YIR: Ossoff Rebuked for Israel Arms Sale Votes
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YIR: Ossoff Rebuked for Israel Arms Sale Votes

"I remain steadfastly committed to the U.S.-Israel alliance," the first-term Jewish senator said.

By Compiled by AJT staff December 25, 2024, 12:28 pm Edit

Votes by Sen. Jon Ossoff in support of resolutions calling for a halt of U.S. shipments of specific weapons to Israel met with overwhelming, but not universal, criticism from within Atlanta’s Jewish community.

Ossoff, a Jewish Democrat who has talked publicly about relatives living in Israel, voted Nov. 20 in favor of two of three resolutions advanced by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont. Those resolutions called for a halt to U.S. delivery of tank rounds and mortar shells. Ossoff voted against a third resolution that called for a halt to delivery of guidance kits for joint direct attack munitions, known as JDAMS.

Sixteen Democratic senators, including Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock, voted in favor of advancing all three resolutions, while another Democrat supported one of the three. Though the resolutions were defeated in the Senate by a large margin, their votes reflected divisions in the Democratic Party over Israel’s conduct of its war against Hamas in Gaza following the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist massacre of 1,200 people and the kidnapping of 250 more.

Ossoff’s votes likely will be an issue when he seeks re-election in 2026.
The first-term senator explained his votes in a Senate floor speech. “I remain steadfastly committed to the U.S.-Israel alliance, and I also believe we must be willing to say no, even to our closest friends, when we believe it is in America’s national interest,” Ossoff said in closing.

The votes drew strong reactions, both positive and negative, from the Jewish Atlanta community and beyond. An open letter signed by nearly 50 local organizations, synagogues, and schools, including Atlanta Jewish Times, condemned Ossoff for his votes. An op-ed published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, signed by 22 rabbis from the Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform movements, chastised Ossoff and Warnock

Conversely, the AJT received a letter to the editor from Yehuda Cohen, father of hostage Nimrod Cohen, who lauded Ossoff for his votes.

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