Published On 4/29/2026
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Last update: 03:26 (Mecca time)
US Senator Bernie Sanders said that there is a major shift within the Democratic bloc in the Senate regarding US military aid to Israel, against the backdrop of a clear change in the democratic mood with the expansion of Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Iran, and the increasing popular anger within America.
In an exclusive interview with Politico, Sanders said that the most prominent evidence of this transformation is the significant increase in the number of Democratic senators who supported his decisions to obstruct arms deals to Israel.
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In April 2025, when he first presented an initiative to stop a US arms deal to Israel, only 14 Democrats joined him. In April 2026, 39 other members of the Democratic Bloc voted with him against a new deal, which the magazine considered a major political shift that drew attention from America to Israel.
Message to Netanyahu
Although Republicans and a limited number of pro-Israel Democrats are still able to pass arms shipments to Israel, Sanders’ allies believe that growing support for opposition to these deals sends a clear message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel can no longer rely on unconditional American support for all of its military operations.
Sanders asserts that he did not need to exert significant pressure behind the scenes, because the issue, in his opinion, has become clear to everyone. He says that when senators return to their states and hold popular meetings, they hear voters asking, “Why are you spending our money on providing military aid to Israel?”
He also stressed that the opposition is no longer limited to Democrats only, but has expanded across the entire American political spectrum. He said that opinion polls indicate that “the majority of the American people, including both independents and Republicans, now believe that we should not provide military aid to Israel.”
The pro-Israel lobby
At the same time, Sanders acknowledged the difficulty of countering the influence of the pro-Israel lobby, especially the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). He said that the organization has spent tens of millions of dollars on campaign donations, and has enormous influence in Washington, which makes it difficult for many Democrats to oppose it.
Sanders strongly rejected accusations linking criticism of the Netanyahu government to anti-Semitism, stressing that anti-Semitism is an “absolutely disgusting ideology,” but stressed that opposition to the “racist and extremist policies” of the Netanyahu government is not anti-Jewish, but rather a legitimate political position.
Sanders confirmed that he will continue his efforts in the Senate, and that he expects the circle of support to expand in the future, and even “major divisions within the Republican Party,” which means that the American debate about arming Israel is still in its infancy.
