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As Israel continued<\/span> its monthlong blockade of humanitarian aid to Gaza and pounded the enclave with American bombs, in Washington the Senate on Thursday voted down two resolutions from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to block the sale of tens of thousands of 2,000-pound bombs and other offensive weapons to Israel.<\/p>\n The resolutions marked the second time since November that Sanders forced a vote on arms sales. Once again, they exposed a deep divide among Democrats and blanket Republican support for Israel.<\/p>\n The Senate voted 15-82 on the first resolution<\/a>, concerning 2,000-pound bombs, with all Republicans present voting against it, along with most Democrats. Sanders was joined by 14 Democrats.<\/p>\n The second resolution, focusing on other weapons, fared even worse. It was defeated 15-83.<\/p>\n The Trump administration officially opposed the resolutions, along with the influential American Israel Public Affairs Committee.<\/p>\n Sanders, in a passionate floor speech, denounced AIPAC for its massive spending on last year\u2019s elections<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHistory will not forgive us for this.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIf you are a Republican, and you vote against the Trump\u2013Musk administration in one way or the other, you\u2019ve got to look over your shoulder and worry that you are going to get a call from Elon Musk, the wealthiest man in the world,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cIf you are a Democrat, you have to worry about the billionaires who fund AIPAC.\u201d<\/p>\n He cast his resolutions as a chance to stop exporting weapons that enable what he called \u201cbarbarism\u201d in Gaza.<\/p>\n \u201cHistory will not forgive us for this,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cThe time is long overdue for us to tell the Netanyahu government that we will not provide more weapons of destruction for them.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The votes came only four months after Sanders\u2019s prior, unsuccessful attempt<\/a> to block arms sales to Israel, but against a vastly different geopolitical backdrop.<\/p>\n Since November, Israel has reached and abandoned a ceasefire<\/a> with Hamas. Donald Trump has taken over the White House from Joe Biden, while touting his support for ethnically cleansing Gaza<\/a>. And a Republican majority has assumed control in the Senate.<\/p>\n Sanders\u2019s resolutions had little chance of passing either time, but he has cast both as tests of the Senate\u2019s conscience<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nChanging Landscape<\/strong><\/h2>\n