William Lawrence
Lawrence calls it a "moral necessity" to stop arming Israel, and the best leverage the U.S. has to end what he calls the genocide in Gaza. He has also said Israel "has refused every other form of accountability and we continue to arm them".
Lawrence is a co-founder of the Sunrise Movement and won the Democratic primary in Michigan’s 7th District on August 4, 2026. He has held no federal office.
His position on U.S. weapons is explicit and he has repeated it. In September 2025 he said ending military aid to Israel is a "moral necessity" and the best leverage the United States has to end the genocide in Gaza, free the hostages and reach a lasting peace for Palestinians and Israelis. He has also said Israel "has refused every other form of accountability and we continue to arm them". His campaign has framed the same position as ending military support for human rights abusers and bringing the money home for jobs, housing and healthcare.
On how he describes the war, he has called it "war crimes on an historic scale" and an "ongoing genocidal siege", and described conditions for Palestinians in the West Bank as apartheid. At a candidate forum in Lansing in June 2026 he called Israel’s attacks on Gaza genocide, which local coverage recorded as one of the sharpest distinctions he drew with his rivals. At the same forum he said he supports a lasting peace for all Palestinians and Israelis and that "everybody deserves to live with security and in comfort".
Asked in July 2026 about the safety of Jewish constituents, his campaign said he "takes Jewish safety extremely seriously and stands firmly against anti-semitism which is unfortunately on the rise across the political spectrum". One further statement of his falls inside the reaction window and is on the research page rather than the card.
Research
U.S. military aid and weapons to Israel
- 2025-09 [Position band; card-leading; VERIFIED THIS SESSION]: Ending military aid to Israel is a "moral necessity" and "the best leverage the U.S. has to end the genocide in Gaza", per a profile of his campaign published 2026-07-14. The gather's fuller version of the quote continues that it would also secure "apartheid conditions in the West Bank, ensure the hostages are finally freed, and move towards a lasting peace for Palestinians and Israelis"; the fetched profile confirms the first two clauses verbatim and summarises the rest.
- Undated [Position band; card-leading; VERIFIED THIS SESSION]: Israel "has refused every other form of accountability and we continue to arm them". Confirmed on the same profile, which presents it as a campaign-trail statement. The gather placed it at a June 2026 candidate forum; the profile does not date it, so the card does not either.
- 2026-07 [Position band]: The gather reports a campaign statement to news media favouring "ending military support to human rights abusers and bringing that money home to fund good jobs, housing, and healthcare".
U.S. aid to Palestinians
- Nothing located as a distinct funding position. His stated aim is ending U.S. weapons to the Israeli government; he has not been recorded on UNRWA or Gaza humanitarian funding as a U.S. spending decision.
Characterization of the conflict
- 2025-09 [Position band; VERIFIED THIS SESSION]: "war crimes on an historic scale" and an "ongoing genocidal siege"; "apartheid conditions" in the West Bank.
- 2026-06-16 [Position band; VERIFIED THIS SESSION]: At a candidate forum hosted by Latino community leaders in Lansing he called Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip genocide. The report frames this as one of the sharpest distinctions he drew with his primary rivals, one of whom offered a two-state answer and another a more qualified one. The gather's fuller quote, "I don't know how we can call ourselves a just nation, and my heart is pounding because it is dispiriting in our politics to see how many people still refuse" to recognise it, was not located verbatim in the fetched text and is recorded here as the gather's version.
- 2026-06 [Position band]: At the same forum, support for a "lasting peace for all Palestinians and Israelis", adding that "everybody deserves to live with security and in comfort".
- 2023-10-09 [Reaction window; research page only per C1; found by verification]: On U.S. support for Israel's defence he said: "This looks like a green light for Israel to bombard Gaza with impunity." Carried by the same profile. The gather did not report this statement at all.
Rhetoric and lobbying
- 2026-07-19 [Position band]: He spoke at a Lansing rally alongside Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Rashida Tlaib and Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, reported by Common Dreams.
- Mid-2026 [Position band]: The gather reports him denouncing the influence of pro-Israel lobbying organisations and arguing national policy should not be set by them. Lobbying criticism is not itself a weapons or funding position and his funding position is sourced separately above.
- 2026-08-05 [Press coverage of his win]: The Guardian, JTA and The Times of Israel all covered the result, the last two characterising him in their headlines as anti-Israel or El-Sayed-aligned. Those are the outlets' characterizations; the card uses his own words instead.
- 2026-07-30 [Press analysis]: JTA and The Times of Israel on how Israel featured in Michigan's primaries.
Safety and antisemitism
- 2026-07-30 [Position band; context only, never the answer to what America sends]: Asked by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency about the safety of Jewish constituents, his campaign said: "Will takes Jewish safety extremely seriously and stands firmly against anti-semitism which is unfortunately on the rise across the political spectrum." Per C2 this is the campaign speaking, and it is attributed to the campaign rather than to his mouth.
Earlier record
- His Wikipedia page and Ballotpedia entry cover his activism and the Sunrise Movement.
What came back empty or unusable
- One gathered source, a Forward report on the Michigan Senate primary, returned 403 and does not name him.
- One is a Gander Newsroom Facebook post which returned 400.
- The September 2025 statement is dated by month only in every source located, so it is banded to the month.
Also in this race: Tom Barrett (Republican), Shane Dedrick (Green), Felix Thibodeau (Other) · All Michigan candidates.
See the full record →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. Open the interactive card for votes, funding and contact details.