In a historic vote on November 10, 2025, the Green Party of the United States (GPUS) formally designated the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) a terrorist organization—citing decades of collective punishment, occupation, and systematic violations of international law. The decision aligns U.S. Greens with their counterparts in England and Wales and puts fresh political pressure on Washington’s military aid to Israel under domestic and international legal frameworks. secure.gpus.org+1
Breaking: A party-line drawn in unmistakable ink
The Green Party of the United States has adopted Proposal 1269, “Designation of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) as a Terrorist Organization,” by a formal vote of its National Committee on November 10, 2025. The party’s vote ledger lists the proposal’s status as Adopted with the result posted the same day, marking the first instance of a major U.S. political party taking this stance. secure.gpus.org+1
At its core, the measure declares that the IDF’s “consistent and systematic use of violence against civilian populations” constitutes terrorism and urges concrete policy actions: end U.S. military aid, enforce the Leahy Law vetting of implicated units, and pursue international accountability for IDF commanders implicated in war crimes and crimes against humanity. www.gp.org
“We cannot build a peaceful world while excusing militarized terror when it comes from so-called allies,” the measure argues, framing the designation as a moral line and a legal demand for accountability. www.gp.org
What this means—and why it’s unprecedented
American political parties typically avoid labeling state militaries “terrorist organizations,” even when allies are accused of grave abuses. The GPUS move, therefore, is more than rhetorical. It aligns with (and sharpens) international findings that Israel’s policies toward Palestinians meet legal thresholds of apartheid—and, per numerous jurists, raise credible risks of genocide in Gaza—while challenging U.S. complicity through military aid.
In February 2022, Amnesty International concluded that Israeli authorities maintain a “cruel system of domination” over Palestinians amounting to apartheid, detailing laws, policies, and practices of segregation and dispossession. Amnesty International+1 In January and March 2024—and again in subsequent rulings—the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel to take binding provisional measures to prevent acts prohibited by the Genocide Convention and to enable humanitarian aid, finding a plausible risk to protected groups in Gaza. International Court of Justice+2International Court of Justice+2 Human Rights Watch summarized those ICJ orders as legally binding requirements to prevent genocide and facilitate aid. Human Rights Watch
The Green Party’s designation, then, is an explicitly political action built atop a body of legal and human-rights analysis that has grown more formal, more urgent, and more widely cited since 2022. It also echoes a related step abroad: the Green Party of England and Wales voted in October 2025 to call for the IDF to be proscribed as a terrorist organization—precedent GPUS leaders explicitly referenced. bright-green.org+1
The legal levers: Leahy Law and U.S. aid
The GPUS resolution pairs its designation with U.S.-specific enforcement mechanisms. Top among them is the Leahy Law, which prohibits U.S. assistance to foreign security force units when the State Department has credible information that a unit committed gross violations of human rights. The State Department’s 2025 fact sheet spells out the vetting obligation and the legal bar to assistance to such units. State Department
In practical terms: if U.S. officials vet IDF units credibly implicated in abuses, those units should be ineligible for U.S. assistance under existing law—regardless of alliance politics. State Department
That matters because the U.S. has been Israel’s largest military backer for decades. Under the 10-year Memorandum of Understanding that began in 2019, Washington targets $3.3 billion in annual Foreign Military Financing for Israel plus $500 million for joint missile defense, totaling $3.8 billion annually. Congress’s own research service reconfirmed those figures in May 2025. Congress.gov Independent trackers and think tanks note even larger wartime flows and commitments since October 2023, with estimates exceeding $20 billion in additional support through 2025. Quincy Institute+1
For Greens, the path is straightforward: use the laws already on the books—Leahy vetting, human rights conditions, and end-use monitoring—to halt aid to implicated units, and press for accountability where command responsibility attaches.
How the Greens make their case
The adopted text (Proposal 1269) lays out a historical throughline: from Deir Yassin (1948) to the Great March of Return (2018–2019) and the current Gaza siege, asserting a pattern of civilian targeting, collective punishment, and military occupation. It situates those acts within legal frameworks—Geneva Conventions, Rome Statute, Genocide Convention—and points to the growing record from UN experts and major NGOs. www.gp.org
“The IDF is not merely a military force—it is the violent arm of a settler-colonial apartheid regime,” reads the explanatory text, underscoring that the designation flows from Green principles of nonviolence, anti-colonialism, and human rights rather than from mere partisanship. www.gp.org
Greens also align themselves with a global civil-society chorus calling for embargoes, sanctions, and legal consequences. UN special rapporteurs and large human-rights organizations have, in the past year, documented patterns of unlawful attacks, starvation as a method of warfare, and mass displacement in Gaza. Those findings—contested by Israeli officials—nonetheless form part of the “credible information” standard that U.S. agencies must assess when vetting foreign security forces. The Guardian+1
Sidebar
Key fact: The U.S. has committed $3.8B annually in baseline military aid to Israel under the 2019–2028 MOU—plus additional billions since Oct. 2023.
