Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) is set to assume the top Democratic spot on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in the new year, just weeks after voting in favor of three resolutions that sought to block certain shipments of military aid to Israel.

Those votes are likely to put her at odds with many in the pro-Israel community as she assumes the key role, taking over a position recently held by vocal supporters of Israel, most recently retiring Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD).

The role will give Shaheen influence over policies that can pass through the traditionally bipartisan committee, as well as elevate her voice within the Democratic Caucus on foreign policy issues.

“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,” Shaheen said in a statement after the aid votes.

She also said that “Israel has the right to defend itself from all unprovoked and brutal terrorist attacks” but she has concerns 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 told Semafor that her votes were an expression of anger with the conflict in the Middle East, describing the Biden administration as “too slow in pushing [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu to come to a ceasefire” and accusing Israel of obstructing humanitarian aid.

Shaheen, 77, is up for reelection in 2026 in what’s set to be a competitive general election. She hasn’t yet announced whether she’ll run for another term.

“We’ll see how it goes,” she told Semafor, when asked about how the Foreign Relations slot will play into her decision on whether to seek reelection. “Is there an opportunity to move things forward in a positive way, to help address the concerns that I see that we have around the world in terms of humanitarian issues?”

James Pindell, a reporter and political analyst for the Boston Globe who has followed Shaheen’s career for years, said that no one in the state knows clearly what her plans are, but said that she’s viewed as more likely than not to run again, adding that an announcement about her future plans could be months away.

He noted that Shaheen may be reluctant to retire when she may have the opportunity in her next term to become the first-ever female chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, should Democrats regain control of the Senate.

Michael Graham, a conservative commentator and editor of NH Journal, said that there’s disagreement over whether Shaheen will run again, although many well-informed people in the state believe she will. He added that he thinks her votes against Israel aid are a signal that she will run for reelection.

“I don’t think you cast the vote about Israel if you’re not running again, why pick that fight?” Graham said. He framed her vote as a way to fend off a primary challenge from the left, adding that she has little to worry about in a general election, given New Hampshire Republicans’ poor track record in federal races.

But Pindell said that while Shaheen is not a progressive favorite, the left in New Hampshire has not performed well electorally, and he doesn’t expect her to face any serious primary challenge — regardless of her votes on the Sanders resolutions.

He viewed her anti-Israel votes partly as a way for the senator to maintain the support of progressive Democrats, should she have the opportunity to become the Foreign Relations Committee chair, and to fend off a challenge to her spot as ranking member.

He also said Shaheen is more willing to buck President Joe Biden since he backed the move to eliminate New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary status for Democrats.

Graham additionally noted that Shaheen’s vote is consistent with her long-running record on Middle East policy issues — “that’s just where she is.”

Cardin, the outgoing chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, told Jewish Insider on Thursday that he’s not concerned about the Democratic Party’s direction on Israel.

Addressing a question on Shaheen and the other Democrats who supported the resolutions blocking aid, Cardin insisted that there’s “strong bipartisan support for recognizing the special relationship between Israel and the United States.”

“I don’t think there’s any significant opposition to the notion that the United States has to stand with Israel so that Israel can defend itself in a very dangerous part of the world, and I think there’s almost universal understanding that Israel has been singled out by the international community,” Cardin said. “I’m not concerned about the support of Democratic Caucus. I think support is there for Israel.”

Cardin argued that the votes showed “frustration” with Israel and said the votes were “the wrong way to express it, and I made that very clear on the floor of the Senate, but I don’t see a division in our caucus on the support for Israel.” He said that having frustrations with a particular Israeli government does not mean one does not support Israel or the U.S.-Israel relationship.

He said, however, that he’d like to see more focus on isolating Hamas and Iran, bringing together regional allies and finding a path to peace. And he said that the “growing sentiment of frustration” with Israel “feeds into groups that are led by those that would really like to see Israel’s destruction, which we don’t want to give credibility to.”

