A star-studded group of Republican and Democratic Senators landed in Israel on Sunday as Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) put it: “Because we care… I came here because I love Israel. I do not hate Palestinians. I hate Hamas.”
The ten Senators who, as the math would have it, comprise 10% of the Senate, also include Susan Collins (R-ME), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Katie Britt (R-AL), Jack Reed (D-RI), Chris Coons (D-DE), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), and John Thune (R-SD).
On October 19, Cardin, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, together with the ranking member Jim Risch (R-Idaho), introduced a bipartisan resolution in support of Israel, which received the backing of 99 Senators. The resolution states that:
- The Senate stands with Israel as it defends itself, including Israeli efforts to diminish the threat posed by Hamas;
- reaffirms Israel’s right to self-defense, and is committed to helping Israel safeguard its people from future aggression;
- calls on all countries to unequivocally condemn Hamas’ war on Israel, including Hamas’ intentional targeting of, and attacks against, civilians;
- demands that Hamas immediately cease its attacks against Israel and safely release all living hostages and return the bodies of deceased hostages;
- condemns Iran’s support for global terrorism, including its support for terrorist groups such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad;
- calls on the United States to lead an international effort, including through sanctions, to deprive Hamas of Iranian and other sources of funding and lethal assistance that the terror group relies on to threaten Israel;
- warns against any other party hostile to Israel taking advantage of the current situation;
- reaffirms the United States’ commitment to Israel’s security, including through security assistance, consistent with the 2016 Memorandum of Understanding Between the United States and Israel;
- and stands ready to assist Israel with emergency resupply or other security, diplomatic, and intelligence support needs, both during the immediate crisis and in the near future, including by accelerating the delivery of defense articles and systems.
The bipartisan delegation came to Israel to reiterate the key points of the above resolution, having met on Saturday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.
I have a simple message:
Israel has nothing to apologize for. They did not cause this.
It was my great honor to join faith leaders in Columbia to discuss the ongoing situation in Israel and our path forward. pic.twitter.com/21khOWv56Q
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) October 17, 2023
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who visited Israel a week ago with another bipartisan delegation, and upon his return, on October 17, told the Senate: “When my colleagues and I traveled to Israel this past weekend, we delivered a simple message to the Jewish people: America will stand with Israel as an unrelenting partner. And I promised that I’ll do everything possible to ensure that the United States Senate provides Israel with the support she needs to defend her people.
“As the highest-ranking Jewish elected official ever in America, as the first Jewish Majority Leader, I will do everything I can to see that that happens, as will so many of my colleagues, Jew and non-Jew alike, Democrat and Republican alike, which we so appreciate.”
This come-to-Moses moment made at least one US lawmaker uneasy: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), a.k.a. AOC. She tweeted: “This is textbook rhetoric of ethnic cleansing that cannot be accepted in any civil society, let alone the United States. It is an affront to humanity to weaponize this horrific trauma to justify the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. It is dangerous and must stop.”
To which Sen. Graham responded: “I’ll tell you what needs to stop, AOC, the brutal killings of innocent children, women, and civilians at the hands of Hamas and Hezbollah. You and the members of your ‘Squad’ should be ashamed of yourselves for refusing to unequivocally stand with our closest ally. I’ll never apologize for Standing with Israel. I wish you could say the same.”
A week ago, Graham told Fox News: “We are in a religious war here, I am with Israel. Whatever the hell you have to do to defend yourselves; level the place.”
And 2024 GOP presidential candidate and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley called on PM Netanyahu to “finish” Hamas.
And Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) declared on social media, caps and all: “Israel must respond DISPROPORTIONATELY to this and any future attacks.”
By the way, even Sen. Bernie Sanders signed Cardin’s resolution, although he later asked that the Israeli bombers do their best to skip over innocent children in the Gaza Strip (or words to that end).
And the only Senator whose name is absent from the resolution is, you guessed it: Rand Paul (R-KY). Paul placed a hold on a foreign aid package for Israel in 2018, and delayed consideration of $1 billion in funding for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system in 2021.
