Democrats’ divide on Israel and Gaza boils over in party meeting

A debate Tuesday at the Democratic National Committee’s summer meeting exposed a growing rift over U.S. policy toward Israel that threatens to heighten the party’s division ahead of next year’s midterms.

A Democratic National Committee panel on Tuesday failed to advance dueling resolutions on the party’s stance on Israel’s war in Gaza, after one proposal was voted down and a second was withdrawn.

The DNC’s resolutions panel considered two measures Tuesday morning at the committee’s summer meeting in Minneapolis: a proposal introduced by chair Ken Martin that echoed language in the party’s platform on the issue and a resolution backed by progressives that called for a suspension of military aid to Israel.

The panel unanimously advanced Martin’s resolution and voted down the resolution calling for an arms embargo. Martin later made the stunning decision to withdraw his resolution to allow for further discussion, a motion that was also supported by the whole committee.

“I know that there are some who are interested in making changes today, but as we’ve seen, there’s divide in our party on this issue,” Martin said. “This is a moment that calls for shared dialog. It calls for shared advocacy, and that’s why I’ve decided today, at this moment, listening to the testimony and listening to people in our party, to withdraw my amendment and resolution.”

Martin’s resolution called for “secure and unrestricted delivery of humanitarian assistance” in Gaza, reaffirmed the DNC’s support for a ceasefire and the release of hostages, and stated the committee supports a two-state solution.

The progressive-backed resolution was voted down via voice vote. A proposed amendment to add language calling for the release of hostages in Gaza and to oppose only offensive weapons also failed.

Nathan Soltz, a DNC member from Oregon, said that while he appreciated the effort to amend the resolution, it didn’t got far enough for him. “This is an issue that I hear about all the time and that I know is very salient to young Democrats,” he said, adding that the party had in Martin’s resolution “something very strong.”

It was a dramatic ending to one of the most controversial resolutions before the committee. One audience member shouted “you’ve got to be f**king kidding me” after the progressive-backed resolution failed. Martin later huddled off to the side with the sponsors of that resolution before deciding to withdraw his own.

The two resolutions were the results of a failed weekslong attempt to combine the proposals into a unified resolution that might win broad support among members. The dueling resolutions highlight the growing tensions within the party over how Democrats should respond to Israel’s war in Gaza and the ensuing humanitarian crisis.

Similar debates have taken place at the state level, including in North Carolina, where Democrats passed a contentious resolution calling for an arms embargo. As public opinion has become more critical of Israel’s military tactics, progressive members of the party have called for a more forceful condemnation of the war and the United States’ role in it.

This marks the latest development in the divide that has been going on in the Democratic Party since the October 7th attack on Israel, and Israel’s subsequent response to it.

While the Democratic Party, like the Republican Party, has long supported Israel’s right to defend themselves, and initially gave strong support to Israel as the nation battled Hamas, the mood in the country, and especially on the political left, has moved against Israel.

There are still a decent amount of Democrats who back Israel, and the elected Democratic officials swing more towards backing the country than their base, but the pressure to come out against certain Israeli actions is too great for Democratic officials to ignore.

This issue was a major problem for the Democratic Party in the lead to the 2024 election, and arguably led to many Arab and Muslim voters in Michigan either not voting for Harris, or voting for Trump. Now that the Democrats are out of power, the divisions aren’t as pressing; the ire is now mainly directed to President Trump, for continuing America’s support of Israel.

But this is an issue that Democrats will have to reckon with. How they do that remains to be seen.