RSS
Bernie Sanders Pushes Bill to Block US Military Action Against Iran as New Poll Shows Public Support for Strikes
US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks to the media following a meeting with US President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington, US, July 17, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Monday night introduced legislation that would bar the use of federal funds for any US military force against Iran not authorized by Congress, despite new polling showing broad public support for both Israel’s ongoing strikes against the Iranian regime and US military action that is deemed necessary to stop Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.
The bill, titled the No War Against Iran Act, came after Israel last week launched a broad preemptive attack on Iran, targeting military installations and nuclear sites across the country in what officials described as an effort to neutralize an imminent nuclear threat. The Israeli military since then has continued to pummel Iranian targets, killing several nuclear scientists and military commanders while decimating much of the regime’s nuclear and military infrastructure.
Sanders called Israel’s campaign “reckless and illegal,” claiming it had the potential to kickstart a broader war in the Middle East. The legislation would prohibit the use of federal funds for any military force against Iran without explicit authorization from Congress, with a narrow exception for self-defense under the War Powers Act and applicable US law.
“[Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s reckless and illegal attacks violate international law and risk igniting a regional war,” Sanders said in a statement. “Congress must make it clear that the United States will not be dragged into Netanyahu’s war of choice.”
Sanders continued, “Another war in the Middle East could cost countless lives, waste trillions more dollars and lead to even more deaths, more conflict, and more displacement. I will do everything that I can as a senator to defend the Constitution and prevent the US from being drawn into another war.”
Sanders was joined by seven Senate Democrats as original cosponsors, including Peter Welch (VT), Elizabeth Warren (MA), Jeff Merkley (OR), Chris Van Hollen (MD), Ed Markey (MA), Tammy Baldwin (WI), and Tina Smith (MN). The senator previously introduced a version of this bill in 2020 alongside then-Sens. Kamala Harris and Chuck Schumer.
Amid the Iran-Israel war, speculation has swirled over whether US President Donald Trump, who has expressed public support for the Israeli operation and authorized the military to help the Jewish state with air defense to combat Iranian missile barrages, will decide to use offensive military power against Iran to eliminate their nuclear facilities. Iran’s Fordow nuclear site specifically is built deeply into the side of a mountain, and some experts believe Israel can’t destroy it completely without the help of massive US bunker-buster bombs.
Trump on Tuesday publicly dismissed the prospect of a negotiated ceasefire before posting a message on social media that read “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” without elaborating. He also threatened to kill Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Despite Sanders’s insistence that the public disapproves of military action against Iran, polling indicates otherwise.
According to a new poll from GrayHouse Strategies, 89 percent of Americans are “very” or “somewhat” concerned about Iran obtaining nuclear weapons, and 73 percent say Iran cannot be trusted to honor any diplomatic agreement. The poll also found that a strong majority of the American people, 72 percent, support direct US military action “if necessary to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.”
Meanwhile, 83 percent of Americans support Israel’s preemptive strikes on Iranian nuclear and military sites, 79 percent favor the US sending offensive weapons to aid Israeli operations, and 91 percent support providing intelligence assistance to Israel, according to the poll.
Sanders’s proposed legislation came one day after Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) introduced a War Powers Resolution to block any unauthorized US military action against Iran.
“It is not in our national security interest to get into a war with Iran unless that war is absolutely necessary to defend the United States,” Kaine said in a statement. “The American people have no interest in sending servicemembers to fight another forever war in the Middle East.”
Kaine’s resolution states that Congress possesses the sole authority to declare war against a foreign nation. It requires any US hostilities with Iran to be explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF). Because the resolution is privileged, the Senate must consider and vote on it promptly, ensuring a congressional debate on the issue.
“This resolution will ensure that if we decide to place our nation’s men and women in uniform into harm’s way, we will have a debate and vote on it in Congress,” Kaine said.
On Tuesday, however, US Reps. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) and Brad Sherman (D-CA), along with 14 co-sponsors, introduced a bipartisan resolution praising Israel’s strike on Iranian nuclear and military facilities and condemning Iran’s retaliatory missile attacks on Israeli civilian targets.
The post Bernie Sanders Pushes Bill to Block US Military Action Against Iran as New Poll Shows Public Support for Strikes first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
North London Synagogue, Nursery Targeted in Eighth Local Antisemitic Incident in Just Over a Week
Demonstrators against antisemitism in London on Sept. 8, 2025. Photo: Campaign Against Antisemitism
A synagogue and its nursery school in the Golders Green area of north London were targeted in an antisemitic attack on Thursday morning — the eighth such incident locally in just over a week amid a shocking surge of anti-Jewish hate crimes in the area.
The synagogue and Jewish nursery were smeared with excrement in an antisemitic outrage echoing a series of recent incidents targeting the local Jewish community.
