Almost Half of House Democrats Vote to Cut Aid to Israel, WA State Delegation Lags Behind Turning Tide

The tides are turning on the U.S.’s favorite genocidal ally! Almost half of House Democrats voted “yes” on an amendment to cut off aid to Israel Wednesday afternoon. While the amendment ultimately failed, this roll call represents a seismic, and frankly overdue, shift for the Democratic party. 

However, despite our state’s progressive reputation, Democrats from Washington are still lagging behind. Five of Washington State’s eight Democrat lawmakers in the House voted against the amendment: Reps. Suzan DelBene, Rick Larsen, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Kim Schrier, and Marilyn Strickland. 

Isolationist Republican Rep. Thomas Massie championed an amendment to a State Department spending bill that would have cut $3.3 billion in funding to Israel. With 215 Republicans and 98 Democrats voting “no,” the pro-Israel faction tanked the measure. 

Of course, these Democrat lawmakers are massively out of step with the base they are supposed to represent. A New York Times/Siena College poll conducted in May found that 74% of Democrats opposed giving Israel more military and economic aid.

But their big dollar donors have a different view. Many lawmakers are bought and paid for by the pro-Israel lobby and those from Washington State are certainly not an exception. Every one of the five Washington Democrats and both of the Republicans who voted against the measure is backed by the pro-Israel lobby. Most notably, Gluesenkamp Perez has garnered $431,000 in her short career from pro-Israel PACs, according to Track AIPAC. These PACs have also dumped about $362,000 in Strickland’s campaign coffers, $280,000 for Shrier, and $253,000 for DelBene. 

On the other hand, three representatives from Washington voted in favor of cutting the aid: Reps. Pramila Jayapal, Emily Randall, and Adam Smith. 

Local pro-Palestine advocates may be surprised to see Smith, also bankrolled by the pro-Israel lobby and the weapons manufacturers, voted for the cut. While Smith’s rightly been the target of many anti-war protests — so many he got protests at elected officials’ homes banned in Bellevue — he’s also called to withhold certain military aid to Israel since at least last August. And he may be feeling some pressure from the two anti-war candidates, Kshama Sawant and Melissa Chaudhry, challenging him from his left!

Randall also may come as a shock. Pro-Palestine advocates will remember during her 2024 campaign she fired a staffer after Jewish Insider confronted her with screenshots showing what the outlet described as the staffer’s “extensive anti-Israel and pro-Hamas social media activity.” In this same episode, Randall caught accusations of attempting to“pinkwash” Israel’s genocide. 

Jayapal’s support comes as no surprise. Ahead of the vote, she tweeted, “The U.S. has a moral obligation to halt all weapons sales to the Israeli government. We cannot be complicit in genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and the collective punishment of millions of civilians. Enough is enough.”

Enough is enough, Jayapal. If only your colleagues agreed!