Hunger crisis in Gaza deepens criticisms of Israel on Capitol Hill
The winds are shifting in congressional attitudes towards Israel.
Traditional bipartisan support is eroding on Capitol Hill as Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza has dragged on and the Palestinian casualties have soared.
The pushback is surfacing in different forms and varying degrees of formality. There have been votes to block U.S. weapons sales and proposals to recognize a Palestinian state. Many lawmakers have issued statements of public condemnation. Others have gone a long step further with accusations of genocide. And unlike debates of the past, some of the harshest rebukes are coming from conservative Republicans who have traditionally been stalwart defenders of Israel’s military exploits.
It remains unclear if the blowback signals a hardened (and therefore durable) philosophical shift in thinking towards U.S.-Israel policy, or if it’s merely a temporary protest of a specific episode that will dissipate when the fighting in Gaza subsides.
But this much is clear: Something is changing on Capitol Hill, and it’s influencing lawmakers in both parties. Some said Congress is simply reflecting shifting sentiments back in their districts.
"There's been an attitudinal change on Capitol Hill because the Israeli government's approval ratings by the people of the United States of America have been sinking. And they continue to sink, not just among Democratic voters but among Republican voters, as well,” Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) said Friday by phone.
“The problem for the Israeli government is that the American people know genocide when they see it.”
Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), one of Israel's most vocal congressional defenders, said there’s........
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