Muslim civil rights group urges public to thank supporters and hold opponents accountable for arming genocide
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today commended the 27 U.S. senators who voted to block offensive arms shipments to the Israeli government and called the vote a “historic sign of progress.”
CAIR also condemned Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and the 68 other senators who voted to continue sending bombs and rifles to fuel genocide, ethnic cleansing, and mass starvation in Gaza and the West Bank.
📣 TAKE ACTION: CLICK HERE TO THANK THE 27 SENATORS — AND HOLD OTHERS ACCOUNTABLE
The two Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRDs), introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), sought to block:
- S.J.Res.34 – A $675.7 million weapons sale that includes 1,000-pound MK 83 bombs and over 5,000 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) guidance kits, munitions used to level homes, hospitals, and refugee shelters in Gaza.
- S.J.Res.41 – A shipment of fully automatic assault rifles destined for Israeli forces and police, including those under the command of extremist Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, fueling settler violence and ethnic cleansing in the occupied West Bank.
In a statement, CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert S. McCaw said:
“We commend the 27 senators who voted to uphold American and international law by blocking offensive arms sales to a foreign government that is actively starving and slaughtering men, women and children on a daily basis.
“Although last night’s Senate vote should have been 100–0 in favor of these resolutions, the fact that a majority of Senate Democrats voted yes is a historic moment and a sign that sentiments in Congress are gradually catching up to the American people, most of whom now oppose the Israeli government’s genocide in Gaza and support restricting military aid to Israel.
“Senate Minority Leader Schumer, Senate Majority Leader Thune, and the 68 other senators who voted to keep arming Benjamin Netanyahu’s genocidal government should be ashamed of themselves. It is unfathomable that any member of Congress with a conscience could vote to send bombs and rifles to Israel after seeing images of its victims: starving children reduced to skin and bones, families burned alive in their tents, hundreds shot dead while seeking food, and even Americans gunned down by Israeli settlers.”
This vote was the first time a majority of the Senate Democratic Caucus supported stopping offensive arms transfers to Israel, signaling a major shift in congressional sentiment that mirrors the will of the American public.
CAIR encourages all Americans to contact their senators — to thank the 27 who voted yes and to hold the rest accountable for supporting an apartheid regime and its campaign of extermination.
The following 27 Senators voted YES to stop arming genocide: Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).
Did Not Vote (3 Senators): Gallego (D-AZ), Kelly (D-AZ), Slotkin (D-MI).
The following 17 Democratic Senators voted NO, choosing to continue arming an apartheid regime: Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), John Fetterman (D-PA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
The following 53 Republican Senators also voted NO, choosing to continue arming an apartheid regime: Jim Banks (R-IN), John Barrasso (R-WY), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), John Boozman (R-AR); Katie Britt (R-AL), Ted Budd (R-NC), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Susan Collins (R-ME), John Cornyn (R-TX), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Ted Cruz (R-TX), John Curtis (R-UT), Steve Daines (R-MT), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Josh Hawley (R-MO), John Hoeven (R-ND), Jon Husted (R-OH), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Jim Justice (R-WV), John Kennedy (R-LA), James Lankford (R-OK), Mike Lee (R-UT), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Rich McCormick (R-PA), Shley Moody (R-FL), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Bernie Moreno (R-OH), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Rand Paul (R-KY), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Jim Risch (R-ID), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Rick Scott (R-FL), Tim Scott (R-SC), Tim Sheehy (R-MT), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), John Thune (R-SD); Thom Tillis (R-NC); Tommy Tuberville (R-AL); Roger Wicker (R-MS); and, Todd Young (R-IN).
This vote comes amid growing condemnation of Israel’s actions. This week, Israeli human rights groups B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights–Israel declared that Israel’s military campaign in Gaza meets the legal definition of genocide. Their reports echo prior findings from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and dozens of Palestinian organizations.
Under U.S. law, these weapons sales are already illegal. They violate:
- The Foreign Assistance Act, which bars aid to governments committing gross human rights violations;
- The Arms Export Control Act, which restricts the use of U.S. arms to lawful self-defense;
- Section 620I, which prohibits U.S. aid to countries that block humanitarian assistance.
Over 60,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 143,000 injured in Gaza and the West Bank — the majority women, children, and the elderly. Israel’s destruction of hospitals, aid convoys, and food distribution centers has created man-made famine. More than 1,000 starving civilians have been executed by Israeli forces while attempting to reach aid, and doctors warn that famine deaths will continue to rise without immediate international action.
CAIR’s 2025 August Recess Toolkit identifies blocking U.S. weapons transfers to Israel as a top policy priority and urges Muslim communities and allies to meet with their members of Congress to demand accountability and a permanent end to U.S. complicity in genocide, apartheid, and occupation.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com