Ever since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war, which was started by Hamas terrorists who launched surprise attacks on Israeli civilians on October 7th, outspoken pro-Israel Democrats have sought to tamp down on talk of there being a major schism among Democrats over the Israel issue.
A prime example is Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), the self-described “embodiment of a pro-Israel progressive,” who during a recent interview where he tore into Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) over her suggestion that he was “comfortable” with Palestinian deaths nevertheless denied there was a “deep divide” among Congressional Democrats on the issue of support for Israel:
TORRES: Well, I reject the notion that there’s a divide, with a few exceptions. Just about every Democrat has unequivocally voiced support for Israel and condemned the terrorism of Hamas and stood by Israel’s right to defend itself. So —
BASH: But there is a divide among progressives?
TORRES: Not in Congress. I think the overall majority of Congress stands for Israel’s right to defend itself.
While it’s true at least on paper that Congressional Democrats outside of AOC’s Squad (aka the Hamas Caucus) have gone on record as unequivocally expressing support for Israel, Torres’ careful wording there belied an uncomfortable truth for Democrats beyond the halls of Congress:
As a party, they have a big Israel problem. And it’s not going to go away anytime soon.
Confirmation of this has come at least twice this year, first several months prior to the Hamas attacks and then after.
In a write-up Thursday explaining the dramatic 11-point drop in one month for Joe Biden among Democrats, Gallup connected it to his stated support for Israel (bolded emphasis added):
President Joe Biden’s job approval rating among Democrats has tumbled 11 percentage points in the past month to 75%, the worst reading of his presidency from his own party. This drop has pushed his overall approval rating down four points to 37%, matching his personal low.
Immediately after the [Hamas] attack, Biden pledged “rock solid and unwavering” support for Israel from the U.S., and he subsequently visited the country on Oct. 18 to reiterate that message. But Biden has faced criticism from some members of his party for aligning too closely with Israel and not doing enough for the Palestinians. Some prominent Democratic lawmakers and protesters around the U.S. have called for Biden to do more to help the millions of Palestinians who are in need of humanitarian aid as Israel attempts to eradicate Hamas.
Early this year, Gallup found that for the first time in the U.S., Democrats’ sympathies for the Palestinians outpaced those for the Israelis. Although the survey is not designed to allow for statistically reliable estimates for any subset of the three-week polling period, the daily results strongly suggest that Democrats’ approval of Biden fell sharply in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas and Biden’s promise of full support for Israel on the same day. Biden’s current 75% approval rating among Democrats is well below the 86% average from his own party throughout his presidency.
GALLUP POLL: Biden’s approval rating dropped to 37% — a near record-low.
— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) October 26, 2023
Approve 37% [-4]
Disapprove 59% [+1]
Independents
Approve 35% [-4]
Disapprove 61% [+2]
[Change vs Sept.]
October 2-23 | n=1,009 | MoE: ±4%https://t.co/HQBF0dEuVC pic.twitter.com/9mJaC1WVwO
Where the Democrat divide over Israel is most noticeable is among young people:
The divide is particularly stark between generations: Less than half (48%) of Gen Z and millennials believe the U.S. should publicly voice support for Israel, according to a recent NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll.
The Democratic party built this, through several decades of allowing antisemitism to fester and grow unabated within their ranks in academia, in politics, and on a world stage in the name of “tolerance” and “diversity.”
As it turns out, though, that over-emphasis on “tolerance” and “diversity” over putting political correctness aside to call out the inconvenient truths about some of the more “diverse” members within their ranks has come at a cost – a big one: Jewish lives.
And in 2024, it may at long last cause Democrats another loss: a significant percentage of Jewish voters who have simply had enough of the Democratic Party trying to have it both ways when it comes to Israel.
