Democrats are looking to unite the party during their National Convention in Chicago and polls show one way for Kamala Harris to do this is to pledge to stop arming Israel.
Delegates Against Genocide, a coalition of delegates to the Democratic National Convention (DNC), calls for delegates to vote ‘No’ on the 2024 Democratic Party platform over its failure to demand a ceasefire in Gaza and a U.S. arms embargo on Israel.
A review of Tim Walz’s time in Congress from 2007 to 2018 shows he supported multiple Israeli wars on Gaza, rejected the international consensus on the illegality of West Bank settlements, and opposed any unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state.
Arab Americans are viewing the U.S. presidential race with anger and disillusionment. “I just feel like our voices aren’t being heard,” says Palestinian American Mervat Saudi. Both parties “are not in the best interest for my own people.”
The Israel lobby built its strength on the fact that its opposition was politically weak. Kamala Harris’s choice of Tim Walz over Josh Shapiro and the massive cost it took to defeat Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush show this is no longer the case.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s call for continued support for the Gaza genocide may have received rapturous applause from Congress, but the speech revealed uncertain political terrain for Israel among both Democrats and Republicans.
The student protests erupting across American universities represent something far beyond a cyclical wave of campus activism. They reflect a profound political crisis that has laid bare the fractures within the Democratic Party.
Democrats are fracturing over support for Israel, because their constituents don’t support it. The long-term result might be the end of the bipartisan consensus on Israel.
In a dangerous precedent, the House of Representatives passed a controversial bill equating anti-Zionism with antisemitism. Pro-Israel lawmakers quickly followed with a bill to establish a congressional commission aimed at Palestine solidarity.
Multiple Democrats recently rejected the suggestion that aid to Israel be conditioned over human rights abuses, but a vast majority of voters back the idea.