$496,385 from the pro-Israel lobby is a suitable price in exchange for the lives of tens of thousands of Palestinians according to Arizona Senator Malicious Mark. His political career is stained with continuous support for the settler-colonial state of Israel — including both verbal and legislative backing for the apartheid state. In 2021, he voted to keep the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, a move made by former president Trump which undermined both international law and the Palestinian liberation movement.
Sen. Kelly has broadcasted his efforts to sustain U.S. funding for Israel’s Iron Dome missile “defense” system on multiple occasions. Kelly justifies this superfluous spending by characterizing the Iron Dome as important for Israel’s “self defense” — despite Israel leading a military occupation of Palestine since 1948 and Palestinians being barred from forming an official military. Posturing Israel as a legitimate nation requiring self-defense rather than an occupying force against an indigenous people normalizes the existence of the settler-colonial state. Kelly seeks to cement these normalization efforts into the cultural fabric of the Middle East, boasting of his promotion of the Abraham Accords during his visit to “Israel” in 2023.
Kelly visited the genocidal state of Israel two times since October 7, affirming his support for the state of Israel on X. After his second visit, Kelly acknowledged the pain of families of Israeli hostages he met with while mentioning little of the tens of thousands of Palestinians that had been brutally murdered by Israel. Unsurprisingly, Senator Mark Kelly voted in favor of the $95 billion supplementary funding package, which included $26 billion to Israel to continue to bomb Palestinians in Gaza. In his statement advocating for the bill, he stated, “Let’s get this done right now and show the world that the United States continues to lead, continues to stand by our allies, and continues to be the strongest force for peace and stability in the world.” Clearly, according to Sen. Kelly, “peace and stability” entails being paid off nearly half a million dollars to support genocide.
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Roll Call Vote 117th Congress - 1st Session, United States Senate, February 2021