[1][2]
References listed as [1][2] correspond to the detailed Sources section below.
What critics will say—and how Greens answer
“A party can’t ‘designate’ a state military as terrorist.”
True, the legal status of the U.S. terrorist designation list resides with the State and Treasury Departments (foreign terrorist organizations, specially designated global terrorists). The Green Party is not the U.S. government. But parties signal policy priorities and lay down markers. As with past party platforms on divestment from apartheid South Africa, such actions can move Overton windows and prompt legislative and executive scrutiny—especially when paired with existing U.S. law requiring vetting and restrictions. State Department
“The ICJ did not declare genocide.”
Correct. The ICJ has not made a final genocide determination. It did find a plausible risk and imposed binding provisional measures compelling Israel to prevent acts under the Convention and to allow aid—measures later reaffirmed and expanded. That is exactly why the Green resolution ties its claims to risk, pattern, and accountability, not to premature adjudication. International Court of Justice+1
“This ignores Israeli civilian harm from Hamas.”
It does not. Greens have condemned attacks on civilians by any actor and support international investigations into all war crimes. The question at hand is whether U.S. policy should underwrite units credibly implicated in systematic abuses—and whether consistent standards apply regardless of alliance. That is a legal, not tribal, test. State Department
How this reverberates in Washington—and Dearborn
Policy ripples start inside coalitions. The GPUS vote will not by itself trigger changes in U.S. law, but it arms advocates with a mainstream political statement to bring into city councils, state legislatures, and Congressional offices. It gives members of Congress supportive cover to demand Leahy vetting disclosures, to condition or suspend assistance, and to request Inspector General reviews of end-use compliance.
For Dearborn—home to one of the largest Arab-American communities in the country, to Ford and a cutting-edge manufacturing ecosystem, and to UM-Dearborn—the implications are direct. Residents have watched the Gaza war’s human toll in real time, debated policy in mosques, churches, union halls, and classrooms, and led national conversations on boycotts, municipal divestment, and humane immigration. A national party’s explicit designation—paired with specific U.S. legal levers—clarifies the practical next steps:
- Demand transparency: insist elected officials publish Leahy vetting outcomes for IDF units receiving assistance. State Department
- Push procurement ethics: municipalities and schools can review vendor ties to alleged violations, mirroring international due-diligence standards. The Guardian
- Educate across differences: use university forums to unpack ICJ rulings, NGO findings, and congressional oversight tools—less heat, more light. International Court of Justice+1
In the Dearborn tradition, this is about civic muscle meeting ethical clarity—moving beyond hashtags into policies that withstand cross-examination.
Quotes worth sitting with
“The IDF is not merely a military force—it is the violent arm of a settler-colonial apartheid regime.” — GPUS Proposal 1269 www.gp.org
“Israeli authorities must be held accountable for committing the crime of apartheid against Palestinians.” — Amnesty International (2022) Amnesty International
“The Court orders Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of all acts within the scope of Article II of the Genocide Convention.” — International Court of Justice, Jan. 26, 2024 International Court of Justice
How this aligns with Green values
The Green Party has long anchored itself to nonviolence, grassroots democracy, social justice, and ecological wisdom. Those pillars translate, in foreign policy, into supporting international law, human rights, and demilitarization. The IDF designation flows from that DNA: when a state apparatus systematically imposes apartheid conditions and conducts military operations that international bodies say plausibly risk genocide, Greens argue that consistency demands action—even when the state is a U.S. ally. Amnesty International+1
What comes next
This designation will be tested immediately—in press conferences, on op-ed pages, in legislatures, and, ultimately, in budgeting rounds that decide whether U.S. dollars continue to underwrite IDF operations without full vetting and legal consequences. It will also likely sharpen internal debates in other parties and unions, as we have seen in the U.K. Green context. bright-green.org
For Dearborn readers, two simple takeaways:
- This is not just symbolism. It maps to U.S. laws that can be enforced now.
- Local action scales. City policies, school board standards, and campus forums set norms that ripple outward.
As always, Dearborn’s voice—rooted in lived experience, cross-community solidarity, and relentless fact-checking—can keep national conversations honest. That’s the work. Let’s get on with it.
