Nine of the state’s 13 Democratic House members voted on Wednesday for an amendment cutting off U.S. aid to Israel, including U.S. Reps. Sylvia Garcia, Al Green and Christian Menefee in Houston; Jasmine Crockett of Dallas; Greg Casar and Lloyd Doggett of Austin; and Joaquin Castro of San Antonio.
The provision, which was introduced into a defense spending bill by Republican U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, failed, 104-314, with only Massie in support among Republicans.
Progressive Democrats including U.S. Rep. Alaexandrio Ocasio-Cortez of New York still cheered the outcome. Casar said in a statement, “More Democrats than ever before voted to stop sending money to Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.”
Earlier in the day, Castro said on the House floor that the attack by Hamas on Israel in October 2023 had “become a justification for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.”
“Self-defense does not include indiscriminately bombing homes, hospitals, churches, schools or refugee camps,” he said.
The vote follows tense discussions about the conflict between Israel and Hamas at the Texas Democratic Convention last month. Some progressives there called on the party to condemn Israel for committing “genocide.” The party instead opted for a more nuanced platform recognizing Israel’s right to exist, condemning Hamas and calling for support for a Palestinian state.
The document also targeted the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee, pressing campaigns to “eliminate and reject the influence and contributions of foreign-interest PACs and lobbying organizations, including AIPAC.”
But large swaths of Democrats remain committed to supporting Israel. On Wednesday, 98 Democrats in the U.S. House voted against the amendment cutting off aid to Isreal. Another 14 members voted present or did not vote.
The four Texas Democrats in opposition were U.S. Reps. Lizzie Fletcher of Houston, Henry Cuellar of Laredo, Vicente Gonzalez of McAllen and Marc Veasey of Fort Worth.