Perpetuating violence and genocide: Both Michigan Senators vote against resolutions to block the sale of weapons to Israel

On Thursday, both Michigan Senators Gary Peters and Elissa Slotkin voted no on two separate resolutions put forth by Sen. Bernie Sanders to block the US from selling more deadly weapons to Israel.

The first resolution was to block the sale of 35,000 two thousand-pound bombs to Israel, which was defeated by a vote of 15 for blocking the weapons and 82 against blocking the US sale of 2,000 pound bombs.  

The second resolution to block the sale of US weaponry to Israel was defeated by a vote of 15 for blocking the sale of US weapons and 83 voting against. The US weapons included in the second resolution are: two thousand one hundred sixty-six (2,166) GBU–39/B Small Diameter Bombs Increment 1 (SDB–I); two thousand eight hundred (2,800) MK 82 General Purpose, 500-pound bomb bodies; thirteen thousand (13,000) KMU–556E/B, or KMU–556H/B with SABR–Y, KMU–556F/B, or KMU–556J/B Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) Guidance Kits for the MK–84 bomb body; three thousand four hundred seventy-five (3,475) KMU–557E/B, or KMU–557F/B, or KMU–557H/B with SABR–Y, or KMU–557J/B JDAM Guidance Kits for the BLU–109 bomb body; one thousand four (1,004) KMU–572E/B, or KMU–572F/B, KMU–572H/B with SABR–Y, or KMU–572J/B JDAM Guidance Kits for GBU–38v1; and seventeen thousand four hundred seventy-five (17,475) FMU–152A/B fuzes. The following non-MDE items will also be included: FMU–139 fuzes; bomb components; munitions support and support equipment; spare parts, consumables and accessories, and repair and return support; U.S. Government and contractor engineering, logistics, and technical support services and other related elements of logistics and program support.

So why did the majority of the US Senate vote against preventing the US from selling more deadly weapons to Israel? Why would they vote against resolutions that would reduce the harm to Palestinians, reduce war crimes and potentially prevent the continued genocide that is taking place in Gaza?

Senator Gary Peters voted against blocking the continued sale of US weapons to Israel and has done so during his time in the US Senate. In 2016, I wrote a piece about how Peters was following in the footsteps of Michigan Senator Carl Levin, who also was a loyal defender of Israel and Zionism.

In February of 2024, many Michiganders called on Sen. Peters to end US military aid and support for Israel. I received a response from Sen. Peters, which I wrote about, and ended my article by saying:

In the final analysis, Senator Peters, who has been the recipient lots of pro-Israel PAC money, completely ignores Israel’s genocidal campaign against the Palestinians and will not support any efforts to reduced US military aid to Israel thus making the US complicit in, along with Senator Peters, Israeli war crimes.

The same is true with Sen. Slotkin, who not only opposed these two resolutions, but as a member of the House of Representatives, she consistently voted for the unconditional US support of Israel and providing billions in US weapons sales to Israel while it has been committing genocide against the Palestinians. 

Both Michigan Senators voted to continue the sale of US weapons to Israel, regardless of who is in the White House and regardless of the fact that most of the international community opposes the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, the system of racial apartheid that Israel imposes on the Palestinians, and the ongoing crime of genocide. 

Image at the top is taken from a March 18, 2025 photo from AlJazeera.