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Senate Democrats Demand Biden Stop Arming Israel, While Fetterman Calls for Continued Aid ‘Without Conditions’

US Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) gives an interview in his office in the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, Jan. 18, 2024. Photo: Rod Lamkey / CNP/Sipa USA for NY Post via Reuters Connect

A group of eight liberal and progressive US senators demanded US President Joe Biden stop military assistance to Israel in a letter sent to the White House on Monday, claiming the Israeli government has violated federal law by blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza.

“Israel’s restrictions on humanitarian access, both at the border and within Gaza, are one of the primary causes of this humanitarian catastrophe,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), along with seven Democratic colleagues, wrote in the letter. “The severe humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza is nearly unprecedented in modern history.”

Aside from Sanders, the letter was signed by Democratic Sens. Chris Van Hollen (MD), Jeff Merkley OR), Mazie Hirono (HI), Peter Welch (VT), Tina Smith (MN), Elizabeth Warren (MA), and Ben Ray Luján (NM).

Citing the Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act — which reads “No assistance shall be furnished under this chapter or the Arms Export Control Act to any country when it is made known to the President that the government of such country prohibits or otherwise restricts, directly or indirectly, the transport or delivery of United States humanitarian assistance” — the senators went on to claim that the US should not give any more assistance to Israel.

Between Oct. 21 and Feb. 1, about 95 aid trucks containing food, water, and medical supplies entered Gaza from both Israel and Egypt each day, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.

Still, the senators concluded that the US “should not provide military assistance to any country that interferes with US humanitarian assistance.”

The letter came amid rising Democratic pressure on the Biden administration to distance itself from Israel as it fights to remove the Hamas terror group from power in Gaza and rescue the 134 hostages remaining in the Palestinian enclave. Hamas launched the ongoing war with its Oct. 7 invasion of southern Israel, where Palestinian terrorists murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped about 250 others.

A recent letter from Democratic members of the US House of Representatives argued an Israeli invasion of Rafah — Hamas’ last stronghold in Gaza — “should not be supported by US taxpayer-funded assistance” if it “runs counter to the specific principles outlined” by the Biden administration on necessary conditions to give aid — a situation they considered “likely.”

A number of senators, including Biden allies, concurred, signaling a major shift within the party against Israel.

Meanwhile, a coalition of progressive groups is now reportedly pushing Democratic lawmakers to reject money from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the foremost pro-Israel lobbying group in the US, in the upcoming election cycle. The coalition includes the Justice Democrats and the Democratic Socialists of America.

Not all Democrats are moving in this direction, though. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), upon hearing that Biden may condition aid to Israel, wrote that “Israel has the right to fully engage Hamas to its end. Hamas deliberately harms and hides behind civilians, not Israel. Until Hamas surrenders, frees the hostages, and ends this humanitarian tragedy, I do not support any conditions.”

Fetterman has taken significant blowback for his pro-Israel stance since Oct. 7. After making clear that he does not support conditioning aid, former congressional candidate Nina Turner asked, “Why are you going against the president and helping Trump?” A prominent progressive commentator called him a “f—king idiot.”

However, none of the attacks from people Fetterman used to consider progressive allies have caused him to change his stance. After being protested numerous times, he said, “There’s only one clear right side and that’s with Israel.”

The post Senate Democrats Demand Biden Stop Arming Israel, While Fetterman Calls for Continued Aid ‘Without Conditions’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Support for Israel Holding Strong Among US Public, Growing Among Young Voters, Poll Finds

Pro-Israel rally in Times Square, New York City, US, Oct. 8, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Jeenah Moon

American support for Israel in its war against Hamas has reached its highest level since the conflict began and includes a surprising surge of support among younger voters in Gen Z, according to a new Harvard CAPS-Harris poll.

The poll, conducted from July 6–8, found that 77 percent of registered voters say they support Israel in the ongoing war in Gaza, while just 23 percent back Hamas. That marks a continued trend of stability in pro-Israel sentiment across the U.S. public. In June, the poll revealed that 75 percent of the US public supported Israel over Hamas.

Among Americans aged 18 to 24, support for Israel now stands at 60 percent, compared to 40 percent for Hamas. That’s a notable jump from 52 percent support for Israel in March and could suggest a broader generational shift. The increase is particularly significant given Gen Z’s reputation for progressive activism and skepticism toward traditional US foreign policy allies.

Support for Israel rises with age, reaching 92 percent among voters 65 and older.

The poll also found a strong majority of voters, 80 percent overall, say that “Hamas must release all remaining hostages without any conditions or face serious consequences.” Even among Gen Z, 61 percent agree, suggesting a broad rejection of Hamas’s actions, despite more nuanced generational divides on broader policy questions.

While older voters remain more hawkish, favoring strong Israeli military action and opposing any deal that leaves Hamas in power, Gen Z respondents were more open to negotiated outcomes. Still, the overall direction appears to show a consolidation of support for Israel as the war continues.

The Harvard CAPS-Harris survey polled 2,044 registered voters online and has become one of the most closely watched monthly trackers of public opinion on foreign policy.

The post Support for Israel Holding Strong Among US Public, Growing Among Young Voters, Poll Finds first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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US Senators Led by Ted Cruz Reintroduce Legislation to Label the Muslim Brotherhood a Terrorist Organization

US Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) speaking at a press conference about the United States restricting weapons for Israel, at the US Capitol, Washington, DC. Photo: Michael Brochstein/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

A group of US lawmakers has reintroduced the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act of 2025, legislation that would classify the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who spearheaded the effort, is calling on the Trump administration to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), a move that would trigger sanctions and stricter restrictions on its assets, travel, and financial networks.

