For five decades after President Truman granted diplomatic recognition to Israel, support for the Jewish state was bipartisan in American politics and spread among Democrats. However, the recent rise of the far left movement has led to increased hostility towards Israel within the party, as progressives project an aggressive stance towards that nation.
A recent letter signed by numerous progressive lawmakers, initiated by Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and signed by Senator Bernie Sanders, as well as members of the “squad” of first-year House members, called for US military aid to be conditioned on Israel in response to Israel’s plan to annex parts of the West Bank.
The letter, which received criticism from groups and lawmakers who support Israel, asked to condition the nearly $ 4 billion in US military funds to Israel to make sure that taxpayers “do not support annexation in any way” and said the annexation of the The West Bank “would lay the foundation for Israel to become an apartheid state.”
Annexation is a divisive issue both in Israel and here in the United States. A recent poll by the Brookings Institution found that 79 percent of Democrats oppose the proposed annexation, and 56 percent of Republicans support it. While there are credible reasons to oppose annexation, this demand by Democrats in Congress to condition military aid to Israel represents the latest manifestation of progressive sentiment against Israel.
If support to condition military aid to Israel is seen among mainstream Democrats, it would hurt the party in this election year. Furthermore, it would damage our relationship with the most critical American ally in the Middle East. Along with the demonstrable move to the left of the party on issues such as the removal of police funds and support for an unrestricted immigration policy, the progressive wing’s stance toward Israel has the potential to harm the chances of Democrats winning the White House and the Senate, as well as keeping most of their home.
According to a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center last year, liberal Democrats are less sympathetic to Israel regarding the conflict with Palestine than any other party or ideology, which includes moderate Democrats. Moderate Republicans and conservative Republicans have the highest net sympathy ratings for Israel, according to the survey.
Calls to condition military aid create openness for Republicans to denounce the least support from Democrats to Israel, which could boost Republicans across the country, harm Democrats in vulnerable districts, and undermine the chances that Democrats win the Senate. While there are some leading Democratic Democrats who support Israel, we have witnessed the rise of several members who do not.
In addition to the letter, this was evident during the Democratic primary in the 16th district of New York. Progressive newcomer Jamaal Bowman defeated Representative Eliot Engel, who has been a staunch defender of Israel in Congress. During the campaign, Bowman frequently attacked Engel for his unwavering support for Israel.
In many ways, hostility to Israel can be attributed to Democrats who increasingly associate their growing aversion to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and thus President Trump, with Israel as a nation. But this forces those rank-and-file Democrats to walk a fine line of opposing Netanyahu as he works to remain externally in support of Israel and moderate marginal lawmakers within the progressive wing.
However, as I have written before, Democrats have generally lost the connection that existed between civil rights and support for Israel, which they once supported as a response to discrimination. There was once the bipartisan recognition and appreciation that supporting Israel is the justifiable and logical reaction to the horrors of the Holocaust, during which six million Jews lost their lives during World War II.
Support for Israel is not just a political problem. It is also a national security problem. In fact, Israel has received US military aid for decades, and the alliance between the United States and Israel is critical to stability in the Middle East. As the only liberal democracy in the region, Israel served as a fortification against the influence of the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and continues to be vital to our national security interests.
The United States’ association with Israel is beneficial to both nations in terms of defense, as well as trade and technology. Calls to condition military aid to Israel is a bad move, and it has the potential to cause lasting damage to our relationship with one of our closest allies.
Douglas Schoen is a consultant who served as a consultant to President Bill Clinton and to Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s campaign. His latest book is “Collapse: A World in Crisis and the Urgency of American Leadership.”
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