By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO – Important votes were taken Wednesday in three different settings: The United Nations Security Council, the United States Senate, and the Ethics Committee of the House of Representatives.
The U.N. vote came first: It was 14-1 at the Security Council to impose a ceasefire on Israel. However, the one negative vote was a veto by the United States, a permanent member of that body.
The World Jewish Congress expressed its “deep gratitude” for the U.S. veto. The vetoed U.N. resolution “failed to acknowledge the horrific terrorist attacks led by Hamas on 7 October 2023 and unjustly placed pressure on Israel rather than holding Hamas accountable for the current situation in Gaza. We also deeply appreciate that the United States spoke firmly during the Security Council session, emphasizing that Hamas remains the obstacle to a ceasefire agreement.”
“The proposed resolution neglected to condition a ceasefire on the release of the remaining hostages being held in Gaza,” the World Jewish Congress statement continued. “This would have effectively rewarded Hamas for their actions on October 7th. It also omitted critical demands that Iran and its proxies halt arms smuggling. Additionally, the inclusion of false claims that Israel is depriving Palestinians of basic services ignores Hamas’s exploitation of its population and misuse of resources for terror.”
–The U.S. Senate rejected a resolution of disapproval brought by Sen. Bernie Sanders, an Independent from Vermont, that called on the U.S. to halt three classes of weapon sales to Israel. The vote was 79-18 against Sanders’ resolution to bar the sale of 120mm tank rounds, with all Republicans voting against the ban. Among those who voted with Sanders were two Jewish Democrats, Brian Schatz of Hawaii and Jon Ossoff of Georgia. The second and third resolutions would have banned 120mm high explosive mortar rounds and precision guidance kits attached to bombs. They were defeated respectively by a vote of 78-19, and 80-17.
Among Israel’s defenders were Jewish Sens. Ben Cardin (D-Maryland), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York. Schumer said, “Israel is surrounded by enemies dedicated to its annihilation, from Hamas to Hezbollah to the Houthis to most threateningly of all, Iran.” He said that the Jewish State “needs to protect itself, not just today, but also tomorrow and the next year and beyond. It has been a cornerstone of American policy to give Israel the resources it needs to defend against its enemies. We should not stray from that policy today.”
Sanders, citing the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry’s estimate that 43,000 Palestinians had been killed in Israel’s War against Hamas, said that “from a moral perspective, we cannot turn a blind eye to one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the modern history of this world, a humanitarian disaster that we are significantly funding.”
Cardin in a written statement said: “Our support for Israel does not diminish our commitment to humanitarian assistance for innocent Palestinians or our shared pursuit of peace. It does not deter the United States from continuing to push for a two-state outcome that results in Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in equal measures of mutual recognition, security, self-determination, prosperity, and dignity.”
He also read a message from the White House that banning the sale of these weapons would “put wind in the sails of Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas at the worst possible moment.”
Agreeing, Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham of South Carolina commented that Israel’s enemies would conclude if the resolutions were adopted that “if they just stick with it, they will win.” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said, “Those who mourn senseless suffering should have no trouble assigning blame to the terrorists who exploit civilians, schools, hospitals and mosques as cover.”
Following the vote, the Republican Jewish Coalition’s CEO Matt Brooks commented, “Today marks a dangerous new low for anti-Israel Democrats in the Senate, who voted to cancel $20 billion in pending arms sales to Israel that were already authorized by Congress. As Israel’s Ambassador to the United States, Michael Herzog, correctly pointed out: “Anyone urging you to ban critical arms to Israel during an existential war is not pro-Israel.”
Non-Jewish senators joining Sanders in voting against the sale of one or more weapons to Israel were: Dick Durbin of Illinois, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, George Helmy of New Jersey, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Tim Kaine of Virginia, Angus King of Maine, Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico, Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Jean Shaheen of New Hampshire, Tina Smith of Minnesota, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Rafael Warnock of Georgia, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Peter Welch of Vermont,
–At the House Ethics Committee, its Republican chair, Rep. Michael Guest of Mississippi, said the committee’s two-hour meeting on Wednesday resulted in “no agreement” about releasing its report on former Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida, whom President-elect Trump has nominated to be attorney general.
Rep. Susan Wild of Pennsylvania, the ranking Democrat on the committee, told the media that the committee’s 5 Republicans and 5 Democrats split along party lines on whether to release the report, with Gaetz’s fellow Republicans opposed.
Wild said that the committee should release the report to the public and to the U.S. Senate which is tasked with confirming or rejecting nominees for the President’s Cabinet. Rep. Sean Casten (D-Illinois) said he planned to force a vote on whether the full House should remove the report from the committee and bring it to the floor of the House of Representatives. Gaetz has been accused of sexual improprieties and the use of illegal drugs, charges which he denies.
Sen. Dick Durbin, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee until the seating of a new Congress in January, commented, “The grave public allegations against Mr. Gaetz speak directly to his fitness to serve as the chief law enforcement officer for the federal government. The unanswered questions regarding Mr. Gaetz’s alleged conduct are particularly significant given that his associate, Joel Greenberg, pleaded guilty to the sex trafficking chare for which Mr. Gaetz was also investigated.” Joel Greenberg (politician) – Wikipedia
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U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Georgia) has urged Congresswoman Nikema Williams to resign as chair of their state’s Democratic party following President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in the Peach State. Williams reponded that “I’m in this for the long haul, to fix this party and to continue building on it.”
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Stephen Miller, whom President-elect Trump has designated as his White House deputy chief of staff, said on Fox News that the new administration will “implement historical transformative, long-awaited change to make this government accountable to the people of this country … a new golden age for America.”
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Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nevada) on Tuesday, Nov. 19, defeated two Jewish members of the House of Representatives – Greg Landsman of Ohio and Kim Schrier of Washington — in a contest to succeed Rep. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia as leader of Democrats in battleground district. Spanberger is leaving Congress to run in next year’s election in Virginia for governor.
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Jessica Tisch of the prominent family whose philanthropy extends from New York to Israel has been appointed Police Commissioner of New York City, effective Nov. 25, by New York Mayor Eric Adams. She had spent 12 years with the Police Department in various administrative positions prior to being named to her current spot as Sanitation Commissioner. Her father, James Tisch, is the CEO of Loews Corporation.
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Donald H. Harrison is publisher and editor of San Diego Jewish World.