Position: U.S. Senator ( CO )
Party Affiliation: DEM
Opposes BDS
Supports the Two State Solution
Supported the Combating BDS Act of 2017
Supported the Israel Anti Boycott Act
Supports the Anti Semitism Awareness Act
Opposed UN Security Council Resolution 2334
Supported the United States Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act of 2018
Voted For the Strengthening America's Middle East Security Act of 2019
Supported the Iran Deal
Supports Reentering the Iran Deal
Did Not Support the US Embassy Move to Jerusalem
Would Keep the US Embassy in Jerusalem
Supports Current Level of US Security Aid to Israel
Opposes Conditioning US Security Aid to Israel
Right of Return to Israel for Palestinians to Be Negotiated
Michael Bennet was born in 1964 and is currently serving as the senior United States Senator from Colorado. Senator Bennet’s seat will be up for election in 2022. He ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for U.S. President in 2020.
Bennet was appointed to the Senate seat in 2009, when Senator Ken Salazar resigned to become U.S. Secretary of the Interior. He was elected in the 2010 Senate election and reelected in 2016. Before serving in the Senate, Bennet worked as chief of staff to then-Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and as superintendent of the Denver Public Schools.
Senator Bennet is currently serving on the Finance Committee; Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee; and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Below is Senator Bennet’s voting record and public positions on issues important to the Jewish community.
Senator Bennet supported the Iran nuclear deal. He supports reentering the existing nuclear agreement with Iran.
Senator Bennet supported a resolution that objected UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which claims that Israel’s settlements have no legal validity. He supports the two-state solution and believes that the right of return for Palestinians should be decided during direct negotiations.
Senator Bennet did not support the move of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, expressing concern that the decision would “undermine the prospect for negotiations and risk destabilizing an already volatile region.” Yet, he later argued that he “would keep the embassy in Jerusalem, although the terms of that should have been part of the negotiated two-state solution.”
Senator Bennet cosponsored the United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act, a legislation that supported full funding of security assistance to Israel as outlined in the 2016 U.S.-Israel Memorandum of Understanding. He cosponsored the Israel Anti-Boycott Act and the Combating BDS Act of 2017, two bills that aim to fight discriminatory boycotts that target Israel.
In 2019, he voted for the Strengthening America’s Middle East Security Act which, among other things, strengthened Israel’s security and allowed a state or local government to adopt measures to divest its assets from entities that boycott Israel. Senator Bennet has stated that the U.S. should maintain its current level of security aid to Israel. When asked in October 2019 whether he supported conditioning aid to pressure Israel to stop its settlements, Senator Bennnet said he did not endorse using security aid as leverage.
Senator Bennet is a cosponsor of the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act of 2019, which aims to provide for the consideration of a definition of anti-Semitism for the enforcement of Federal antidiscrimination laws concerning education programs or activities.
Supported the Iran nuclear deal http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site36/2015/0904/20150904_095216_Bennet-statement-on-Iran-Nuclear-Agreement-9-4-15.pdf
Supports reentering the Iran nuclear deal https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/policy-2020/foreign-policy/iran-nuclear-deal/
Voted For the Strengthening America’s Middle East Security Act of 2019 https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=116&session=1&vote=00016
Cosponsored the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act of 2019 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/852/cosponsors
Cosponsored the Israel Anti-Boycott Act https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/720/cosponsors
Opposed UN Security Council Resolution 2334 and supported the two-state solution https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-resolution/6/cosponsors
Cosponsored the Combating BDS Act of 2017 https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/170/cosponsors
Cosponsored the United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act of 2018 https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/2497/cosponsors
Supports current level of U.S. security aid to Israel https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/politics/2020-democrats-israel-foreign-policy.html
Opposed to conditioning US security aid to Israel https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium-military-aid-to-israel-becomes-new-battleground-for-2020-democratic-cadndidates-1.8058113
Did not support the move of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2017/12/bennet-statement-on-president-rsquo-s-jerusalem-announcement
Would keep the U.S. embasssy in Jerusalem https://www.jns.org/bennet-pledges-to-keep-us-embassy-in-jerusalem-dodges-question-on-golan-heights/
Cosponsored Senate Resolution 120 that opposes the delegitimization of Israel https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-resolution/120
Right of Return for Palestinians to be decided during direct negotiations https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/politics/2020-democrats-israel-foreign-policy.html
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