A total of 19 Senate Democrats voted to advance some or all of a series of three resolutions led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) seeking to block transfers of several types of weaponry to Israel.

The resolutions were never expected to pass, but the results reflect growing Democratic opposition to and division over U.S. support for Israel a year after Oct. 7, prior to which such a result would have been nearly unimaginable. 

It will likely cause concern in the pro-Israel world about the future ideological direction of the Democratic party, though a handful of lawmakers who’d been vocally critical of Israel’s operations ultimately voted against the measures.

The Biden White House, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and various mainstream Jewish groups strongly opposed the resolutions, while J Street and other left-wing Jewish groups supported them.

The three resolutions pertained to transfers of tank rounds, mortar shells and guidance kits for bombs, known as joint direct attack munitions or JDAMs. None of the transfers are set to arrive in Israel for at least a year, meaning they would have no impact on Israel’s current stockpiles. 

Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Angus King (I-ME), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Rafael Warnock (D-GA) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) voted in favor of all three resolutions.

Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) voted in favor of two, regarding the tank rounds and mortar shells, but against the JDAMs resolution. Appointed Sen. George Helmy (D-NJ) voted in favor of the resolution on the mortar shells, but against the other two.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), who just won a close re-election contest, voted present on all three.

Shaheen’s vote will likely be particularly concerning to supporters of Israel given that she’s set to become the Democratic ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in January, and would become the chair next time Democrats regain the Senate majority. 

“For months I have expressed my concern about the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and continued to push for a ceasefire that ends the human suffering and brings home the remaining hostages,” Shaheen said in a statement. “While I will continue to support Israel’s ability to defend itself from terrorist attacks, I voted in favor of the Joint Resolutions today because I believe the Netanyahu government needs to change course on the conduct of the war in Gaza.”

Durbin is the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate and also chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, making his vote similarly noteworthy.

“This war must end,” Durbin said in a statement after the vote. “Israel’s strategy of deadly attacks on and near civilian populations must end as well. The United States should not be sending arms and ammunition that continue to take the lives of innocent people. It is time for real humanitarian aid to reach the Palestinian people. I will stand by Israel, but I will not support the devastation of Gaza and the deaths of thousands of innocent Palestinians.”

Prior to the vote, one senator told JI that Democrats had argued behind closed doors against calling a vote on the JDAMs resolution, given how the kits allow for more precisely targeted strikes.

“This one I really don’t understand,” Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), who is retiring, said before the votes. “It’s counterproductive to the safety of the communities. I don’t understand why we would want to prevent Israel from having the technology to have precision use of its munitions.”

Before the vote, Schumer said he “strongly oppose[d]” the resolutions, warning that Israel will need the weapons to defend itself against threats that will persist far beyond the current conflict and that the resolutions are “the wrong way and the wrong strategy” to express concerns about Israel’s government.

“It has been a cornerstone of American policy to give Israel the resources it needs to defend against its enemies. We should not stray from that policy today,” Schumer said. “Many of the arm sales in question today will not reach Israel until years from now. We have no idea what kind of threats Israel will face by then… Israel will need to be fully prepared to face those threats, so voting to block assistance today could very well embolden Hamas and Hezbollah and Iran and endanger Israel’s security into the future.”

He noted his own past criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the humanitarian situation in Gaza, but said that the U.S.-Israel security relationship “transcends any one prime minister or any one government.”

“There are ways to express criticism – and to work on addressing these criticisms – without impacting Israel’s security, “Schumer said.

Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) warned that the resolutions “would embolden Iran” and its proxies and thereby “could prolong this war even further, at a time when we are close to securing a deal in Lebanon.”

She also argued that Israel needs not just missile defense systems but offensive weaponry to properly protect its citizens. 

“It also needs to have the ability to destroy enemy threats before they can be deployed, and to respond to attacks that have already been launched,” Rosen said, highlighting recent operations against Hezbollah launch sites in Lebanon. “And by providing Israel with these weapons, which are more precise and more accurate, we can actually help it defend itself while also minimizing civilian casualties.”

Cardin also highlighted that Hamas is making humanitarian aid access more difficult and is purposely trying to increase civilian casualties.

All GOP senators that were present on Wednesday voted against the measures. Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), who will become the No. 2 Senate Republican in January and currently chairs the Senate GOP conference, excoriated Democrats over the vote after the resolutions failed.

