But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check
Keisha Bottoms
Democrat · Governor, Georgia
–No Position Found
How this mark works
We track key votes on sending U.S. weapons and money to the government of Israel. A check means every tracked vote they cast came down against sending more, on the side of peace and de-escalation. A question mark means a mixed record: they sided with sending up to half of the time. An X means they voted to send more weapons and money in over half of their tracked votes, even as the way those weapons and dollars were being used became more and more obvious. At exactly half, money this election cycle from a lobbying group we track, or an endorsement from a group that backs sending weapons, makes it an X. Only votes actually cast are counted. Where a candidate has no recorded votes on these bills, the mark comes instead from a reviewed reading of their public record (money from the lobbying groups we track, endorsements, and their own words since January 26, 2024). There an X also covers fully backing the conduct of the war by the government of Israel without significant reservations, and a question mark also covers speaking about Israel without saying clearly where they stand on U.S. weapons and funding. A dash means No Position Found: we found nothing in their own words about Israel, Gaza or the war.
No recorded votes on the bills we track. We found nothing in their own words about Israel, Gaza or the war.
Bottoms is running on a platform of Georgia issues that does not mention the conflict. Nothing located from her, as a candidate, as Atlanta's mayor or as a White House adviser, addresses U.S. weapons or money for the government of Israel, or U.S. aid to Palestinians.
The email has replies@butwhatcanyoudo.org in cc, so we can post their answer on their page in their own words; remove it if you prefer. Keep the subject line as it is, add your name, and send.
Bottoms was mayor of Atlanta from 2018 to 2022 and then directed the White House Office of Public Engagement. Her issues page covers healthcare, housing, education, farmers, small business, public safety, democracy, the environment, veterans and affordability. Foreign policy is not on it, and no interview, statement or questionnaire answer from her on U.S. weapons or money for the government of Israel, or on U.S. aid to Palestinians, was found.
The Jewish Democratic Council of America, which describes its mission as being "the political home and voice of Jewish voters" and supporting Democrats, lists her among its endorsed candidates. Its endorsement page says: "She has stated that she supports Israel’s security and a negotiated two-state solution that delivers peace and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians alike." That is the council's account, and it says nothing about U.S. weapons or money. No statement of hers to that effect was found.
The rest is older context. In December 2022, as senior adviser to the president, she sat in on a White House roundtable with Jewish leaders on rising antisemitism hosted by Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff. Attending that meeting is context, not a position on what the United States sends.
You are better placed to change that than we are. Ask Bottoms directly, or at a candidate forum, and send us the reply: it goes on this page in her own words.
In their words
Endorsements
Jewish Democratic Council of America (2026)
Research log
The notes behind this card: what we looked at, what we found, and where each item came from.
Every page cited below was opened and read on 2026-09-03 unless marked otherwise. Bands: Position (2024-01-26 onward), Reaction window (2023-10-07 to 2024-01-25), Earlier record (before 2023-10-07), Undated.
U.S. military aid and weapons to Israel
Nothing located: no statement, vote, platform line or interview answer by Keisha Lance Bottoms on U.S. military aid or weapons for the government of Israel.
[Position, read 2026-09-03 and 2026-09-25] Her campaign issues page lists healthcare, housing, education, farmers, small business, public safety, rights and democracy, environmental stewardship, veterans and military families, and affordability. No entry mentions Israel, Gaza, Palestinians, foreign aid or foreign policy. The homepage, track record page, biography page and news page were also read: nothing on the subject.
U.S. aid to Palestinians
Nothing located on UNRWA, Gaza humanitarian funding or the aid pipeline.
Characterization of the conflict
[Position, read 2026-09-25; the council's account, not her own words] The Jewish Democratic Council of America, which endorses her, writes on its endorsement page: "She has stated that she supports Israel’s security and a negotiated two-state solution that delivers peace and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians alike." The page does not say when or where she said this. No statement of hers to that effect was found on her campaign site or in news coverage.
[Earlier record, 2020-08-06] JTA reported that in 2020 she "did chair the drafting committee for the Democratic National Committee’s party platform this year, which hewed to a centrist outlook, calling on Israel’s government to stop settlement expansion but omitting any mention of the word “occupation.”" (JTA). This is JTA's description of the party platform, not her words.
