Dylan Williams

JB Pritzker: Blocking arms sales sends Israel ‘the right kind of message’ The Illinois Democrat said he backed the Senate bid to halt Israel arms sales to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu over Gaza crisis.

A sign from a Democratic presidential contender that most of party’s elected officials are finally catching up with its base on Israel-Palestine.

Voters see one’s views on the conflict not just as a key test of policy and values alignment, but authenticity and strength.

forward.com/fast-forward...

Australia will recognize a Palestinian state, Prime Minister Albanese says Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says Australia will recognize a Palestinian state. His remarks on Monday followed weeks of urging from within his Cabinet and from many in Australia to recog...

Australia will join Canada, France and the UK in recognizing Palestinian statehood.

It’s an overdue step in the right direction, but not a substitute for urgently needed concrete action—like an arms embargo and sanctions—to pressure Israel to stop its atrocities in Gaza.

apnews.com/article/aust...

'Cannot possibly be legal': Trump buried for denying retirement benefits to certain troops Following the Trump administration’s ban on transgender service members, the U.S. Air Force is now denying early retirement benefits to transgender troops with 15 to 18 years of service.“This is just ...

“The Trump administration has gone from removing a targeted group from government service to stealing what they earned,”
@dylanwilliams.bsky.social reacted to the denial of earned early retirement benefits for transgender troops.

www.alternet.org/trump-troops...

The Trump administration has gone from removing a targeted group from government service to stealing what they’ve earned.

It’s textbook fascism and a further step on the path of state repression, dispossession, dehumanization and violence that the world has seen the horrific consequences of before.

This news breaks just as a group of US Democratic lawmakers lands in Israel for an all expenses paid trip by AIPAC’s “education foundation.”

No doubt Netanyahu is eager for a photo of them standing with him, as he stands against the survival of Palestinians and Israeli hostages.

NEW Security Assistance Monitor Special Report: Arming Israel’s Atrocities in Gaza

@cipolicy.bsky.social’s Ari Tolany and Allie Hansen analyze the exports of US-origin and -subsidized weapons that have enabled Israel’s war crimes and crimes against humanity.

internationalpolicy.org/publications...

AIPAC is now promoting and amplifying praise of the Trump Administration’s effort to revoke the @apnews.com’s White House press credentials, because the AP published a story on the hardships faced by civilian victims—including gravely injured children—of Israel’s pager attack in Lebanon.

Link: internationalpolicy.org/publications...

Military Spending Monitor: The Pentagon as an Engine for Privatizing Public Funds

A study coauthored by @cipolicy.bsky.social fellow @stephensemler.bsky.social quantifies how the Pentagon’s growing reliance on a small number of corporate contractors redistributes taxpayer dollars to wealthy elites.

“The United States is Israel's largest supplier of arms, providing…billions of dollars in military aid.

We have been derelict in not applying our own domestic laws to these military shipments and ignoring international humanitarian laws.

This makes us complicit in this genocide.”

— Rep. Jayapal

AIPAC helped Netanyahu repeatedly undermine and disrespect Obama.

It endorsed and fundraised for insurrectionists.

It flooded Democratic primaries with rightwing Republican money.

Now it’s accusing lawmakers who refuse to keep arming a genocide of antisemitism.

What did it think would happen?

Fed Up With Netanyahu and Handling of Gaza War, Democrats Rebuke Israel

70% of Democrats expressed an unfavorable view of Israel.

Across the country, local Democratic officials are pushing for embargoes on military and financial support of Israel.

Senate votes set a new high-water mark of lawmakers seeking to restrict arms to Israel.

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/u...

Genocide Debate over whether there’s a genocide in Gaza has special resonance when your family was a victim of the crime that gave the world the term.

“The personal pain of my own family from a crime that I believe has no parallel—and my association of the word genocide exclusively with that event—means I am unlikely to use the term myself. But I cannot & will not argue any more against those using the term.”

-J Street’s @jeremybenami.bsky.social

NEW: @fp4america.bsky.social calls for “halting offensive military assistance to the Israeli government and sanctioning Israeli officials who call for the destruction or permanent displacement of the Palestinian people”

The dam on Israel-Palestine is cracking.

www.fp4america.org/2025/07/30/t...

Recognizing a Palestinian state under a government that has long rejected violence and accepted Israel, and binding it to the obligations of statehood, advances the rights and security of both peoples.

Lawmakers should welcome our allies recognizing Palestine and call for the U.S. to do the same.

One government rejects violence and aims to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with two states living in peace.

