More Than 100 Democrats Backed an Amendment to Ban Aid to Israel

On Wednesday, July 15, 103 Democrats supported an amendment to a State Department funding bill that would have barred any money authorized by the legislation from going to Israel.

The amendment was introduced by Republican Representative Thomas Massie. Many Democrats objected that it contained no exemption for nonmilitary diplomatic funding. Nevertheless, some lawmakers voted for the measure despite substantive concerns about its language. They said their decision was intended to send a message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his actions in Gaza and Lebanon.

One Democrat representing a highly competitive district attributed his vote to “the change in attitudes toward Israel over the past year.” He said he was seeking to “accurately reflect the position of his district.”

“Americans are saying, ‘Those are our tax dollars.’ They see the destruction—85% of homes in Gaza have been destroyed,” the congressman told Axios.

Another Democrat who supported the amendment said the primary defeats of several pro-Israel lawmakers this year had shown politicians “the depth and scale of the change in public opinion.”

Progressive organizations see the primary results as evidence of the left wing’s growing influence.

“Our primary victories this cycle over AIPAC-backed candidates are finally forcing the Democratic caucus to heed the demands of its voters,” said Justice Democrats spokesperson Usamah Andrabi.

Pro-Israel centrists also acknowledge the shift. “This is no longer about the substance of the issue. It is about sheer fear of angering the far left,” New Jersey Representative Josh Gottheimer told Axios.

Former House Democratic Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, who voted against the amendment, also acknowledged the influence of intraparty politics. “Clearly, political developments across the country are affecting members of the House,” he said.

Representative Steve Cohen, who also opposed the measure, conceded that political pressure “probably” influenced the vote’s outcome.

“I think Israel is in trouble,” Cohen said. “As long as Netanyahu remains in power, there will be many votes against funding or supporting Israel.”

House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries found himself in the minority within his own caucus. He was among 98 Democrats who voted against the amendment.

A former House member told Axios that some serving lawmakers were frustrated with Jeffries and believed he “does not understand the party’s current position.”

At the same time, a Democrat involved in efforts to defeat the amendment said Jeffries’s letter urging members to vote against it “materially changed the situation” and persuaded between 30 and 40 wavering lawmakers. Without the minority leader’s intervention, he estimated, as many as 150 Democrats might have supported the measure.

When reporters asked Jeffries whether the vote indicated a divide between his position and the direction in which the party was moving on Israel, he replied: “Ask me a serious question, and I will give you a serious answer.”

One Democrat who opposed the amendment acknowledged that the party had no politically advantageous position on the issue.

“There is no way to put an appealing face on what is happening there, and more and more people in our districts are speaking openly about it,” he said. “There is no good political move here.”