2024 may be the first election in which the issues involving Palestinian rights may impact the outcome. Over the past several decades, elections have been fought over a range of domestic and foreign policy concerns—from civil rights and abortion to the wars in Vietnam and Iraq. In most instances these were partisan “wedge” issues—that is, issues that were used by one party against the other. What is important to note about the growing concern for Palestinian rights is that it has become a “wedge issue“ that is dividing the Democratic Party.

Whether deliberate or not, Democrats made a fateful choice over the past several decades. They abandoned the white working class in favor of courting what has come to be known as “Obama voters.” They were young voters, voters of color (Black, Latino, and Asian), and educated women voters. The problem is that having lost a sizable percentage of white working-class voters, Democrats can’t afford to lose the substantial majorities of voters from the Obama coalition they need to win national elections.

Recent polls, like one conducted in December by The New York Times, show that young voters are deeply disappointed with President Joe Biden’s handling of the war on Gaza. They demonstrate greater solidarity with Palestinians than with Israelis and, in part, motivated by their dissatisfaction, they appear less inclined to support him in 2024 elections.

Betting on young and non-white voters will all drifting back to Biden in November—since they won’t want to see Donald Trump return to the White House—is demeaning to the feelings of these voters.

Given the ongoing deadly violence in Gaza and the start of the 2024 election year, this past week my Arab American Institute cosponsored a Summit on Gaza together with the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, founded by my friend, Rev. Jesse Jackson and other partners. In order to have a detailed look at how voters were thinking about the war, we commissioned a special nationwide poll of likely voters. We learned four central lessons: Because of growing sympathy for Palestinians, voters want American policy to be more balanced and less supportive of Israel; because of the toll the bombings have taken on Palestinian lives, voters want U.S. military aid to Israel to be restricted and conditional; voters want members of Congress to support a cease-fire and are less inclined to support candidates who oppose a cease-fire; and finally, in almost every instance, the percentages of young voters and non-white voters who support a more balanced Middle East policy, conditioning aid to Israel, and a cease-fire far exceeds those of other groups of voters. And because these two groups are so important to their party’s chances in 2024, Democrats had better find ways to change direction and wind them back.

What follows are the key summary points:

American public opinion has shifted away from Israel as the invasion of Gaza continues. A plurality of voters (42%) now say they sympathize with both Israelis and Palestinians equally. While more Americans indicated sympathy towards Israelis alone than........

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