Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-RI) announced on Friday that he is co-sponsoring a bill, pushed by far-left House members, to place strict restrictions on U.S. weapons sales to Israel, which critics have described as an effective arms embargo on the Jewish state.

The move comes as a surprise from the relatively moderate Magaziner, who has maintained a largely pro-Israel record during his time in office and has not joined in previous prominent calls to suspend weapons shipments to Israel. Though he does not practice Judaism and comes from a mixed-faith background, Magaziner has spoken often about his Jewish heritage and is a member of the House Jewish caucus.

“I have taken this action to do my part to pressure Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu to implement a ceasefire in Gaza, allow significantly increased humanitarian aid into Gaza, and to stop the expansion of settlements in the West Bank,” Magziner said in a statement. “This was not a decision I arrived at lightly. As a person of Jewish heritage, I strongly support the existence of Israel as an independent state and a refuge where Jews from around the world can live in safety.”

But, he continued, “we are well past the point where a continuation of the war in Gaza serves the best interests of Israelis, Palestinians or Americans and the United States must exert pressure on Netanyahu to change course.”

He argued that the continued war puts Israelis at risk by undermining global support for Israel.

He emphasized in the statement that Hamas, “a bloodthirst terrorist organization” started the war and continues to hold hostages and said that Israel “has a right to defend itself from attacks like the horrific atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7, 2023, and I remain sickened by the rise of antisemitism in our country and globally in recent years, including at times in the anti-war movement.”

“The acts of terror committed by Hamas are horrific. But injustice does not justify injustice, and the prolonged suffering of civilians in Gaza must end,” Magaziner said.

Though he backed additional aid to Israel last year, he said that the situation now is different, given Israel’s military successes against Hamas, Iran and Hezbollah and the “crisis [level]” humanitarian situation in Gaza and killing of Palestinians in the West Bank.

“Netanyahu has presented no plan for achieving peace and appears to believe that the United States will comply with his every whim. It is time to try something different,” Magaziner said. 

“I will continue to support defensive systems like Iron Dome that protect civilians, as well as targeted actions to remove what remains of Hamas, but I will not support providing the Netanyahu government with additional offensive weaponry until food and medicine are surged into Gaza, Netanyahu presents a workable proposal to end the war that ensures the safety and dignity for both Israelis and Palestinians, independent journalists are permitted to report from Gaza, and rule of law is enforced impartially in the West Bank,” the Rhode Island congressman continued.

He said that Israeli military actions have endangered and killed civilians “at an unacceptable rate” and said Israel caused “mass suffering” by blocking humanitarian aid. And he said that Israeli claims that Hamas is exaggerating the death toll and extent of the famine are “impossible to verify” when Israel will not allow independent journalists into Gaza.

He also criticized discussions among right-wing Israeli leaders about annexing the West Bank and Gaza and expelling Palestinians, the latter of which has also been suggested by the Trump administration.

Though it stands no chance of passing in the current Congress, the “Block the Bombs Act” that Magaziner is cosponsoring would impose unprecedented new conditions on weapons sales or transfers to Israel, requiring specific congressional authorization for each individual transfer of various weapons systems, and would require Congress to identify specific purposes for which those weapons would be used.

It would apply indefinitely and in perpetuity, beyond the end of the current conflict in Gaza.

Not including Magaziner, the bill currently has 42 Democratic cosponsors, most of them progressives with records far less supportive of Israel than Magaziner’s, including Jewish Reps. Becca Balint (D-VT), Sara Jacobs (D-CA), Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR). 

Magaziner does not currently face any declared primary challengers.

When Democratic National Committee members gather in Minneapolis later this month for the party’s summer meeting, they’ll consider two Israel-related resolutions — a more balanced one, which has the backing of party chair Ken Martin, and an anti-Israel measure that calls for an arms embargo and a suspension of U.S. military aid to Israel. 

Sources within the DNC say they don’t expect the anti-Israel resolution, which was authored by a committee member from Florida, to pass. But the fact that it will be considered by the body has unnerved Jewish Democrats, who are working behind the scenes to promote the more balanced resolution. That one calls for an “immediate ceasefire and the unconditional release of all hostages, living and deceased, held by Hamas.” It also reiterates Democratic Party support for a two-state solution. (The text of the two resolutions was first reported by Semafor.)

The Martin-backed resolution is co-sponsored by the DNC’s entire leadership, including DNC associate chair Stuart Appelbaum, the president of the Jewish Labor Committee, according to a copy of the resolution obtained by Jewish Insider. Both measures will first be voted on by the DNC’s Resolutions Committee.  

