Jewish Democrats Discuss Israel Policy at Washington Summit

Prominent pro-Israel Democrats gathered in Washington for the Jewish Democratic Council of America Leadership Summit to discuss divisions within the party over Israel policy. U.S. support for Israel. She added that the poem could apply to the United States.

NBC News polling from earlier this year showed 57 percent of Democrats held a negative view of Israel, up from 35 percent in 2023. Two-thirds of Democrats said their sympathies lay more with Palestinians than Israelis, compared with 18 percent in 2013.

More than a dozen Democratic lawmakers have described Israel's conduct in Gaza as a genocide, according to the news site Zeteo. Debates over spending by pro-Israel groups such as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee have featured in several Democratic primaries.

Pennsylvania state Rep. Chris Rabb, who won a Democratic primary last week, said during a recent interview that taxpayer funds used for what he called a genocide in Gaza and Iran could instead support domestic communities.

Leadership Statements Senate Minority Leader Chuck

Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries spoke at the summit and stressed support for Israel along with efforts to combat antisemitism. Halie Soifer, CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, told reporters the party's congressional leadership continues to back the group's views on Israel.

She added that members can disagree with the policies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government while remaining pro-Israel. Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware warned colleagues that votes against certain weapons sales to Israel risk being misunderstood as abandoning support for Israel's existence as a Jewish and democratic state.