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With no speaker of the House, a congressional resolution supporting Israel has broad support and nowhere to go
WASHINGTON (JTA) — On Monday, two days after Hamas launched an invasion of Israel that killed and wounded thousands, AIPAC made a request of lawmakers that seemed like an easy ask: sign on to a resolution declaring that “the House of Representatives stands with Israel as it defends itself against the barbaric war launched by Hamas and other terrorists.”
Nearly all members of Congress — at least 390 out of 435 — support the resolution, but there’s just one problem: It’s going nowhere because there is currently no speaker of the House. That absence isn’t only holding up the non-binding, declarative resolution introduced by the pro-Israel lobby. It’s also preventing the approval of an emergency defense assistance package for Israel that Biden plans to present to Congress.
The speaker’s seat has been vacant for a week and counting, ever since a far-right faction engineered the removal of the previous speaker, California Rep. Kevin McCarthy for, among other things, favoring aid to Ukraine in its own war against a brutal invader.
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency asked the office of Rep. Michael McCaul, the Texas Republican who is the Foreign Affairs Committee chairman, where the pro-Israel resolution goes now. “We have been told it will be the first bill on the floor when we have a Speaker,” a spokeswoman said.
That could take a while. On Wednesday, the Republican caucus elected Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana as its nominee by a narrow margin of 113-99 over Jim Jordan, the Judiciary Committee chairman who was former President Donald Trump’s pick. The caucus has yet to set a date for the whole House to vote, as Scalise scrapes together the 217 votes he needs to win. Leaving the vote, Trump loyalists said they still favored Jordan, which could spell trouble for Scalise’s prospects.
Even though there’s no speaker, for committees, it’s business as usual. That is why McCaul and New York Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks, the Foreign Affairs Committee’s ranking member, were able to work together to advance the AIPAC-backed resolution. But the House parliamentarian has told lawmakers that only an elected speaker may call votes on the floor.
“None of it is going to happen now, because there’s no speaker,” said Jason Steinbaum, the former top staffer on the Foreign Affairs Committee. “The Republicans are in a civil war.”
When it comes to providing defense assistance, Republicans have time: Israel has yet to formally make an ask, and would not do so without a green light from President Joe Biden, who also has not formally requested assistance.
“As of now, a supplemental funding proposal has not been submitted by the administration,” an AIPAC source told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. The source was not worried about the outcome of the speaker election.
But on Wednesday, John Kirby, the National Security Council spokesman, said the absence of a speaker was creating roadblocks for getting assistance to Israel and Ukraine.
“That position is critical in terms of bringing legislation to the floor and moving things forward,” he said. “So the sooner there’s a speaker of the House, obviously, the more comfortable we’ll all be in terms of being able to support Israel and Ukraine right now.”
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The post With no speaker of the House, a congressional resolution supporting Israel has broad support and nowhere to go appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.