Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a Rosen visit to Israel, the West Bank, Jordan, and Iraq in May, 2025. (Photo posted by Rosen’s U.S. Senate account on X).
Nevada Democratic U.S. Sens. Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto were among a minority of Senate Democrats voting against efforts to block some additional weapons sales to Israel last week.
A majority of Senate Democrats supported resolutions sponsored by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, an Independent from Vermont, to halt a $675 million bomb sale to Israel and shipments of 20,000 assault rifles. The U.S. has provided nearly $20 billion in military aid to Israel since the 2023 Hamas attacks.
Rosen and Cortez Masto, along with several other Democrats and every Republican, voted against the efforts, which ultimately failed.
In an email to Nevada Current Monday, a spokesperson for Rosen said the senator believes the U.S. must “continue supporting our ally Israel and its security and, at the same time, continue working to make sure that significantly more humanitarian aid — especially food — reaches Palestinian civilians.”
Rosen “also believes the U.S. should continue pushing for actions that stop civilian suffering, bring the hostages home, and bring an end to this war,” the statement said.
Cortez Masto’s office didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Last week’s effort to prevent authorizing additional U.S. weapons deliveries to Israel came as Israel has repeatedly inhibited the delivery of food and aid relief to Gaza, which has led to mass starvation among Palestinians and added to the death toll.
Growing support to prevent arms from being sold to Israel – 27 Democrats voted to stop the sale of assault rifles while 24 voted for the resolution to prevent the sale of bombs – reflects a more noticeable shift in congressional perspectives on Israel’s military actions.
Even Nevada’s Senate Democrats, among the body’s most moderate, have indicated increasing apprehension over Israel’s Gaza policies.
The day before their votes to provide more weapons to Israel, Rosen and Cortez Masto were two of 44 Democrats who signed a July 29 letter to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff calling for a “large-scale expansion of humanitarian assistance” in Gaza.
“The acute humanitarian crisis in Gaza is also unsustainable and worsens by the day,” the senators wrote. “Hunger and malnutrition are widespread, and, alarmingly, deaths due to starvation, especially among children, are increasing.”
The letter also noted the failure of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which is funded by the U.S. and administered by Israel, and has been charged with providing aid in Gaza.
The foundation “has failed to address the deepening humanitarian crisis and contributed to an unacceptable and mounting civilian death toll around the organization’s sites. To prevent the situation from getting even worse, we urge you to advocate for a large-scale expansion of humanitarian assistance and services throughout the Gaza Strip, including through the use of experienced multilateral bodies and NGOs that can get life-saving aid directly to those in need and prevent diversion,” the senators wrote.
The letter also called for “support of diplomatic efforts to return all hostages.”
Rosen also recently cited “the need to ensure humanitarian aid directly reaches the Palestinians who need it the most.”
Since the Hamas attacks, Rosen, long a staunch supporter of Israel, has strongly backed Israel and defended the actions of the Israeli government.
Rosen joined six other senators in May 2024 to condemn the International Criminal Court, which sought arrest warrants against Israeli leaders for alleged crimes against humanity in Gaza.
In a letter signed by Republican and Democratic senators including Rubio, still a senator at the time, Rosen and her colleagues called the court’s action “judicial overreach” and urged then-President Joe Biden “to protect our ally and American interests.”
“Israel has exercised its right under international law to self-defense in response to an armed attack. Israel has taken significant actions to protect Palestinian lives as Hamas uses civilians as human shields,” the senators wrote.
Rosen again blasted the ICC’s “outrageous” actions in November when it issued the arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant
Hamas militants attacked southern Israel Oct. 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 people in the attack. Since then, an estimated 60,000 Gazans, including 18,500 children, have been killed.
The United Nations has reported 90% of 2.1 million residents in Gaza have been displaced.
Last week was not the first time multiple Senate Democrats have attempted, and failed, to block weapons sales to Israel.
Humanitarian aid and international groups, such as Human Rights Watch, have long warned Israel was mass starving Gaza as a weapon of war.
As the crisis in Gaza has intensified in recent weeks, there have been more images and reports of mass famine caused by Israel. Several international groups, including two prominent Israeli human rights groups, have called Israel’s actions genocide.
Meanwhile public support for increased military action for Israel has also faded.
Only an estimated 32% of adults in the U.S. back Israel’s military actions in Gaza, according to a poll released by Gallup in July. Disapproval of Israel’s action has reached its highest point since the Hamas attacks, at 60%.
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Author: Michael Lyle
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