The Shift: One of Congress’s most pro-Israel members is facing strong opposition from an anti-Zionist in Florida

The primary season is winding down, but the battle over Israel within the Democratic Party continues.

Next week, in Florida’s 25th district, union organizer Oliver Larkin will face off against incumbent centrist Jared Moskowitz.

Moskowitz is one of Israel’s staunchest House allies. He’s backed by AIPAC, opposes any conditioning of military aid, vehemently opposes BDS, and has led resolutions condemning the United Nations for an alleged anti-Israel bias.

Larkin, who is an active member of the DSA, openly refers to himself as anti-Zionist. He calls for an end to the genocide in Gaza and the illegal occupation of the West Bank. He calls for the Palestinian right of return to be recognized and wants an immediate suspension of military aid.

“With respect to AIPAC—or with disrespect to AIPAC—they pull the United States in this direction where we’re now spending $1 to $2 billion a day, and we’re sending billions of dollars annually to Israel, which has heavily subsidized or universal health care and college education,” Larkin recently told Hamilton Nolan. “As our cost of living is growing exponentially higher, it is a bitter pill for people to swallow to see that there’s never a question of sending hundreds of millions of dollars for another foreign war. But when the question is why we’re not expanding healthcare, why we’re cutting Medicaid, or why there’s no affordable housing, or why there’s no investments in public transportation—people are no longer separating domestic and foreign policy.”

“It’s all of a piece together,” he continued. “I think that’s why, with the wave of progressive victories across the country and democratic socialist candidates winning, that we’re seeing this come to a head here in our district. What we find is that the majority of people, regardless of their religious or ethnic background, they’re opposed to AIPAC. They want to see the United States at minimum condition aid to Israel, if not cease aid entirely.”

Polling suggests that a Larkin win is improbable and Moskowitz has vastly outspent him, but the local pro-Israel community has expressed some anxiety. Rabbi Efrem Goldberg of the Boca Raton Synagogue even urged members of his congregation to register as Democrats to vote against Larkin.

“I have no opinion, I’m not endorsing a candidate. This has to do with a primary where one of the candidates is a supporter of Hamas, anti-Israel, antisemitic,” Goldberg told Jewish Insider. “We have the opportunity, if we can participate in that primary, to ensure that he never represents us and he never is in a position to be influencing policy.”

Moskowitz has denounced Larkin’s supporters as antisemitic and claimed that he’s only being challenged because he’s Jewish.

“This is someone who had the political establishment backing him and who’s had all the special-interest and corporate money and he’s just never had to work for it before,” Larkin recently told the Florida Phoenix. “So I think he’s always taken voters for granted. … We’re in a moment where voters are no longer accepting that.”

Other Florida races

The 25th district isn’t the only primary where Israel policy is on the ballot.

State Rep Angie Nixon is running in the Democratic Senate primary.

Nixon went viral in November 2023 for giving an impassioned speech while introducing a ceasefire resolution. She was denounced as “evil” and “antisemitic” over the effort.

“Many of my colleagues have stated that folks are fearful of another massacre occurring to the Jewish people,? she told the chamber. “Well, guess what? A massacre is occurring now. Entire bloodlines of Palestinians have been wiped away. They are gone.”

“To the people at home, I will fight on your behalf no matter what. Even if they threaten to take away funding,” she continued. “Even if they threaten to silence me, I won’t remain silent. Even if they punish me like they continue to do because I’m speaking out for marginalized communities, all marginalized communities.”

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), a longtime supporter of Israel, is running in a crowded field in Florida’s Congressional District 20. Wasserman Schultz launched a campaign after the GOP redistricting effectively eliminated her existing seat.

The most progressive candidate in the race is Elijah Manley, who refers to Israel’s actions in Gaza as a genocide.

“U.S. law already forbids arming forces that violate international humanitarian law. We have simply refused to enforce it against Israel,” declares the Issues section of his website. “Elijah will fight to condition every dollar of military funding and every weapons transfer on full compliance with the laws of war and on measurable steps to end the siege and occupation. He will push this administration and every one after it to apply the Leahy Law and the Foreign Assistance Act to Israel exactly as they are applied to everyone else, with transparent vetting and real consequences. Our human rights laws bind every recipient of American aid, or they are worth nothing.”

These issues aren’t only being debated in Democratic circles.

At a debate among GOP candidates in the 14th district earlier this year, several candidates declared they would not accept AIPAC donations.

Amid these challenges, Florida’s political establishment remains devoted to the Israeli cause.

The state’s Attorney General, James Uthmeier, is currently demanding years of internal records and documents from The New York Times, inexplicably claiming that the paper has a pro-Palestinian bent that could impact its shareholder value.

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