“It sends a strong signal that the chair himself has chosen to sponsor and lead the resolution that clearly condemns the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel, affirms Democrats’ commitment to bringing home the hostages and addresses the need for humanitarian aid in Gaza,” Jewish Democratic Council of America CEO Halie Soifer told JI on Wednesday. “We are hopeful the DNC Resolutions Committee will reject the arms embargo resolution and reaffirm its support of a two-state solution and a release of the hostages.”

A DNC spokesperson declined to comment on the specific measures. “Any DNC member can submit resolutions for fellow members to consider,” the spokesperson told JI, noting that “submitted resolutions might not necessarily represent the views of the entire DNC.” 

The anti-Israel resolution was submitted first; the competing resolution came later, as an attempt to reiterate the positions adopted in the Democratic Party platform at the convention in Chicago last year. The platform stated that former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris were committed to “Israel’s security, its qualitative military edge [and] its right to defend itself.” The measure being advanced by Martin and his allies leading the DNC strongly condemns the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, and it takes aim at both Hamas militants and “far-right ministers in the government of Israel.” 

JDCA and Democratic Majority for Israel have both been part of conversations with DNC officials to offer suggestions on the Martin-backed resolution. 

DMFI CEO Brian Romick said in a statement that the group is “deeply troubled by the introduction of a flawed, irresponsible” anti-Israel resolution  “that will further sow division within our party and do nothing to help bring an end to the Israel-Hamas.” 

Other left-leaning Jewish groups, like Zioness, offered feedback as well and called on Democrats to reject the anti-Israel resolution, which did not mention Hamas or the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks. 

“DNC members should vote against this attempt to reopen and rewrite the party platform that was adopted with overwhelming enthusiasm at the convention less than one year ago,” Zioness CEO Amanda Berman told JI. “Americans want to see Democrats fighting for housing, healthcare, education, economic opportunity and democracy, not fighting about support of our democratic allies abroad.” 

The intra-party fight comes soon after Martin faced criticism from some Jewish leaders for an interview in which Martin fumbled a question about New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s refusal to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada.” 

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein criticized the resolutions passed by the state’s Democratic Party last month targeting Israel, urging party leaders on Monday to instead prioritize efforts that tackle the problems “we’re facing here in North Carolina.”

One of the adopted resolutions calls for an arms embargo on Israel and accuses the Jewish state of apartheid and genocide, while another draws an equivalence between Hamas and Israel, claiming that both have committed “terrorism” and taken “hostages.” Another resolution calls on the U.S. to exert influence to remove certain Israeli officials from power. 

Stein, a Democrat and the state’s first Jewish governor, told Jewish Insider in a statement on Monday that he was not in support of the measures, all of which were approved by the North Carolina Democratic Party’s State Executive Committee in late June. 

“I disagree with the party’s anti-Israel resolutions and believe that our state party should focus on issues we’re facing here in North Carolina like the high cost of living, harmful cuts to people’s health care, and rising levels of antisemitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of hate. What’s happening in Gaza is devastating. Israel must allow in food and humanitarian supplies; Hamas must free the hostages; and they must work to achieve a just and lasting peace,” Stein told JI. 

The resolutions have faced pushback from other Jewish leaders in the Tar Heel State, including former Rep. Kathy Manning (D-NC), who now chairs the board of Democratic Majority for Israel, and former Gov. Roy Cooper, who announced his bid on Monday for retiring Sen. Thom Tillis’ (R-NC) Senate seat. 

Cooper similarly called for Israel to ensure enough humanitarian assistance is allowed into Gaza to support Palestinians on the ground in his statement on the measures, which was provided to JI on Monday. 

“I don’t agree with the party resolution, and Israel is an important ally. Israel needs to take seriously the job of getting humanitarian aid into Gaza right now. The hostages must be returned and I continue to pray for a swift end to this war and a meaningful peace in the region,” Cooper told JI. 

The resolutions have also highlighted tensions between Jewish Democrats in the state and the NCDP, which voted against recognizing the NCDP Jewish Caucus in 2023 and has been beset by intra-party fights over Israel in its state policy platform. 

The NCDP Jewish Caucus said in a statement at the time that it had been trying to work “in good faith with party leaders to promote a balanced, inclusive approach to complex international issues” but that “those efforts have been met with resistance throughout the party’s resolutions process.”

The State Executive Committee of the North Carolina Democratic Party passed a resolution last weekend calling for an arms embargo on Israel, along with a series of other anti-Israel resolutions, moves that Republicans are already planning to use against statewide candidates as a sign of the party’s leftward drift.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee has already seized upon the resolutions as a political weapon against current and potential Democratic Senate candidates — including the race for the battleground seat of retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) — with pro-Israel voters.

