Not long ago, President Joe Biden marked his first 100 days in office and stressed how his policies have been different from the previous administration, but when it comes to foreign policy, it turns out that Biden is too close to former President Donald Trump for some fellow Democrats. 

Biden recently sent a $735 million weapons package to Israel, a U.S. ally, amid calls by some in his party including Rep. Cori Bush, for him to take action against Israel to stop its violent conflict with Palestine. Rep. Bush had been the lone Congressional Black Caucus member to come out in support of Palestine in the current conflict.

Now, Rep Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY 5th District) — chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Congressional Black Caucus Political Action Committee (CBCPAC) — announced that he wants Biden to delay the arms package of precision-guided weapons to Israel that was approved before the latest tensions in the Middle East started, The New York Times reported.

Meeks, who regularly attends the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC — the most powerful pro-Israel lobbying group — convened an emergency meeting of Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats on May 17 to discuss delaying the arms package.

Some Democrats are now questioning Biden‘s commitment to human rights and demanding he do more to pressure Israel, CNN reported.

In 2017, a pro-Israel Trump administration announced that the U.S. recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, overturning decades-old official U.S. foreign policy. In 2018, Trump moved the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, angering Palestinians.

Since 1985, the U.S. has given almost $3 billion in grants per year to Israel, according to a Congressional Research Service report prepared for Congress. Israel was the largest annual recipient of U.S. aid from 1976 to 2004 and the largest cumulative recipient ($146 billion, not adjusted for inflation) since World War II. Of these funds, 74 percent must be spent buying U.S. goods and services, Jerusalem Post reported. In 2019, the U.S. gave $3.8 billion in military aid to Israel. In the past, Israel received significant economic assistance but almost all U.S. aid to Israel is now in the form of military assistance.

Since taking office, Biden has not reversed Trump’s — and previous administrations’ — pro-Israel foreign policy.

Liu Zhongmin, a professor at the Middle East Studies Institute of the Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times that Israel is “spoilt” and has taken the opportunity to battle Palestine without fear of U.S. retribution.

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Biden has reached out to both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas but has stopped short of demanding that Israel cease its airstrikes in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli airstrikes and Hamas rockets have killed more than 200 people and injured at least 1,000 others in Gaza alone, BBC reported. Of the 219 people killed in Gaza, at least 63 are children, according to its health ministry. Of the 10 people killed in Israel, two children are among the dead, according to Israel’s medical service.

“Do Palestinians have a right to survive?” asked New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in a recent speech.

Ocasio-Cortez later tweeted, “If the Biden admin can’t stand up to an ally, who can it stand up to? How can they credibly claim to stand for human rights?”

Earlier this week, 28 Democratic senators — more than half of the party’s caucus — issued an open letter calling for a cease-fire. The effort was led by Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Georgia Democrat who is Jewish.