The Texas senator described the Brotherhood as “a terrorist organization” that provides material support to proxy entities, including Hamas, a Palestinian offshoot of the global Islamist movement. He cited the group’s extremist ideology and noted Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of southern Israel, describing the attack as “the worst single-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust” during which “at least 53 Americans” were killed or kidnapped.

“American allies in the Middle East and Europe have already labeled the Brotherhood a terrorist organization,” Cruz said in a statement, urging the US to “do the same, and do so expeditiously.” The bill is co-sponsored by several Senate Republicans, including Sens. Tom Cotton (AR), John Boozman (AR), Rick Scott (FL), Ashley Moody (FL), and Dave McCormick (PA).

Cotton echoed Cruz’s assessment, saying the Brotherhood “preaches death to Israel, the United States, and other Western governments,” and argued that such rhetoric warrants a formal terrorist designation.

In the US House of Representatives, Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL) introduced companion legislation, citing similar concerns about the group’s global network and ideological influence.

Labeling the Muslim Brotherhood as an FTO would mark a significant shift in US counterterrorism policy. Such a designation would enable the US government to freeze the group’s assets, impose visa bans, and criminalize support for its activities. It would also likely increase scrutiny of affiliated organizations and individuals both inside and outside the United States.

Governments in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Austria have already banned the Brotherhood, arguing it poses a threat to domestic and regional stability. But critics of Cruz’s bill warn that such a sweeping measure could backfire, potentially targeting progressive political efforts and fueling perceptions of US hostility toward Islamic political participation.

The legislation will now be reviewed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. While supporters push for swift passage, its fate remains uncertain amid concerns over diplomatic fallout and domestic civil liberties.

The post US Senators Led by Ted Cruz Reintroduce Legislation to Label the Muslim Brotherhood a Terrorist Organization first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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US Federal Judge Allows Antisemitism Lawsuit to Proceed Against Powerful Lawyers Union

A view of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Photo: Chip East via Reuters Connect

A US federal judge ruled on Tuesday that an antisemitism lawsuit accusing the powerful Association of Legal Aid Attorneys (ALAA) union can continue over the objections of the organization’s formidable legal counsel, which attempted to have the case dismissed by arguing that it is “self-serving” and “anti-democratic.”

On Wednesday, officials from the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, which is representing the aggrieved parties, hailed the procedural victory in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York as a testament to the veracity of the allegations of which the ALAA is accused.

“We are enormously gratified with this ruling vindicating our clients’ federal labor law rights to oppose antisemitism in their union, including their right to sue over a virulently anti-Israel resolution proposed just weeks after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack,” Brandeis Center chairman and founder Kenneth Marcus said in a statement. “The Brandeis Center will defend Jewish and non-Jewish union members who stand up for themselves and against antisemitism and with all the lawful tools available to them.”

Brandeis Center senior counsel Rory Lancman added, “In standing up for what it is right, these courageous legal aid lawyers faced expulsion and a campaign of demonization that has taken an enormous toll on then, both professionally and personally. We look forward to proceeding with this case and fully vindicating their rights under federal labor law.”

As previously reported by The Algemeiner, the union for New York public defenders allegedly degenerated into a “cornucopia of classic modern antisemitism” in the months following the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of southern Israel. Just weeks after the massacre, the ALAA passed a virulently anti-Israel resolution which made only a passing reference to Hamas’s atrocities and launched a smear campaign against Jewish members who opposed it. Following that, the union facilitated the filing of “formal charges” against Jewish and Zionist members, attempting to expel them from its ranks.

Antisemitic conduct in the ALAA took other forms, the complaint alleged. Members commended Hamas’s violence, chanted “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” and denied that the terrorist group had murdered women and children. In one incident, someone allegedly asserted that Zionist beliefs would prevent Jewish attorneys from “zealously” defending Muslims, Palestinians, and Arabs and lead them to conspire against them and sabotage their cases.

“If they support Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people, why would they not have a reason to collude with prosecutors and other adversaries to deprive our clients of justice in the courts,” ALAA member Marlen Bodden wrote in an “officewide” email on Nov. 16, 2023.

“It is a legitimate question,” Monica Dula responded.

A ranking official attempted to stop the conversation from descending into a pitch and catch of antisemitic tropes, but the idea that Jews would work against their clients had allegedly been planted weeks earlier. On Oct. 13, 2023, Saara Ashid suggested that a Jewish attorney would not “stand up for Black and Brown folk in the same way,” according to the lawsuit. She added, “I’m starting to worry about all of your clients.”

By Nov. 17, ALAA was scheduled to vote on a resolution that the complaint describes as a “1,147-word diatribe against the existence of the Jewish state, replete with deceitful blood libels designed to arouse the most ancient antisemitic hatreds.” Resolved to stop it from taking place, several Jewish members, accusing the union of breach of contract and fostering a professional culture that would discourage Jews from seeking legal counsel from ALAA affiliated attorneys, sought and were granted a temporary restraining order which delayed the proceeding.

Angered by the ruling, their colleagues allegedly sought to expel them from the union entirely, with one member accusing them “of snitching behavior.” A volley of similar comments were launched in an email thread over the next several days, the lawsuit notes, with Emmanuel Garcia writing “if you are a snitch please do us a favor and kill yourself” and David Tobias commenting “careful, snitches are in this thread, they might snitch on you and air strike your home with your family in it.”

ALAA then moved to file charges against its Jewish members, accusing them of attempting to “interrupt a democratic process on an internal union matter” and violating the union’s “core” mission. The anti-Israel resolution has since been passed, and a trial of the members is forthcoming.

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.

The post US Federal Judge Allows Antisemitism Lawsuit to Proceed Against Powerful Lawyers Union first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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