Israel has become a pariah in American politics due to the atrocities occurring during its military campaign in the Gaza Strip. In response, American political activism in support of the Palestinian people has erupted on college campuses as students watch a very public brutal military campaign unfold.
The facts are stark and clear: The Israel Defense Forces’ own data reported a staggering 83% civilian casualty rate while trying to eradicate the terrorist group Hamas. The disregard for human life in this military engagement has left Israel with decreased support, particularly within Democratic Party voters. As a result, anti-Israel — sometimes described as anti-Zionist — sentiment has been on the rise in the United States. Zionism is an ethnonationalist movement that seeks to establish and secure a Jewish homeland in the land of historic Palestine.
However, the Democratic Party isn’t meeting public sentiment on Israel. Democrats in Congress fence-sit on the issue, refusing to block military aid to Israel. Instead of ignoring the issue, the Democratic Party needs to adopt a policy of reforming our relationship with Israel. They must be more strict with the Israeli government by implementing an immediate arms embargo to capture the democratic sentiment of voters.
Leading up to the 2024 election, Israel’s military campaign in Gaza escalated. The response from around the United States included calls for a ceasefire in Gaza. Former President Joe Biden, a self-avowed Zionist, maintained the U.S.-Israel relationship throughout his presidency, which grew intense criticism. Then, following his late withdrawal from the presidential race, Kamala Harris’s campaign did not articulate a position that diverged from the Biden administration that she was a part of. Following the Democrats’ defeat in 2024, the autopsy done on the party’s performance failed to mention party positioning on U.S. relations with Israel as a reason for their defeat. While affordability and immigration may have been more prevalent issues for voters, the party’s outright refusal to address the issue of Israel contributed to their loss in 2024, as evidenced by polling in swing states.
Israel has gained the ire of the international community, with even Vice President JD Vance issuing criticism of the Israeli government.
While the public’s position on Israel is changing and sympathies for Palestine rise, Jewish Americans claim that this signals a rise of antisemitism in society, causing them to feel unsafe. No one should feel as if they have a painted target on their back for practicing a certain faith. But the conflation between criticism of Israel’s military campaign and antisemitism has undoubtedly muddied the waters. Israel says that if you criticize the actions of its government — like striking refugee camps during a ceasefire and perpetual settlement of the West Bank — you are an antisemite. This thinking is flawed, as individuals can recognize and condemn the atrocities occurring while simultaneously respecting Jewish Americans and their religious identities. Criticizing Israel isn’t explicitly harming Jewish Americans, but Israel’s actions and effort to link itself with the international Jewish community undoubtedly have made it worse for Jewish Americans.
The repeated idea that criticism of Israel is antisemitic is tired and worn out in America. The Anti-Defamation League, a prominent Jewish Civil Rights organization, repeatedly argues that animus toward Israel is making people more antisemitic, but it is hypocritical. It was a bigger issue for the ADL that college students were protesting the violence of Israel’s campaign in Gaza than Elon Musk’s Nazi salute during the Trump inauguration. Clearly, the ADL is willing to tolerate and even defend someone who jokes about the Nazis following an open salute, so long as they are a friend to Israel; Benjamin Netanyahu said so himself. This bias from the ADL and Israeli leaders toward the political right is a disservice to the fight against antisemitism.
Recently, future presidential hopeful U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., was detained by armed settlers in the West Bank. Following his group’s detention, the IDF were called and were friendly with the settlers. It was not until a call was made to the American Embassy in Jerusalem that Khanna and his group were allowed to leave. Khanna has voted in the past to support Israel’s national defense through appropriations for the Iron Dome — a mobile air defense system that can intercept and destroy short range rockets, mortars and artillery shells — but now is voting against further aid to Israel. Rep. Khanna’s position is being adopted by more and more Congressional Democrats, but the party is still divided on the facts about Israel and its conduct of the war in Gaza. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer leads the Senate Democrats with the position that some on the left are wrongly accusing Israel of committing genocide.
The Democratic Party must be able to acknowledge the facts. The United Nations and the Hague’s Genocide scholars have found that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Non-governmental organizations have found Israel responsible for an Apartheid. The organizations and experts whose job it is to monitor these actions by any nation have been sounding the alarm. We cannot shield Israel using antisemitism as a rationalization; genocide is an abhorrent thing that the United States must stand against as a world power. Sending our tax dollars to a nation that commits ideological actions contrary to our national conscience.
If we wish to help Palestine and reform our relationship with Israel, a pragmatic approach that acknowledges voter sentiment and rising antisemitism is required from the Democratic Party. Brad Lander, New York congressional candidate, embodies a new vision for the Democratic Party on Israel. As a progressive Jewish American, Lander believes that criticism of Israel is possible without being antisemitic. He is working to dispel the narrative that Israel and its actions represent the Jewish faith; instead, we must criticize it and its actions like we would any other nation.
The Democrats can lead the charge to change the nature of our relationship with Israel to shift international sentiment to favor Israel. If Israel is truly our strongest ally in the Middle East, we must firmly tell our ally to act right. As the nation that currently bankrolls Israel’s military, we have an obligation to rein in its violent militarism. Lander’s position is common sense and grounded in reality; it is one I believe the national Democratic Party should adopt.
John Rogan is an Opinion Analyst who writes about politics and technology. You may reach him at jerogan@umich.edu.
