Infighting flared Tuesday among Democrats at the party’s summer meeting in Minneapolis regarding how the party will respond to Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip, with progressives favoring a tougher stance against the Jewish state.
Members of the Democratic National Committee’s left wing pushed for a resolution that called for an immediate ceasefire, an arms embargo and suspension of military aid to Israel, and recognition of a Palestinian state, The Wall Street Journal reported.
A more moderate resolution offered by DNC Chair Ken Martin called for a ceasefire, the release of humanitarian aid, the return of hostages held by Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists, and a two-state solution between Israel and Palestinians.
A resolutions committee debated both, but neither was adopted. Martin’s proposal passed, but he withdrew it from consideration by the full DNC and said he would appoint a task force to further study the issue, the Journal reported.
Approval of either resolution could influence the party’s overall posture on the conflict that began after Hamas’ terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023, and send a signal to prospective 2028 Democratic presidential candidates on where the national party stands.
The resolution that was more critical of Israel was sponsored by Allison Minnerly, a 26-year-old DNC member from Orlando, Florida. She told reporters, according to the Journal, that she was disappointed with the DNC for not taking a more aggressive stance against the war.
“There was an opportunity today for the Democratic Party to align itself with the majority of its voters,” she said. “Overwhelmingly, Democrats want the end of the U.S. involvement in this war.”
Several resolution committee members spoke in support of Minnerly’s effort, the Journal reported.
“People want to hear a louder, stronger statement,” said Sophia Danenberg, who is from Washington state.
Democrats are trying to bounce back from a difficult election in which disagreements over the Middle East were front and center, the The Washington Post reported. It contrasted with President Donald Trump, who has been largely supportive of Israel since Hamas attacked Israel.
In Michigan — a crucial swing state with a large Arab American community that could play a leading role in the Democrats’ 2028 presidential primaries — about 13% of primary voters last year cast votes of “uncommitted.” It was part of a protest movement designed to rebuke the Biden administration as being too accommodating of Israel.
Abdul El-Sayed, a top promoter of the uncommitted movement, is a candidate for the party’s U.S. Senate nomination and has argued the party’s voters want a less automatically pro-Israel posture, according to the Journal.
In the New York mayoral race, Democrats nominated a vocal critic of Israel, Zohran Mamdani — a self-described democratic socialist who has supported the boycott, divestment, sanctions movement against Israel, which other Democrats have rejected — was criticized for not condemning the phrase “globalize the intifada,” which many view as a call for violence against Jews.
In North Carolina, the state Democratic Party narrowly voted this summer to condemn Israel for “apartheid rule,” frustrating Democrats who said the move downplayed Hamas’ role in the conflict, the Post reported.
“We have to keep working through this,” Martin said, the Journal reported. “We have to find a path forward as a party and we have to stay unified.”
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