year in which the Biden administration has supplied billions of dollars of arms used in Israel’s devastating war on Gaza.

Among the weapons to be approved are 120mm tank rounds, high explosive mortar rounds, F-15IA fighter aircraft, and joint direct attack munitions, known as JDAMs, which are precision systems for otherwise indiscriminate or “dumb” bombs.

Separate resolutions are being brought forward for each weapon type, including its cost to US taxpayers. However, together, the initiative is known as the Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRDs).

As a result of intensive lobbying from pro-Israel groups like Aipac and the Democratic Majority For Israel, no arms transfer to Israel has been blocked.

The resolutions likely to gain the highest levels of support are expected to involve the tank rounds, which have been responsible for killing hundreds of civilians in northern Gaza in particular, and the JDAMs, which caused the death of well-known figures such as Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah in southern Lebanon, and six-year-old Hind Rajab in Gaza City.

  • I_Has_A_Hat@lemmy.world
    33·
    3 days ago

    No we won’t. I mean, you might, but no one pays attention to voting records anymore. If it even comes to a vote, no one’s going to hold anyone’s feet to the fire on how they vote on a bill doomed to go nowhere.

    This. Is. Meaningless. I can’t stress that enough.

      • I_Has_A_Hat@lemmy.world
        1·
        2 days ago

        Well they rejected the bill. Did you really pay attention to who voted it down? Do you really care? Even if you go look it up, will it in any way change your actions moving forward? Will you vote any differently or support different candidates based on this?

        Again, meaningless.

          • I_Has_A_Hat@lemmy.world
            11·
            2 days ago

            Maybe I’m angry about meaningless things being done by our elected officials that are of no help to anyone. Like, if my house was burning down and the fire department showed up and the firefighters started spitting into the fire instead of using the hoses, I might also be a bit upset.