More Democrats need a change of heart on Israel's policies

Graffiti reading, "Free Palestine", is displayed at the subway station entrance as protesters gather to show support for Palestinians in Gaza, outside of Columbia University in New York City, on April 24. ReutersShow less

Even though the bottom has fallen out of American Democrats’ support for Israel, some in the party still can’t bring themselves to recognise this reality. While support for Israeli policies among them has been in decline for more than a decade, the war on Gaza has resulted in a dramatic change in opinion.

In a recent Gallup poll, only 8 per cent of Democrats said they approve of Israel’s military actions in Gaza. When another recent survey conducted by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute asked Americans whether their sympathies were more with Israelis or Palestinians, only 12 per cent of Democrats said Israel while 60 per cent said their sympathies were more with the Palestinians.

And when The Economist/YouGov Poll this month asked voters how they feel about a range of issues related to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, the results among those who say they are Democrats were staggering. Only 14 per cent of Democrats said that Israel was justified in its attacks on Gaza as a response to threats from Hamas, while 62 per cent said that Israel’s attacks on Gaza were unjustified and harmed too many innocent Palestinians.

Only 5 per cent of Democrats favoured more military aid to Israel, while 54 per cent called for decreasing it. Sixty-five per cent of Democrats agreed there was a genocide in Palestine, while only 8 per cent disagreed. And 70 per cent of them agreed that Palestinians should have their own state, with only 4 per cent opposing.

It’s important to note that with regard to each of the above questions, either majorities or strong pluralities of all respondents were in favour of cutting military aid to Israel, were opposed to Israel’s actions in Gaza, supported recognition of Palestinian statehood, etc.

The young Democratic supporters of the Gaza Resolution, while open to some modification of their effort, are determined that the issue of Gaza be debated and they are right to do so

This change in the opinion of Democrats towards Israel and its policies has turned into congressional action. Last month, 27 of the 47 Democrats in the US Senate voted to block sending US military equipment to Israel. And a companion bill in the House of Representatives calling for withholding US offensive weapons to Israel now has 35 Democratic co-sponsors. Additionally, a number of Democratic State Party conventions have passed similar resolutions as did the national Young Democrats of America.

Given these developments it should not have been surprising that a newly elected member of the Democratic National Committee would introduce a “Gaza Resolution” calling on the national party to support an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, a suspension of military aid to Israel, and a call to members of Congress to recognise Palestine as a nation state.

The resolution concludes by urging the party to “affirm its commitment to international law, human rights for all people, an immediate delivery of humanitarian-focused, life-saving food and medical care in Gaza, and the pursuit a just and lasting peace for all in the region”.

What’s also unsurprising is how pro-Israel groups and some Democratic leaders have responded. For example, the group calling itself the Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI) – which may need to change its name to the Democratic Minority for Israel – issued a strongly worded statement saying that they were “deeply troubled by the introduction of a flawed, irresponsible resolution at a Democratic National Committee meeting that will further sow division within our Party and do nothing to help bring an end to the Israel-Hamas war nor end the suffering on both sides”.

With polls showing that by margins of 10-to-1 or more Democrats support the positions taken in the Gaza Resolution, it is patently false to suggest that the resolution will “sow division”. In fact, it’s more accurate to say that defeating the resolution will create division. And when it comes to sowing division, it’s DMFI that in the past two elections teamed up with other pro-Israel PACs to spend tens of millions of dollars to defeat Democratic members of Congress whom they deemed as insufficiently pro-Israel.

It’s disappointing that party leaders, in an effort to defeat the Gaza Resolution, have introduced a resolution of their own as a “substitute”. While their alternative focuses heavily on humanitarian aid, most of its prescriptive language would have been seen as somewhat constructive and even positive five years ago.

But in the face of Israel’s massive destruction of Palestinian homes, hospitals, universities, places of worship and infrastructure in Gaza, the “substitute” is no substitute at all. It ignores Israel’s responsibility for (and the US culpability in) what many are calling a genocide. And, of equal importance, it is out of step with the opinions of most Democratic voters.

It’s not clear how this will play out when the party meets next week to discuss and vote on resolutions. An effort is being made to bring the two sides together. But the young Democratic supporters of the Gaza Resolution, while open to some modification of their effort, are determined that the issue of Gaza be debated. They are right to do so.