“On their way out the door, Lame Duck Democrats attempted to cut off critical aid to Israel. Senate Republicans stopped them,” Barrasso said in a statement. “America’s friendship with Israel is foundational for peace and security. It should be clear to the world that a Republican Congress will not turn its back on Israel. Not now. Not ever. The new Senate Republican majority will give Israel the support it needs.”

Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, who is still a sitting senator, did not attend any of the votes, despite voting on Biden judicial nominees earlier on Wednesday. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), the nominee for secretary of state, voted against all three anti-Israel resolutions.

Speaking on the Senate floor ahead of the votes, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) urged colleagues to vote down the measures, arguing that abandoning Israel would not lead to peace in the region. 

“We have a historic opportunity here to give Israel what they need to finish the war they can’t afford to lose, come up with a day-after plan that would replace Hamas … try to get Lebanon in a better space and build on the Abraham Accords. This effort by my colleagues undercuts all that,” Graham said. 

“You have every right to say anything you want to say in this body, but I’ve been there a lot and none of you have gone with me,” he continued. “Making peace is hard. We haven’t done this together. I’ve been with Sen. Van Hollen to Israel. I’ve been with Sen. Van Hollen before in the region. I think he wants to help the Palestinians and I don’t think he’s antisemitic. I just think there’s an opportunity here [for regional peace and normalization]. It’s not about Bibi, folks, it’s about a strain of Islam that will kill every Jew, including Bibi, and come after us, unless they’re defeated.”

Two of the 11 senators who voted for a previous measure by Sanders in January that could have resulted in a halt in aid to Israel ultimately voted against his resolutions this time — Sens. Laphonza Butler (D-CA) and Rand Paul (R-KY).

AIPAC framed the votes as a victory, saying in a statement, “the majority of Senate Democrats and Senate Republicans again demonstrated profound American support for our ally and rejected the dangerous efforts by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and his allies to weaken Israel and undermine the U.S.-Israel relationship.”

But J Street president Jeremy Ben Ami, who supported the Sanders resolutions, also claimed victory.

“This vote marks a milestone in the ongoing evolution of the U.S.-Israel relationship. This debate and vote signify another step toward a relationship in which the US can hold Israel accountable for its actions and its use of the weapons we provide,” Ben Ami said.  “What the large number of supporting votes does indicate is growing concern over the direction that the far-right government of Israel is leading the country.”

Democratic Majority For Israel, which was lobbying against the resolutions, framed the nearly 20 no votes — who constituted around 37% of Senate Democrats — as unrepresentative of the party as a whole.

“Democrats reaffirmed, once again, that the majority of our party stands firmly with the Israeli people and supports Israel’s security, especially in this critical time,” DMFI President Mark Mellman said. “While a few vocal anti-Israel voices in our party often get outsized attention, the majority of Senate Democrats remain steadfast in support of Israel’s sovereignty and right to self-defense.”

The Jewish Democratic Council of America also emphasized that a majority of Senate Democrats opposed the resolutions.

Meanwhile, the Republican Jewish Coalition called the vote “a dangerous new low for anti-Israel democrats in the Senate,” while highlighting that JDCA had endorsed many of those who voted against the resolutions and J Street endorsed nearly all of them.

Dov Wilker, the regional director of the American Jewish Committee in Atlanta, told Jewish Insider that “to use the word ‘disappointment’ would be an understatement,” when asked about Ossoff and Warnock’s votes.

“I don’t see how this advances any of the goals that the senators have.  It doesn’t return the displaced citizens to the north and to the south [of Israel]. It doesn’t help bring the hostages home. It doesn’t protect Israeli civilians or Palestinian civilians,” Wilker told JI. “This is a statement that sort of emboldens Iran and its proxies, and it’s a sad day for those who support Israel.”

He said that, though Ossoff and Warnock have been critical of Israel’s operations over the last year, the votes still came as a “shock” and said that “this has likely strained [their] relationship[s]” with the Jewish community going forward.

Ossoff is up for re-election in 2026 in the swing state, where he narrowly won election by around 50,000 votes in 2020. The Atlanta area has a sizable Jewish community.

Jeremy Burton, the CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Boston, highlighted the Biden administration’s vote to veto an unconditional cease-fire resolution at the U.N. alongside Wednesday’s Senate votes, when asked about Markey and Warren’s votes.

“Today the Biden administration sent a strong message to the U.N. about America’s steadfast commitment to bring the hostages home,” Burton told JI. “Nineteen senators sent a different message about the U.S.-Israel relationship. Both are heard.”