[Earlier record, 2019-09-25] Mondoweiss reported that in March 2019 dozens of organizations, activists, faith leaders and scholars signed a letter asking Mayor Bottoms to end the Atlanta Police Department's participation in the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange (GILEE), a program that trains Georgia officers with Israeli security forces, and that organizers said they had received no response (Mondoweiss). This is third parties speaking about her; she is not quoted. Not on the card summary.
[Earlier record, 2023-03-28] An essay in Scalawag Magazine criticizes Bottoms for not halting APD's GILEE participation (Scalawag). Opinion, third party; no words of hers. Not on the card summary.
Related rhetoric and lobbying
[Position, read 2026-09-25] The Jewish Democratic Council of America lists her among its endorsed candidates (endorsement page). It describes its mission as being "the political home and voice of Jewish voters, advocating for policies, and supporting Democrats who share our core values" (about page).
No statement from her on lobbying organizations or anti-boycott legislation was found.
Safety and antisemitism (context, not a position on what America sends)
[Earlier record, 2022-12-08] The White House readout of Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff's roundtable with Jewish leaders on combating antisemitism lists "Keisha Lance Bottoms, Senior Advisor to the President for Public Engagement" among the officials who joined him, with Susan Rice and Deborah Lipstadt (American Presidency Project copy of the readout). Voice of America's report of the December 7 meeting names her the same way (VOA). She is not quoted in either.
[Undated; page dated 2021-01-27] The American Jewish Committee's Mayors United Against Antisemitism page lists "Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Atlanta, GA" among the signatory mayors (AJC). The page does not date her signature; it is a roster, so it is recorded here and not used on the card.
[Earlier record, 2022-12-06 to 2022-12-12] Other reports of the same roundtable, by the Jerusalem Post, JTA and the Times of Israel, name her only as one of the officials taking part (read 2026-09-25).
Earlier finding, preserved
Checked 2026-07-24: "as of 2026-07-24 no statement by Keisha Lance Bottoms on US aid or weapons to the government of Israel, aid conditioning, Gaza leverage, UNRWA, or boycott/anti-BDS legislation was located for her 2025-26 gubernatorial campaign, her 2018-2022 Atlanta mayoralty, or her 2022-2023 Biden White House tenure." The issues page read then listed nine issue areas; it now also lists affordability.
Not on the card, and why
GILEE letter and rally (2019): third parties speaking about her, prior band; research page only.
Scalawag essay (2023): opinion, third party; research page only.
AJC mayors' statement: undated roster entry; research page only.
December 2022 roundtable: prior band, attendance only; carried in the deep dive as history, not on the front.
The Jewish Democratic Council of America's account of her stated position: a third party's report of a statement not found in her own words. It is in the deep dive, attributed to the council, and not on the front; it is not a position on U.S. weapons or money.
JTA's 2020 description of the party platform she helped draft: earlier record and a reporter's summary of a party document; research page only.
The card leads with her platform, not with the federal question, because a governor's office does not decide U.S. weapons or money; the federal sentence closes the front.
Sources retrieved for this card (URL, HTTP status, date read)
https://www.keishaforgovernor.com/record (200, 2026-09-25; the older address https://www.keishaforgovernor.com/track-record, read 2026-09-03, now redirects to the home page)
https://www.jta.org/2020/08/06/politics/a-jewish-guide-to-joe-bidens-vp-short-list (200, 2026-09-25; published 2020-08-06)
https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-724277 (200, 2026-09-25; published 2022-12-07)
https://www.jta.org/2022/12/12/politics/biden-task-force-to-draft-strategy-for-fighting-antisemitism (200, 2026-09-25; published 2022-12-12)
https://www.timesofisrael.com/emhoff-to-chair-white-house-roundtable-with-jewish-groups-on-rising-antisemitism/ (opened 2026-09-25; published 2022-12-06)
Background pages, not used for any claim: https://ballotpedia.org/Keisha_Lance_Bottoms ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keisha_Lance_Bottoms
But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and
funding for the government of Israel. Every claim on this page goes through at least two verification steps.
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