One government is starving and violently displacing civilians of the other, taking their land and categorically rejects a two-state outcome.

Guess which one Trump sanctioned today.

State Department sanctions Palestinian leadership organizations amid global statehood push The move comes amid murky messaging from Trump, as a growing number of U.S. allies push to recognize Palestinian statehood.

As US allies move to recognize Palestinian statehood with a government that has recognized Israel, Trump sanctions the same Palestinian leaders while Israel’s government openly starves and displaces Palestinians to prevent the outcome of two states living in peace.

www.politico.com/news/2025/07...

In Major Milestone, Dozens Of Senators Vote To Block U.S. Weapons To Israel Congress had never considered legislation to block America's billions in annual military aid until 9 months ago, and past efforts won 19 votes at most.

“Today’s vote was a new high water mark...It reflects the rising tide among voters against continuing to subsidize & arm Israel’s actions in Gaza & its other grave violations of Palestinian rights”

— @cipolicy.bsky.social Ari Tolany on vote to block arms to Israel:

www.huffpost.com/entry/senate...

A record 27 Senators—most of the Democratic caucus—just voted to block new arms sales to Israel.

It’s a new high water mark for holding Israel accountable in Congress, mirroring rising voter sentiment against subsidizing and arming Israeli violations of US and international law.

32% in U.S. Back Israel's Military Action in Gaza, a New Low Americans' approval of Israel's military action in Gaza has fallen to a new low, along with the worst opinions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to date.

Today’s Senate vote on halting new arms sales to Israel will be a major test for Democratic presidential hopefuls.

Continuing to arm Israel as it starves civilians will be seen as disqualifying by many Democratic voters, 83% of whom oppose Israel’s actions in Gaza.

news.gallup.com/poll/692948/...

We're glad that 40 Senators have finally woken up to the Israeli government's starvation of Palestinians in Gaza.

Now they must vote to block the weapons the US is sending to the Israeli military as it continues its genocidal campaign in Gaza & maintains its system of apartheid over Palestinians.

Today’s votes present Senators with a clear choice:

Back up your condemnations of starvation and killing in Gaza with concrete action, or continue to unconditionally send Israel the arms it is using to restrict aid delivery, fire on Palestinian civilians, and forcibly displace them from their land.

These votes present Senators with a choice between backing up their condemnations of starvation and killing in Gaza with concrete action, or continuing to unconditionally send Israel the arms it is using to enforce its siege, fire on Palestinian civilians, and forcibly displace them from their land.

Human rights experts, including Israeli scholars and groups, say a genocide is taking place in Gaza.

France and the UK will recognize Palestinian statehood.

Moderate US lawmakers are calling to halt military aid to Israel.

The political dam is cracking on Israel-Palestine, but is not yet broken.

Good to see the UK joining France on this.

Countries must also take active steps to put real pressure on Israel to end its campaign of forced displacement, starvation and slaughter in Gaza and illegal annexation in the West Bank.

See @mattduss.bsky.social: internationalpolicy.org/publications...

NEW from @senangusking.bsky.social on Gaza:

“I cannot defend the indefensible…I am through supporting the actions of the current Israeli government and will advocate—and vote—for an end to any United States support whatsoever until there is a demonstrable change in the direction of Israeli policy.”

Aid deliveries a ‘drop in the ocean’ amid Gaza’s desperate hunger, UN says, as Israel resumes military pause – Israel-Gaza war live UN says ‘vast amounts of aid’ needed to prevent catastrophic health crisis in Gaza

Don’t be fooled by claims that Israel is ending the deadly famine it caused in Gaza by “pausing” its near-total siege.

The aid it’s letting in is a fraction of what is needed and key relief operations are still prohibited.

Israel’s starvation of Gaza continues.

www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...

Trump gave Israel the bombs it uses to kill civilians.

He armed Israel’s siege starving two million people, half of them kids.

He defunded UNRWA and USAID.

He proposed the forced displacement—aka ethnic cleansing—that Israel is now openly pursuing in Gaza.

And he wants Palestinians to thank him?

AIPAC was promoting the lie that Hamas routinely stole aid in Gaza as recently as this week.

It has repeatedly used this lie to lobby in support of Israel’s near-total siege and restrictions on UN operations that are starving one million children and their families.

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/26/w...

“The Israeli military never found proof that [Hamas] had systematically stolen aid from the United Nations…In fact, the Israeli military officials said, the UN aid delivery system, which Israel derided and undermined, was largely effective in providing food to Gaza’s desperate and hungry population”