“North Carolina Democrats like Roy Cooper, Jeff Jackson [and] Wiley Nickel are responsible for their Party’s unapologetic appeasement of pro-Hamas radicals,” NRSC spokesperson Joanna Rodriguez said in a statement, targeting the state’s former governor and former lawmakers, all moderates, with the same broad brush for not speaking out against the state party’s anti-Israel activity. 

“Anyone that supports Israel’s right to exist and defend itself must do whatever they can to make sure no North Carolina Democrat is elected to the U.S. Senate in 2026.”

The most prominent Democrats in the state have, thus far, been silent. Gov. Josh Stein; Cooper, the former governor and a likely Senate candidate; Nickel, a former congressman and current Senate candidate; and Jackson, the attorney general and a former congressman all did not respond to requests for comment.

The decision by the North Carolina Democratic Party’s leadership is another blow to the party’s Jewish Caucus — which faced internal opposition as it was forming — who argue that the resolutions are needlessly divisive and distract from what should be the core goal of the party: electing Democrats.

“The Jewish Caucus position is that we need to concentrate on getting a lot more Democrats elected, and we need to change the balance of things in the [North Carolina] House,” Perry Dror, North Carolina Democratic Party Jewish Caucus’ 2nd vice president, told Jewish Insider ahead of the weekend meeting. “It’s not going to do a thing to change the situation in the Middle East, it’s just going to divide the party and give all kinds of cannon fodder for the Republicans.”

The North Carolina Democratic Party also did not respond to a request for comment.

A source familiar with the proceedings at the State Executive Committee (SEC) meeting said that the final vote on the embargo resolution was close — a single-digit margin of victory out of hundreds of votes. Some members who had planned to vote against the resolutions were absent.

There was insufficient time for the committee to consider a series of other Israel-related resolutions, including a “Resolution for Democratic Unity,” which “condemns any and all acts of terrorism perpetrated Israel or Hamas” and “calls for the immediate release of Palestinian hostages taken by Israel,” in addition to the hostages being held by Hamas. Per meeting rules, since they were not considered, the resolutions were deemed to have been approved.

“A group of extremely vocal progressives were more interested in their issue, their singular issue, than they were with fighting for things that North Carolinians really are interested in, like what’s going to happen to Medicare and Medicaid, the price of housing, women’s reproductive rights,” Lisa Jewel, the president of the Jewish Caucus, told JI.

Jewel emphasized that the Jewish Caucus’ membership, totaling more than 500, is broad and is not in complete agreement on all issues pertaining to Israel, but the members largely agree that these resolutions will be harmful to the party. She said the Jewish Caucus has tried to work constructively with other groups pushing anti-Israel stances but has been rebuffed, and said party leadership needs to step up and take charge.

Jewel and other Jewish Caucus leaders emphasized that they want to see the party adopt a big-tent approach and focus on practical issues that affect North Carolina and local Democrats’ electoral prospects.

“I just need people to understand that antisemitism in North Carolina is double what it is nationwide. The antisemitic incidents are increasing, and they don’t get that. They don’t understand that their vote … is really affecting us,” Jewel said. “I really appreciate young peoples’ passions, but they don’t always think about what the repercussions are.”

Jewel attributed the issues in part to a lack of leadership from the party’s leaders, whom she said in an interview on Friday had seemed “flustered” by Israel and Middle East issues and took a back seat when they came up, rather than trying to bring party members together.

Caucus leaders said that the push for the anti-Israel resolutions had been growing for several years, and came to a head this year.

Resolutions like these are generated by local precincts and are passed up to the county, then congressional district, then state level, to the Resolutions Committee. The committee had a backlog of hundreds of resolutions to work through from both the current and previous year, which Amy DeLoach, the first vice president of the Jewish Caucus and a member of the Resolutions Committee, told JI before the weekend votes.

“It was literally an unachievable task,” DeLoach said. She said the Resolutions Committee chairs “did the best they could” but were facing “a group that were very persistent” in pressing to prioritize moving the Israel-related resolutions ahead to the full state party, rather than taking additional time to go through normal procedures and allow for further review.

DeLoach said she’s seen firsthand, as a state House candidate, the way that party resolutions can hurt Democratic candidates, blaming her own loss on Republicans tying her to a Progressive Caucus push to legalize drugs.

“These resolutions are nothing but a way to hamper the candidates, and the Jewish Caucus wants to do things that are going to push the Democratic Party forward,” DeLoach said.

Dror said that progressives, members of the Interfaith Caucus, as well as some members of the Muslim and Arab caucuses, “just nonstop harp on Israel.”

The chair of the party’s Interfaith Caucus, days after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, defended the attack as “retaliation” for a supposed growth in Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount.