5 Laws and Standards That Require the US Cut Off Weapons to Israel
A new memo circulating on Capitol Hill details why the US is obligated to cut weapons to Israel – even if Israel wants to buy them with its own money.
A memo is circulating in Congress detailing five laws and international standards that obligate the United States to stop sending or selling weapons to Israel.
Sent by the Institute for Middle East Understanding Policy Project, the memo has been distributed to offices across Capitol Hill. A source familiar with the effort says the memo was sent to every Democratic office in Congress.
The memo comes after 40 senators voted to block some arms sales to Israel in mid-April – a record number. Still, the entire Republican Party and a handful of Democrats prevented Congress from fulfilling its legal obligations and blocking some weapons transfers to Israel in response to its genocide in Gaza, and its ramped-up violence in the West Bank, Lebanon, and Iran.
One of the votes – which ultimately failed to pass – was simply to block the sale of bulldozers to Israel. The Israeli government has used these bulldozers to demolish homes in the West Bank, as it seeks to illegally expand there and steal even more land. Israeli soldiers also used a bulldozer to kill 23-year-old American peace activist Rachel Corrie in 2003, as she stood against such demolitions.
The high mark of support to block arms transfers to Israel underscores how drastically public support for Israel has cratered, particularly among rank-and-file Democrats, but also among independents and even some Republicans. With that collapse, public pressure is at an all-time high for Congress to follow the law and stop using US tax dollars to aid Israel’s violence.
Accordingly, an upsurge of politicians and organizations is shifting on the issue of arming Israel. Everyone from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, to likely 2028 candidate Rahm Emanuel, to pro-Israel and pro-peace organization J Street has come out in opposition to US aid to Israel. However, the new rising consensus still leaves open the opportunity for Israel to buy US weapons with its own money. While cutting aid to Israel may be a radical shift from the status quo, it still falls short of fully blocking all weapon transfers to Israel.
Here, as per the memo, are five laws and standards obligating Congress to do so: