Democrats’ Declining Support for Israel

Democrats’ Declining Support for Israel

Overview


In early September 2012, many in the pro-Israel camp were disturbed by a series of events at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. First, the committee drafting the party platform eliminated traditional language recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Next, the party elders chose to restore the language and called for a pro forma voice vote from the delegates in support of this amendment. Instead, what looked and sounded like an angry majority of the delegates voted against recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

This hostility should not have come as a surprise. For many years, the liberal base of the Democratic Party has been steadily turning against the Jewish state. So much so that for the first time since 1948, one of America’s two major parties has begun to abandon its commitment to Israel. This trend has less to do with the behavior of President Obama or other national party leaders than with the far more troubling phenomenon of changing opinions at the grassroots. The Jerusalem flap at the Democratic convention was not a warning sign. It was the final bell.

– The two paragraphs above are excerpted from: “The Failure of the American Jewish Left,” by David Brog (Middle East Quarterly, Winter 2013). To read the full article, click here.

Additional Resources:


The Failure of the American Jewish Left
By David Brog
Winter 2013

Barack Obama, Israel, & the Jews
By Discover The Networks

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