Israel has been found to be committing genocide in Gaza by multiple groups, including the United Nations, but the U.S. continues to give aid, sell arms and pass legislation supporting it, while political candidates in the U.S. receive millions in campaign contributions from the pro-Israel lobby.
Palestinian health authorities reported in July that more than 60,000 people are dead in the Gaza Strip, and over one-third of the deceased were children younger than 18, according to reporting from Reuters and PBS. Other news sources reported in September that there are actually over 200,000 dead in Gaza – according to a former Israeli army commander, over 10% of the area’s total population have been killed.
The surviving people in Gaza also face a severe famine, according to an analysis from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) in August. The World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) both highlighted the need for humanitarian aid to Gaza. The WFP reported that 640,000 people in the Gaza Strip live in famine conditions, and 120,000 children are at risk of death from malnutrition.
But Israel has consistently stopped outside aid from entering the Gaza Strip. The country’s military intercepted multiple humanitarian aid flotillas by sea and detained the activists onboard before they could reach the shores of Gaza, according to the freedom flotilla coalition and reporting from multiple news sources.
A United Nations Commission officially found that Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza in September. Multiple news sources reported that the International Association of Genocide Scholars declared that Israel is committing genocide two weeks earlier, on Sept. 1. And human rights movement Amnesty International recognized the genocide nearly a year before that, at the end of 2024.
The International Criminal Court even issued arrest warrants in November 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the genocide in Gaza, according to the United Nations.
But the U.S., while slashing social programs at home, has sent its taxpayer-funded resources to Israel throughout the well-documented genocide, and even took measures to punish people within the U.S. who speak out against it.
Legislation to support a genocidal state
The U.S. sent a total of over $16 billion in military and missile defense aid to Israel in 2024 and 2025, according to a report from the U.S. Congressional Research Service last updated in late May.
The congressional research report only credits the U.S. for sending $3.8 billion to Israel in 2025, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a press statement released in March that he authorized $4 billion in military aid to the state, and that President Donald Trump authorized nearly $12 billion in foreign military sales to Israel.
The U.S. approved selling military resources to Israel multiple times during its genocide in Gaza, including $20 billion in sales approved by Congress in August 2024, as reported by the Associated Press.
But when members of Congress moved to block military exports to Israel in the middle of their genocide, the Senate overwhelmingly denied it.
A bill introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders in July proposed a “congressional disapproval of the proposed export of certain defense articles to Israel,” but it received the support of only 27 Democratic lawmakers. Senators from both major political parties voted to kill the bill, with 16 Democrats contributing to the 70 “nay” votes.
Two other bills are currently making their way through the U.S. House of Representatives that would restrict Americans’ ability to boycott the state of Israel.
The “Countering Hate Against Israel by Federal Contractors Act,” introduced by Rep. Claudia Tenney in April, would require federal contractors to confirm that they are not boycotting Israel before they receive any contracts from U.S. federal agencies.
The “IGO Anti-Boycott Act,” introduced in January, would make it illegal for Americans to participate in boycotts of U.S. allies if the boycott was organized by an international governmental organization or foreign nation.
It specifically outlaws boycotting businesses associated with boycotted countries and releasing information on whether a person or business is associated with a boycotted country or organization connected to a boycotted country. This is relevant because it would target the BDS movement that calls for boycotts targeting Israel.
Israeli Money in U.S. Elections
One of the largest and most powerful lobbies in the U.S. is the pro-Israel cause, according to OpenSecrets, a nonprofit organization that tracks money in politics. The OpenSecrets website described the pro-Israel lobby as potentially the most powerful international issue lobby that carries “a major force on American foreign affairs.”
The lobby gave a combined $78 million to candidates, Political Action Committees (PACs), and outside soft money groups in the 2024 election cycle, according to OpenSecrets. It contributed over $44 million in the 2022 cycle and over $32 million in 2020.
Democratic candidates received over $42 million from the Israel lobby in the 2024 election cycle, and Republican candidates received over $28 million, according to OpenSecrets.
The largest individual contributor in the pro-Israel lobby is the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), who contributed over $40 million to political candidates in the 2024 election cycle. According to OpenSecrets, AIPAC was the 18th largest overall political contributor in the 2024 cycle.
AIPAC gave Democratic candidates over $25 million in the 2024 cycle, and Republican candidates over $16 million, according to OpenSecrets.
Candidates who accepted money from AIPAC and other pro-Israel lobbying organizations can be tracked on OpenSecrets and trackAIPAC.com.
Mark Credico is an independent journalist working in Southern Nevada. He covers subjects including government accountability, homelessness, workers' unions and the environment.
