Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has not been deterred with his anti-Israel resolutions. They fail miserably, as they did last November, but that didn’t stop him from trying again on Thursday night, when they also failed miserably. In fact, the resolutions actually lost support. This was a different session of Congress, though, and the vote count was slightly different.
While the resolutions from Thursday had the same senators supporting it or too cowardly to vote one way or the other–Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), who was just narrowly reelected last November voted “present” on one resolution–there was an addition. Besides Sanders as well as Sens. Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Brian Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Peter Welch (D-VT) voting in favor, there was freshman Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ).
Last November, when the vote took place on Sanders’ resolutions, now former Sen. George Helmy (D-NJ) was in office to replace embattled former Sen. Bob Menendez, a fellow Democrat who had been found guilty of federal bribery charges and who finally resigned a month following the conviction, in August. Helmy voted for one of the resolutions–a resolution “providing for congressional disapproval of the proposed foreign military sale to the Government of Israel of certain defense articles and services.” but voted against the other two. Kim, who was in the House at the time, voted for both resolutions this week.
Such a vote from Kim and the other members is shameful enough, but that he now represents the entire state of New Jersey adds insult to injury. As StopAntisemitism highlighted over X on Friday morning, the last American hostage being held captive by Hamas since the October 7, 2023 attack, is from New Jersey. Nevertheless, the senator voted in favor of banning arms to Israel.
Kim’s official X account shared a statement not long after the vote on Thursday night, which was framed as a “statement on prioritizing enduring peace and security for Israeli and Palestinian people.”
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The statement actually begins with something of a pro-Israel tone, and even mentions Alexander. Several other paragraphs go on to defend Kim’s pro-Israel stance, as if to try to justify Thursday night’s vote. Just as Sanders and other anti-Israel members of Congress have been prone to do, though, Kim’s statement goes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
As it reads in part:
“I also recognize that beyond supplying essential weapons systems to Israel, the most important thing we can do is work to avoid making the mistakes of the past and focus on objectives that break the cycle of violence once and for all. When I was in Israel a few weeks ago, I urged Prime Minister Netanyahu to do everything possible to keep the diplomatic talks going and get the hostages out.
“His decision to resume military strikes and operations is not the path to take. There has been too much tragic loss of civilian life, including family members of New Jerseyans who grieve constantly and continue to be filled with deep worry about those still in Gaza. And as I said before that hostages should never be used as leverage for negotiations, neither should humanitarian aid to civilians. Netanyahu’s decision to block all international aid from entering Gaza is wrong. Hamas’ brutality to the Israeli people and their negligence to the Palestinian people does not give reason for others to act without regard to the humanity of civilians. It is critical that aid be allowed to flow into Gaza again immediately, and I’m concerned that the Trump Administration is taking no steps toward that end. In fact, President Trump has made matters worse by proposing a reckless plan of America “owning” Gaza and building seaside resorts, fanning the flames of the most extreme elements in Israel toward a path that would lead to an even more dangerous environment for the Israeli and Palestinian people. President Trump has also abandoned frameworks to put safeguards around how weapons like these can be used, and has attempted to bypass Congress in order to provide these systems.
“This conflict, the future of the Israeli and Palestinian people, and the region as a whole is at a critical moment. Around seventy percent of the Israeli people want a return to a ceasefire and the return of all hostages, and America should stand with them. But the Israeli government is going the opposite direction with no viable exit strategy or plan for post-war Gaza other than support Trump’s reckless plan. And getting bogged down with prolonged conflict in Gaza will pull resources away from securing Israel from its greatest threat — Iran — at this critical moment. There is a generational opportunity to isolate Iran from Lebanon, Syria, and the greater region, and Israel must prioritize this chance to normalize relations and build a coalition against Iran, which will be even more difficult if the violence in Gaza continues.
“We should work closely with our diplomatic partners to press Hamas to return to a ceasefire, with our Israeli partners to expand normalization, and with regional partners on a political solution that replaces Hamas as the governing entity of Gaza. We should build out larger frameworks to further isolate Iran and minimize its risk to the region.
“I look forward to working with my colleagues in the United States Senate and engaging diplomatically with our Israeli and Arab partners to bring the hostages home, to end the conflict, and build a durable peace that the children of the region can truly enjoy so that the horrors of October 7th never happen again.”
If Kim really does want to avoid another October 7, as he claims, denying arms to our ally in the Middle East, which was the subject of that brutal attack, is certainly not the answer.
The post has been ratioed, with over 50 replies, many of them calling “shame” on the senator. One of the five reposts is actually a quoted repost calling Kim out for standing with Hamas with such a vote.
Unlike some in his party, Kim has spoken about the hostages and our ally in the Middle East, including about Alexander.
This makes such a vote not only confusing and unexpected, but arguably even more cowardly. We can expect “yes” votes on those resolutions when it comes to Democrats such as Warren and Van Hollen, but it should have been a no brainer for Kim. New Jersey’s other senator, fellow Democrat Cory Booker, voted against the resolutions last November and this week.
Outside of New York, California, and Florida, New Jersey has the highest Jewish population in the country. Kim not only failed Alexander with such a vote, he also looks to have potentially failed the hundreds of thousands of Jews who call the state home, especially in the northern part of the state.
Despite Alexander coming from New Jersey, other Democrats in that state have gone after Israel as well. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, who represents the 12th Congressional District there, took to X last month to rant and rave against Israel’s operation against Hamas, which will still not release the remaining hostages. She did so with a quoted repost of the Associated Press, which has shared pro-Hamas narratives before, and even had reporters embedded with the terrorists for the October 7 attack. Unlike Kim, it does not appear as if she has spoken about Alexander from that X account.
