WSJ: “Democrats Unify Against Israel”

From the Wall Street Journal a couple of weeks ago.

Nothing worse than a stab in the back from your friends. The link may get you through to the complete article even if you are not a WSJ subscriber.

Israel is the Democratic Party’s new litmus test, and Mr. Sanders is leading the turn against the Jewish state. In 2024, 19 Democrats voted with him to deny military aid to a U.S. ally at war. In 2025, 24 did the same. This year, as the U.S. and Israel fought side by side against the Iranian theocracy, 40 of 47 Democratic senators were with Mr. Sanders.

Israel typically enjoys bipartisan support in America, and there are critics of Israeli policy in both parties. But what’s happening on the left is unmistakable: Backing America’s closest Middle Eastern ally now jeopardizes one’s future in the Democratic Party. The trend has disturbing implications not only for U.S.-Israel relations but for the future of American power and ideals.

In a Pew Research Center survey conducted in March, 60% of U.S. adults held an unfavorable view of Israel. But the top line masked a staggering partisan divide: Most Republicans continue to view Israel favorably, while 80% of Democrats don’t. Recently Echelon Insights found that self-described “very liberal” voters have more favorable views of China than of Israel.

Democratic elites follow the polls. Anti-Israel sentiment runs through every level of the party, from former presidents to insurgent candidates. The woolly fringe is now mainstream. Barack Obama was all smiles in a recent photo-op with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a socialist for whom anti-Zionism is a calling card. The Democrats’ newest congresswoman, Analilia Mejia of New Jersey, is a former Sanders delegate who omitted Israeli terror victims from an Oct. 10, 2023, social-media post condemning violence in Gaza.

The front-runner in Maine’s Democratic Senate primary, Graham Platner, says he plans to remove the Nazi-associated tattoo on his chest. In a recently unearthed Reddit post from 2014, Mr. Platner spoke well of Hamas military tactics: “From a strictly professional standpoint, this was a damn fine looking and successful raid against a superior opponent,” he wrote. “I dig it.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren campaigned with Mr. Platner last weekend.

The Senate’s anti-Israel roll call included every type of Democrat except for the sui generis Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa.): moderate and progressive, insurgent and stalwart. Presidential ambitions drove Sens. Jon Ossoff (D., Ga.), Elissa Slotkin (D., Mich.), Mark Kelly (D., Ariz.), Cory Booker (D., N.J.), Chris Murphy (D., Conn.) and other potential 2028 candidates into Mr. Sanders’s corner.

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There is something deeper going on here than a fight over foreign policy. Democrats may be repulsed by Israel’s behavior, but this is really an argument over America. The connection between socialism and anti-Zionism is revealing: Increasingly, one’s attitude toward Israel and its self-defense reflects one’s attitude toward America—its free market, its global leadership, its use of force and its exceptional nature.

The two democratic nations have special roles in the world. They share interests—and adversaries, most notably radical Islamists pursuing nuclear weapons. Supporters of Israel are supporters of America, and vice versa.

Some Democrats understand the peril of abandoning longstanding commitments for grassroots enthusiasm and social-media buzz. The stakes aren’t only electoral. They are moral. “If it’s what’s necessary, I’ll be the last Democrat standing with Israel through this,” Mr. Fetterman told CNN recently. He is fighting an uphill battle for his party—and fighting it alone.