(PHILADELPHIA, PA, 7/31/2025) – The Philadelphia Chapter of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Philadelphia), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today commended the 27 senators, including Delaware Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester who voted to block arms shipments to the Israeli government and called the vote a “historic sign of progress.”
CAIR-Philadelphia also condemned Senate Minority Leader Schumer, Senator Majority Leader Thune and the 68 other senators, including Pennsylvania Senators John Fetterman and Dave McCormick, and Delaware Senator Chris Coons, who voted to continue sending bombs and rifles to fuel genocide, ethnic cleansing, and mass starvation in Gaza and the West Bank.
In a statement, CAIR-Philadelphia Executive Director Ahmet Tekelioglu, PhD said “We commend the 27 senators who stood on the side of international law and human rights by opposing offensive arms sales to a government carrying out mass atrocities in Gaza. While the vote fell short, the growing number of lawmakers willing to challenge U.S. complicity in Israel’s war crimes reflects a historic shift in public conscience and political courage. Those who continue to green-light weapons for this genocide must be held accountable- history will judge Senators Fetterman, McCormick, and Coons as enablers of a live-streamed genocide.”
SEE: Senate Democrats vote against arms sales to Israel in record number – UPI
[NOTE: CAIR said that weapons deliveries to Israel clearly violate the Foreign Assistance Act, the Arms Export Control Act, and Section 620I, which prohibits U.S. aid to any country obstructing humanitarian relief.]
The two Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRDs), introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), sought to block:
- S.J.Res.34 – A $675.7 million weapons sale that includes 1,000-pound MK 83 bombs and over 5,000 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) guidance kits, munitions used to level homes, hospitals, and refugee shelters in Gaza.
- S.J.Res.41 – A shipment of fully automatic assault rifles destined for Israeli forces and police, including those under the command of extremist Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, fueling settler violence and ethnic cleansing in the occupied West Bank.
This vote was the first time a majority of the Senate Democratic Caucus supported stopping offensive arms transfers to Israel, signaling a major shift in congressional sentiment that mirrors the will of the American public.
CAIR-Philadelphia encouraged all Pennsylvanians and Delawareans to contact their senators — to thank the 27 who voted yes and to hold the rest accountable for supporting an apartheid regime and its campaign of extermination. CAIR-Philadelphia also shared with the community CAIR’s 2025 August Recess Toolkit which identifies blocking U.S. weapons transfers to Israel as a top policy priority and urges Muslim communities and allies to meet with their members of Congress to demand accountability and a permanent end to U.S. complicity in genocide, apartheid, and occupation.
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
– END –
CONTACT: CAIR-Philadelphia Executive Director Ahmet Selim Tekelioglu, PhD, 617-401-5397 (mobile), atekelioglu@cair.com.