One pro-Israel strategist told JI that they were “somewhat surprised and disappointed” by Shaheen’s votes, “but I think the onus is on us and our community to explain to her more clearly what’s going on and why that was a bad vote.”

The strategist continued that “when one looks at her whole record over many years, her statements or votes have been pro-Israel, and I think she’s gotten support from the pro-Israel community, pretty extensive support. So I think we’d have to see whether this is a new direction or just a temporary aberration.”

The strategist acknowledged, however, that some elements of her recent record, “are a little bit surprising and certainly of concern. There’s no question about that.”

They said it remains to be seen what Shaheen’s record atop the Foreign Relations Committee will entail and whether her positions have “changed materially or not.”

AIPAC spokesperson Marshall Wittmann said AIPAC looks forward to working with Shaheen and the other members on the committee to support the U.S.-Israel relationship.

“This is a critical moment for the region, and it is imperative that Israel has the necessary resources to combat aggression from Iran and its terrorist proxies,” Wittmann said.

Shaheen’s record contains a series of other positions that could raise red flags, beyond her votes on the resolutions sponsored by Sanders, especially since Oct. 7.

The New Hampshire senator has expressed support for sanctions on Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, whom lawmakers accused of inciting and supporting settler violence in the West Bank.

In March, she urged the administration to lay out a plan to recognize a Palestinian state under a reformed Palestinian Authority. U.S. policy has historically held that the U.S. should only recognize, or offer the prospect of recognition, of a Palestinian state as the result of direct bilateral talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

She joined an effort early in the war in Gaza to block the administration from using waivers to sidestep the congressional review process to accelerate arms sales to Israel.

At the same time, Shaheen also condemned the International Criminal Court’s moves against Israel, joining a statement saying that the ICC prosecutor’s decision to request arrest warrants jeopardized negotiations and that lawmakers would take steps to protect Israeli personnel from the ICC.

She led a bipartisan resolution condemning Hamas for using sexual violence as a weapon of war during the Oct. 7 attack, and signed a letter calling for the U.S. to do everything possible to rescue the American hostages held in Gaza.

And she appeared to express a degree of support for Israel’s pager attack against Hezbollah, describing Hezbollah as horrific and saying the attack “may put them off balance in a way that hopefully will make them think about being able to reach some agreement to address what have been chronic issues with Lebanon.”

This week, Shaheen called the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad “good news for the Syrian people” but said that it “remains to be seen” what governance and the country’s trajectory will entail going forward. Prior to Assad’s fall, she told Semafor that she did not support further U.S. involvement in Syria.

On Wednesday, Shaheen received strong support at a luncheon on Capitol Hill hosted by the Organization of Iranian American Communities. She said that “we want to see Iran be next,” presumably referring to the fall of the Iranian regime, adding that the regime looks weak in the region right now.

“Iran has been dealt a significant blow. The leadership in the country is on their back feet,” Shaheen continued. “The events in Syria demonstrate the fundamental weakness at the core of Iran’s regional strategic policies.”

She said the U.S. needs to consider ways to support the Iranian people’s rights to self-governance and human rights.

Prior to Oct. 7, Shaheen voted against anti-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions legislation;  opposed moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusaelm; supported the Iran nuclear deal; raised questions about Israel’s entry into the Visa Waiver Program; was skeptical of the Taylor Force Act (though she ultimately voted for it); called for more U.S. involvement in investigating the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh; urged the administration to block evictions of Palestinians in the West Bank; and warned Israel that unilateral annexation of the West Bank would endanger Israeli security and democracy.

She also joined a letter expressing skepticism of a proposed U.S.-Saudi Arabia defense treaty as part of a Saudi-Israel normalization deal and demanded significant protections for the Palestinians as part of any such deal and strict conditions on nuclear cooperation with Riyadh.

But Shaheen was also a lead sponsor of a 2017 bill placing stronger sanctions on Hezbollah and other measures to counter the terrorist group, and joined efforts urging stronger sanctions on Iran.