JTA — Representative Jamie Raskin, a Jewish Democrat in Maryland, has joined a growing list of Democrats backing a bill that would withhold the transfer of offensive weapons to Israel from the United States.
Raskin’s backing of the Block the Bombs Act last week comes at a time of marked decline in Democratic support for Israel, as the war in Gaza wages on for its 22nd month.
Other prominent Jewish Democratic lawmakers, including Rep. Sara Jacobs of California, Rep. Becca Balint of Vermont, and Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Illinois, have also signed onto the legislation, which now has 34 sponsors.
Backing for the Block the Bombs Act among House Democrats follows record support from Senate Democrats for two resolutions blocking US military sales to Israel last month. (The resolutions failed in the Republican-led Senate.)
Raskin was one of the first Jewish Democrats to depart from norms around support for Israel during the Israel-Hamas war. In November 2023, just one month into the war in Gaza, Raskin was one of the first Jewish Democratic House lawmakers to call for a ceasefire.
In May 2024, he and Jacobs voted against sending additional emergency aid to Israel. And last December, he signed onto a letter to the Biden administration, along with 76 other House Democrats, accusing Israel of violating US arms sales law.
Meanwhile, House Minority Whip Katherine Clark last week became the highest-ranking member of Congress to characterize the war in Gaza as a “genocide,” according to a video clip obtained by Axios.
Clark’s comments came after she was confronted by pro-Palestinian protesters during an event in her district in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Her remarks reflect a broader shift within the Democratic party, marking a departure from the party’s historically strong support for the country.
“We each have to continue to have an open heart about… how we take action in time to make a difference, whether that is stopping the starvation and genocide and destruction of Gaza, or whether that means we are working together to stop the redistricting that is going on, taking away the vote from people,” Clark said in the clip.
The comments make her the 14th member of Congress to use the term, including from some of Israel’s past supporters, as the war has ground on.
They include a dozen other progressive Democrats, tallied by the pro-Palestinian media outlet Zeteo, as well as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a far-right Georgia Republican.
According to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, over 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive against Hamas, which began when the terrorist organization attacked Israel, killing some 1,200 people and abducting 251, on October 7, 2023.
The Hamas figures cannot be independently verified and do not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Hamas has claimed women and children make up about half the dead.
Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip stands at 459. The toll includes two police officers and three Defense Ministry civilian contractors.
Israel has consistently and vehemently denied that it is committing genocide, including in an ongoing case at the International Court of Justice. The Israel Defense Forces says that it takes extensive measures not to harm civilians in Gaza, and accuses Hamas of using Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools and mosques.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.