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Democratic Majority for Israel

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Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL) was arguably the most conservative Democrat in the House and certainly one of AIPAC’s favorite lawmakers. Progressives threw him out.

Israel lobbyists are thrilled by Bernie Sanders’s recent stumbles at the polls. A Democratic Party Israel lobby group spent $1.4 million against Sanders, and Obama’s former ambassador to Israel writes, “No issue brings out [Joe] Biden’s passion more than his commitment to the U.S. partnership with Israel.”

California Senator Kamala Harris speaks at the AIPAC policy conference in Washington, D.C., March 28, 2017. (Photo: AIPAC)

In an interview with the Ames Tribune, Democratic Majority for Israel’s Kat Wellmann praised Harris’ response. “I was very impressed with her. I thought she gave an excellent speech, she gave a very detailed, responsive answer to my question,” she told the paper, “I’m pro-Israel, so I was I was very concerned and all about making sure we limit nuclear missiles in any country that could possibly destroy us all. I thought her answer was very good.”

White progressives in the Democratic Party are turning against Israel. They snapped during the 2014 assault on Gaza, and they are joining what Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calls a “generational” shift for progressives to criticize Israel. “Young Jews are sick of this.”

Democrats are all for two states as an article of faith. But their Israeli counterparts can’t use the phrase, instead talking about “divorcing” Palestinians or “separating” from Palestinians. So maybe we should pay more attention to Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who says, “separate but unequal” didn’t work in the U.S. and it won’t work over there.

The young Jews of IfNotNow are making Israel’s occupation an issue in the Democratic race, and the group Democratic Majority for Israel is fighting back, calling IfNotNow anti-Israel and advising candidates to avoid answering IfNotNow’s questions. IfNotNow says the Democratic Majority group is a front for AIPAC, the Israel lobby, which has long had a home in the Democratic Party.