One year after the introduction of the Block the Bombs Act, calls to condition or cut US military aid to Israel are gaining traction in Washington. Once treated as politically untouchable, the unconditional flow of US weapons to Israel is now the subject of congressional legislation, public pressure campaigns, and growing debate inside the Democratic Party.
Yet even as more lawmakers criticize Israel’s actions in Gaza, the deeper question remains: Is the Democratic establishment actually confronting the “special” US-Israel relationship in a way that will challenge it as a system of impunity? Or are members simply adjusting their rhetoric to symbolically placate an increasingly disillusioned base?
In this policy lab, Josh Ruebner and Ahmed Moor join host Tariq Kenney-Shawa to examine the fight over the Block the Bombs Act, wider efforts in Congress to restrict US military support for Israel, and what these battles reveal about the future of Palestine advocacy in US politics.
Tariq Kenney-Shawa is Al-Shabaka’s Associate Fellow, based in New York, and co-host of Al-Shabaka’s Policy Lab series. He holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs from Columbia University. Tariq’s research and writing have covered a range of topics, from the role of open-source intelligence in exposing Israel’s war crimes to analysis of Palestinian liberation tactics. His writing has appeared in The Los Angeles Times, Foreign Policy, and The Nation, among others. Tariq also serves as Associate Director of Editorial for the Institute for Middle East Understanding.
