JCRC Leader: Raskin Support For Israel Arms Embargo "A Bridge Too Far"

Ron Halber, head the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, fiercely criticized Jamie Raskin, a prominent leader of the Democratic Progressive Caucus in the House and a Jew, for cosponsoring a bill that would greatly restrict and effectively stop weapons shipments to Israel for fighting in the Gaza Strip, according to a report today (Tuesday) by the Jewish Insider.

Halber called Raskin's decision to cosponsor the bill, now supported by the most anti-Israel Members of the House, as "extremely disappointing" but also in line with his support for multiple previous efforts to restrict or stop weapons shipments to Israel for use in the Gaza Strip, often initiated by even more anti-Israel Congressmembers.

The specific bill in question, the Block The Bombs Act, would require every single type of weaponry to require specific approval, including explaining its use and necessity for the battle.

Progressive Democratic Congressmen and Senators have repeatedly tried to pass resolution or laws restricting or outright stopping arms shipments to Israel, sometimes based on specific incidents such as the accidental attack on the World Central Kitchen convoy, and sometimes just as an expression of opposition to the war.

Though all such measures have thus far been defeated, the efforts are gaining traction: More than half the Democratic Senate Caucus voted for a recent anti-Israel resolution sponsored by Bernie Sanders, including Jewish Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia, who is up for reelection in the swing state of Georgia this coming year.

Halber lamented that American Jews face an increasingly fraught political future, with "two thirds" of their number consistently voting for a party that is increasingly hostile to Israel.