The Duality of the US Congress on Israel-Palestine

While understandably much of the focus upon US policy in the war in Israel-Palestine and the wider Middle East has been focused on the Biden administration, the past year has seen extensive discussions and even some policy actions in the US Congress as well.[1] A large, bipartisan majority of Members of Congress have largely reinforced Biden’s total embrace of Israel. At the same time, a small minority of Democratic members have been the highest-ranking US government officials to lay out alternative pathways that address both Palestinian and Israeli concerns. 

In short, the US Congress has played a dual role. While the majority of members have buttressed Biden administration policy, a minority of Congressional members have been the most visible US officials to criticize US and Israeli policy.

From day one, the dominant position in the US Congress, like at the White House, has been to support Israel and let the Israeli government completely dictate the shape and scope of the war. On the day of the initial Hamas attack, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), House Minority Leader, stated, “The Congress must stand with Israel until the invasion by Hamas has been crushed and security in Southern Israel and throughout the country has been permanently restored.”[2] On October 10, 2024, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said on Fox News, “I am with Israel. Do whatever the hell you have to do to defend yourself; level the place.”[3] 

There are many, many more Congressional statements and a few resolutions that express solidarity with Israel and antipathy toward Hamas and sometimes Palestinians as well. On October 25, 2023, the very first resolution passed under new Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was one that supported Israel and condemned Hamas, 412-10, with six voting “present.”[4] On November 28, 2023, when the House voted to reaffirm Israel’s right to exist and condemn Hamas, the vote was 412-1, with one additional member voting “present.”[5]

Although supplemental aid for Israel was caught up in partisan debate over aid for Ukraine, it eventually passed overwhelmingly in April 2024. The aid, pushed by the Biden administration, included almost $9 billion for Israel, including $3.5 billion in Foreign Military Financing and $5.2 billion for missile defense. It also included $1billion in humanitarian assistance for Palestinians in Gaza.[6]

A few Democratic members of Congress challenged the dominant US stance, making them the most visible US policymakers to break with the mainstream US governmental approach. Just over a week after the initial Hamas attack, 13 progressive Democratic members of the House introduced a resolution (H.Res.786; sponsored by Rep. Cori Bush, D-MO) supporting a ceasefire and calling for the entry of humanitarian assistance into Gaza.[7] By early May 2024, 86 members of the House and 8 senators – all Democrats – openly supported a ceasefire.[8] On May 31, 2024, President Biden issued a ceasefire plan based on an Israeli proposal (though I am not arguing that he did so because of the Congressional action).

Other Members of Congress tried to use legislative and legal means to slow or stop US arms sales to Israel. Nine Democratic senators pressed the Biden administration about its failure to apply the Leahy Law to Israeli military units, a Congressional effort indirectly tied to years of trying to get the executive branch to enforce the Leahy Law with regard to Israel.[9] The law bars US assistance to any military unit that is credibly reported to have committed gross violations of human rights.

Separately, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), along with two Democratic senators, tried to stop or slow US arms sales to Israel. On September 25, 2024, for example, they filed six resolutions, each of which expresses disapproval of a proposed US weapons sale to Israel, totaling more than $20 billion.[10] Sanders said he considers sending more weapons to Israel both “illegal” and “immoral.”[11]

Perhaps the least surprising critic of Biden administration policy has been Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), the only Palestinian-American in Congress. She has tried to humanize Palestinians and decried Israel’s destruction of Gaza and the Palestinian people therein. The House, voting 234-188 with four “present,” censured Tlaib on November 7, 2023, though the resolution text contains mostly their interpretations of her words and few direct quotations to substantiate their claims.[12]

What was surprising was when, on March 14, 2024, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), Senate Majority Leader, delivered a long address on the Senate floor denouncing the Netanyahu government and calling for new Israeli elections. Schumer, the highest-ranked Jewish-American in elected office, has long been a close supporter of Israel. But he identified Netanyahu as one of four obstacles to peace. Furthermore, he called Netanyahu’s rejection of a two-state solution “a grave mistake.”[13]

In a short post, my aim is not to capture every relevant action or statement in Congress. But even this brief overview does remind us that Congress has played a dual role, primarily reinforcing the dominant thrust of Biden’s policy but also introducing dissenting possibilities that build on concern about Palestinian life, Israeli warfighting, Netanyahu policy, and other factors. 

Dr. Jeremy Pressman is a professor of political science at the University of Connecticut and the author of The Sword is Not Enough: Arabs, Israelis, and the Limits of Military Force (2020).