“The desecration of another local synagogue and a children’s nursery with excrement is a vile, deliberate, and premeditated act of antisemitism,” Shomrim North West London, a Jewish organization that monitors antisemitism and also serves as a neighborhood watch group, said in a statement.
“This marks the eighth antisemitic incident locally in just over a week, to directly target the local Jewish community,” the statement read. “These repeated attacks have left our community anxious, hurt, and increasingly worried.”
Local law enforcement confirmed they are reviewing CCTV footage and collecting evidence to identify the suspect and bring them to justice.
This latest anti-Jewish hate crime came just days after tens of thousands of people marched through London in a demonstration against antisemitism, amid rising levels of antisemitic incidents across the United Kingdom since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
In just over a week, seven Jewish premises in Barnet, the borough in which Golders Green is located, have been targeted in separate antisemitic incidents.
According to the Metropolitan Police, an investigation has been launched into the targeted attacks, all of which involved the use of bodily fluids.
During the incidents, a substance was smeared on four synagogues and a private residence, while a liquid was thrown at a school and over a car in two other attacks.
As the investigation continues, local police said they believe the same suspect is likely responsible for all seven offenses, which are being treated as religiously motivated criminal damage.
No arrests have been made so far, but law enforcement said it is actively engaging with the local Jewish community to provide reassurance and support.
The Community Security Trust (CST), a nonprofit charity that advises Britain’s Jewish community on security matters, condemned the recent wave of attacks and called on authorities to take immediate action.
“The extreme defilement of several Jewish locations in and around Golders Green is utterly abhorrent and deeply distressing,” CST said in a statement.
“CST is working closely with police and communal partners to support victims and help identify and apprehend the perpetrator,” it continued.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) also denounced the attacks, calling for urgent measures to protect the Jewish community.
“These repeated incidents are leaving British Jews anxious and vulnerable in their own neighborhoods, not to mention disgusted,” CAA said in a statement.
Since the start of the war in Gaza, the United Kingdom has experienced a surge in antisemitic crimes and anti-Israel sentiment.
Last month, CST published a report showing there were 1,521 antisemitic incidents in the UK from January to June of this year. It marks the second-highest total of incidents ever recorded by CST in the first six months of any year, following the first half of 2024 in which 2,019 antisemitic incidents were recorded.
In total last year, CST recorded 3,528 antisemitic incidents for 2024, the country’s second worst year for antisemitism despite being an 18 percent drop from 2023’s record of 4,296.
In previous years, the numbers were significantly lower, with 1,662 incidents in 2022 and 2,261 hate crimes in 2021.
RSS
Germany to Hold Off on Recognizing Palestinian State but Will Back UN Resolution for Two-State Solution
German national flag flutters on top of the Reichstag building, that seats the Germany’s lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany, March 25, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
Germany will support a United Nations resolution for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but does not believe the time has come to recognize a Palestinian state, a government spokesman told Reuters on Thursday.
“Germany will support such a resolution which simply describes the status quo in international law,” the spokesman said, adding that Berlin “has always advocated a two-state solution and is asking for that all the time.”
“The chancellor just mentioned two days ago again that Germany does not see that the time has come for the recognition of the Palestinian state,” the spokesman added.
Britain, France, Canada, Australia, and Belgium have all said they will recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly later this month, although London said it could hold back if Israel were to take steps to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and commit to a long-term peace process.
The United States strongly opposes any move by its European allies to recognize Palestinian independence.
Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the US has told other countries that recognition of a Palestinian state will cause more problems.
Those who see recognition as a largely symbolic gesture point to the negligible presence on the ground and limited influence in the conflict of countries such as China, India, Russia, and many Arab states that have recognized Palestinian independence for decades.
RSS
UN Security Council, With US Support, Condemns Strikes on Qatar
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani attends an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, Sept. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
The United Nations Security Council on Thursday condemned recent strikes on Qatar’s capital Doha, but did not mention Israel in the statement agreed to by all 15 members, including Israel‘s ally the United States.
Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with the attack on Tuesday, escalating its military action in what the United States described as a unilateral attack that does not advance US and Israeli interests.
The United States traditionally shields its ally Israel at the United Nations. US backing for the Security Council statement, which could only be approved by consensus, reflects President Donald Trump’s unhappiness with the attack ordered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Council members underscored the importance of de-escalation and expressed their solidarity with Qatar. They underlined their support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar,” read the statement, drafted by Britain and France.
The Doha operation was especially sensitive because Qatar has been hosting and mediating negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire in the Gaza war.
“Council members underscored that releasing the hostages, including those killed by Hamas, and ending the war and suffering in Gaza must remain our top priority,” the Security Council statement read.
The Security Council will meet later on Thursday to discuss the Israeli attack at a meeting due to be attended by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.