⚡️ 53 U.S. senators voted to block a resolution that would have forced the State Department to report on the killings of American citizens by Israeli settlers and soldiers in the occupied West Bank. The privileged resolution, led by Sens. Chris Van Hollen, Tim Kaine and Bernie Sanders, invoked Section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act. It would have required a report within 30 days on: ➤ Investigations into the killings of U.S. citizens by settlers or Israeli forces ➤ The human rights situation in the West Bank, specifically the detention of Palestinian children If the administration failed to deliver the report, most U.S. security assistance to Israel would have been cut off, according to the sponsors. The resolution notes nine Americans have been killed in the West Bank since 2022 and none have received accountability or justice from either the Israeli or U.S. government.

⭕️ National Democratic consultants running Troy Jackson's Senate campaign have pushed him to soften his messaging on Gaza and avoid questions about Israel, New York Magazine reports. Rebecca Traister reports that out-of-state advisers and "consultants, some connected to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and national party leaders," have discouraged open Q&As and sought to limit Jackson's opportunities to discuss Gaza, despite his previously unequivocal support for a total arms embargo and his description of Israel's assault as genocide. Internal campaign guidance obtained by the magazine instructs Jackson, when asked about genocide, to say: "No matter what you're comfortable calling it, I think we can all agree this is senseless violence." At a September town hall, Jackson spoke of people suffering on "both sides" and said Gaza and Israel both "deserve to be there, be protected." The mood in the room "deflated like a balloon" after the "word salad" response, the report says, and drew visible disapproval from some attendees. The campaign told New York Magazine his positions have not changed. Jackson is headlining a New York fundraiser this week co-hosted by Henry Beck, a former Maine state treasurer who traveled to Israel on an AIPAC-affiliated trip, Drop Site reported. Asked whether the big-ticket fundraiser co-hosted by an AIPAC-aligned Democrat represented a moderation of his position on Gaza, the campaign avoided a direct response. A spokesperson told Drop Site on Monday that Jackson "has described Israel's assault on Gaza as a genocide," framing the label in the past tense, and that he "opposes U.S. taxpayer-funded military aid to Israel." The campaign did not reaffirm his earlier call for a total arms embargo. A labor source who has known Jackson for years told New York Magazine that his shift "feels fake, like he's being compelled to say things he doesn't fully believe by people who hold the resources he believes he needs to win." 🔗 NY Mag story in reply. Drop Site’s earlier report is quoted below.