An injured Palestinian is helped from the rubble after a 2008 Israeli missile strike. Hatem Omar/AP
ACTION ALERT:
Help Block US Weapons Bound for Israeli
Win Without War
(October 17, 2024) — The Israeli military has recently dropped bombs on targets across Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, Syria, and beyond. Hundreds of people have been killed, thousands injured, and over one million were displaced in the past few weeks alone.
For over a year now, the Netanyahu government has used US weapons to push an entire region to the brink of a devastating, all-out war while failing to bring home the hostages. Bombs like Boeing’s Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs), Lockheed Martin-made F-35 fighter jets, and General Dynamics’ 2,000-lb “bunker busters”. If the cycle deepens, millions more lives will be at risk.
Despite this looming threat and the incomprehensible levels of human suffering we’ve seen so far, the Biden administration is moving forward with new massive sales of offensive weapons, including some of the very weapons the IDF is already using to devastate communities across the region.
That’s why what’s happening right now is crucial:
Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR), have filed multiple joint resolutions of disapproval (JRDs) that together, would BLOCK $20 billion worth of weapons currently bound for the Israeli government.
Sen. Sanders attempted to block US arms to Israel in 2021.
It’s all coming to a head in just a few weeks. That means our work to build the kind of grassroots power to send every senator a signal to support this legislation is gearing up. Thousands of people are speaking out. Will you join them today?
For months, people across the country and indeed around the world have been pleading for the Biden administration to take a desperately needed step toward ending the horrific war in Gaza: Enforce US human rights laws governing offensive weapons transfers, withholding them until PM Netanyahu and the Israeli government move to secure a ceasefire-and-hostage-release deal that protects Palestinians, reunites Israelis with their loved ones, and ends the slide towards a regional war.
These JRDs allow Congress to uphold US law and apply the leverage necessary to bring more than a horrific year of violence to a close.
Here’s how it works: Under the Arms Export Control Act (AECA), Congress has the authority to review and block weapons sales like this after the State Department has officially notified them of the sale. It’s a key legislative tool Congress has to ensure that US weapons transfers don’t violate US law — and we desperately need them to use it.
The good news? We’re already seeing senators like Tim Kaine (D-VA), express their support. It’s a sign we’re gaining crucially needed momentum, but we need to go further by mobilizing tens of thousands of grassroots activists to push lawmakers to sustain and build on this support.
Thank you for working for peace,
The Win Without War team
