Jimmy Williams In a move bypassing the usual congressional approval, the Biden administration has greenlit a second emergency weapons sale to Israel. This decision comes as Israel faces criticism for its actions in the ongoing conflict with Hamas in Gaza. The State Department revealed on Friday that Secretary of State …
Read More »U.S. Vetoes UN Resolution Calling For Immediate Ceasefire In Gaza
Jimmy Williams In a contentious move, the United States vetoed a United Nations (UN) resolution on Friday, backed by a majority of Security Council members, urging an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the ongoing Gaza conflict. The vote was 13-1, with the United Kingdom abstaining, highlighting a growing divide between Washington …
Read More »Divided Over Immigration, Senate Blocks Advancing Aid For Ukraine, Israel
Jennifer Shutt, Georgia Recorder The U.S. Senate failed to move forward Wednesday with a $111 billion spending package that would have bolstered aid to Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and the Southern border amid deep disagreement about immigration policy. The 49-51 procedural vote, which needed at least 60 senators to advance the …
Read More »Border Talks Stuck As Senate Nears Vote On Package For Israel, Ukraine Aid
Ariana Figueroa, Arkansas Advocate The success of the U.S. Senate in passing a $106 billion global security supplemental aid package hinges on a bipartisan agreement about U.S. border security, but any deal was at an impasse Tuesday. “There will not be a national security bill unless and until there is …
Read More »House Progressives Vow to Oppose Spending Bill With Anti-Migrant Policies
Brett Wilkins, Common Dreams The U.S. Congressional Progressive Caucus said Monday that most of its 103 members would oppose an emergency spending package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan that empowers the Republican House majority to undermine protections for asylum-seekers, reinstate Trump-era travel bans, and implement other anti-immigrant policies. “As Congress …
Read More »Congress Is Haggling Over Border Security: Where Does It Stand?
Ariana Figueroa, Georgia Recorder As Congress negotiates the White House’s $106 billion supplemental aid request for Israel, Ukraine and U.S. border security, fights over immigration policy have tied up the request. The White House sent its proposal that includes nearly $14 billion in supplemental border security funding to Congress in late October, but it …
Read More »Democrats Split On Placing Conditions On Military Aid To Israel
Jennifer Shutt, Georgia Recorder Democrats in Congress are divided on whether to set guardrails on additional military aid to Israel as that country responds to the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks with airstrikes and a ground war in Gaza. It’s not yet clear what those conditions would be or how …
Read More »American Girl Held Hostage by Hamas Safely Released
President Joe Biden confirmed on Sunday that four-year-old Abigail Mor Edan, an American girl held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, is now free. President Biden shared the positive development with reporters from Nantucket, where he was spending the Thanksgiving weekend with his family. “Abigail was among 13 hostages released today …
Read More »Progressive Democrats Maintain Call for Cease-fire in Gaza Despite Recent Hostage Agreement
Progressive Democrats are holding firm in their call for an extended cease-fire in Gaza, expressing dissatisfaction with the recent hostage agreement between Israel and Hamas that is set to halt hostilities for four to five days. Despite this diplomatic breakthrough, lawmakers aligned with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party …
Read More »Israel And Hamas Agree To Temporary Cease-fire, Hostage Release Deal
Ashley Murray, Georgia Recorder Israel and Hamas have reached a deal for a short-term humanitarian ceasefire that will allow the release of some hostages and increase humanitarian aid into the besieged Gaza Strip, U.S. officials said late Tuesday. President Joe Biden praised the agreement to release 50 of the approximately …
Read More »First Jewish Member of Congress Backs Cease-Fire
Julia Conley, Common Dreams Progressives in Congress and Jewish advocates for Palestinian rights were among those applauding Thursday as U.S. Rep. Becca Balint became the first Jewish federal lawmaker—and the first representing Vermont—to support a cease-fire in Gaza. Balint (D-Vt.) reversed her earlier position, writing in the VTDigger that the …
Read More »100 US Officials Sign Memo Decrying Biden’s Backing of Israeli ‘War Crimes’ in Gaza
Brett Wilkins, Common Dreams One hundred U.S. foreign service officials have signed a “scathing” internal memo blasting President Joe Biden’s “unwillingness to de-escalate” Israel’s assault on Gaza and his failure to stop Israeli “war crimes and/or crimes against humanity” in the embattled Palestinian enclave. Axios reported Monday that the five-page …
Read More »House Pushes Through Israel-Only Aid Bill With Dim Future In Senate
Jennifer Shutt, Pennsylvania Capital-Star The U.S. House on Thursday approved a $14.3 billion spending bill to aid Israel in its war against Hamas, but the measure stands no chance of passing the Senate and has elicited a veto threat from the White House. The 14-page bill, one of the first …
Read More »Thousands Rally in D.C. Demanding Cease-Fire in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Tens of thousands of people gathered in Washington, D.C., on Saturday afternoon to join a massive demonstration protesting the ongoing Israeli military campaign against Hamas and the bombing of Gaza. They filled the streets, rallying at Freedom Plaza, and in front of the White House, calling for an immediate …
Read More »Dick Durbin Becomes First US Senator to Call for Cease-Fire in Gaza
Jake Johnson, Common Dreams Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin on Thursday became the first U.S. senator to call for a cease-fire in Gaza and Israel, joining the head of the United Nations, human rights organizations, and nearly two dozen House progressives. Durbin (D-Ill.), the number two Senate Democrat, said during a …
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