Sources (detailed)
[1] Green Party of the United States. National Committee Voting Results — Proposal 1269, “Designation of the Israeli Defense Forces IDF as a Terrorist Organization,” Adopted, November 10, 2025. (Accessed Nov. 10, 2025). https://secure.gpus.org/cgi-bin/vote/index/propresult?pid=1269 secure.gpus.org
[2] Green Party of the United States. National Committee Voting—Index (shows Proposal 1269 “Adopted” 11/10/2025). (Accessed Nov. 10, 2025). https://gp.org/cgi-bin/vote/index www.gp.org
[3] Green Party of the United States. Proposal 1269: Designation of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) as a Terrorist Organization (proposal text and rationale). (Accessed Nov. 10, 2025). https://www.gp.org/proposal_1269_designation_of_the_israeli_defense_forces_idf_as_a_terrorist_organization www.gp.org
[4] Amnesty International. Israel’s apartheid against Palestinians: a cruel system of domination and a crime against humanity (Report overview and analysis), Feb. 1, 2022. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/02/israels-apartheid-against-palestinians-a-cruel-system-of-domination-and-a-crime-against-humanity/ and full report PDF. https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde15/5141/2022/en/ Amnesty International+1
[5] International Court of Justice. Order of 26 January 2024 — Application of the Genocide Convention in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel) (Provisional Measures). https://www.icj-cij.org/node/203447 (see also UN summary: https://www.un.org/unispal/document/icj-southafricavsisrael-provisional-measures-26jan2024/ ) International Court of Justice+1
[6] International Court of Justice. Orders on Provisional Measures — including March 28, 2024 order and subsequent orders; see May 24, 2024 updates reported by major outlets. https://www.icj-cij.org/case/192/provisional-measures ; see coverage: The Guardian, May 24, 2024; Reuters, May 24, 2024. International Court of Justice+1
[7] Human Rights Watch. Gaza: World Court Orders Israel to Prevent Genocide, Jan. 26, 2024 (summary of ICJ provisional measures and their binding nature). https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/01/26/gaza-world-court-orders-israel-prevent-genocide Human Rights Watch
[8] U.S. Department of State (Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor). Leahy Law Fact Sheet, Jan. 20, 2025. https://www.state.gov/bureau-of-democracy-human-rights-and-labor/releases/2025/01/leahy-law-fact-sheet State Department
[9] Congressional Research Service. U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel (RL33222), May 12, 2025 (confirms $3.3B FMF + $500M missile defense annually under 2019–2028 MOU). https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/RL/PDF/RL33222/RL33222.51.pdf Congress.gov
[10] Quincy Institute. U.S. Military Aid and Arms Transfers to Israel, Oct. 2023–Sept. 2025, Oct. 7, 2025. https://quincyinst.org/research/u-s-military-aid-and-arms-transfers-to-israel-october-2023-september-2025/ Quincy Institute
[11] Brown University, Costs of War Project. United States Spending on Israel’s Military Operations and Related U.S. Operations in the Region (running totals), Oct. 7, 2024 (and updates). https://costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/paper/united-states-spending-israels-military-operations-and-related-us-operations-region-october-7 Costs of War
[12] Bright Green. Green Party calls for the IDF to be proscribed as a terrorist organisation (GPEW Conference vote), Oct. 5, 2025; see also Middle East Eye report, Oct. 6, 2025. https://bright-green.org/2025/10/05/green-party-calls-for-the-idf-to-be-proscribed-as-a-terrorist-organisation/ ; https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/green-party-demands-ban-israeli-military-terror-group-and-apology-balfour-declaration bright-green.org+1
[13] UN Special Rapporteur reports and press—on corporate complicity and calls for embargoes/sanctions during Gaza war; see The Guardian coverage, July 3, 2025. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/03/global-firms-profiting-israel-genocide-gaza-united-nations-rapporteur The Guardian
[14] Amnesty International reporting on starvation and humanitarian access controversies during Gaza war (2025). Associated Press coverage, July 2025. https://apnews.com/article/bc0964d64178999809770493df90607d AP News
[15] Independent Political Report. U.S. Greens Debate Motion to Label IDF a Terrorist Organization (pre-vote context), Oct. 29, 2025. https://independentpoliticalreport.com/2025/10/u-s-greens-debate-motion-to-label-israeli-defense-forces-a-terrorist-organization/ Independent Political Report
Disclaimer
Dearborn Blog is a platform for news, commentary, and analysis. The information above is based on publicly available sources listed herein and is provided in good faith. We do not claim to offer legal advice. All allegations of violations of international law are, where noted, the findings or opinions of the cited bodies and organizations, and are contested by the Government of Israel and other parties. For corrections, clarifications, or responses for inclusion, please contact info@dearbornblog.com.
Dearborn Blog supports civil, evidence-based debate. We welcome counter-arguments that cite verifiable sources and law.
Dearborn’s voice
This community knows the human stakes, not as abstraction but as family—here and there. The GPUS vote adds new momentum to a simple demand: equal law for every life. As Dearborn continues to lead with clarity and courage, our task is unchanged: build coalitions, elevate facts, and insist that U.S. policy finally match our values—People. Planet. Peace.
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