The Democratic Party’s Breakup With AIPAC Is Almost Complete |
Just two or three years ago, it looked like pro-Israel forces would be able to steer the direction of Democratic Party politics for a very long time.
The October 7 attacks had engendered global sympathy for Israel, and the select number of leftists and pro-Palestine activists who didn’t immediately condemn the horrors that day found themselves on the defensive. A few pundits even predicted that anti-Zionist organizations like the Democratic Socialists of America would soon self-destruct. In 2024, the Democratic Majority for Israel PAC, a powerful and very wealthy political action committee that intervenes in Democratic primaries against candidates they believe are insufficiently supportive of Israel, helped to defeat progressives in Congress like Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush. They also helped crush Nina Turner, a top Bernie Sanders ally, in an Ohio House race, and successfully drove progressive Zionist Andy Levin out of Congress. Then there was AIPAC, the seemingly invincible lobbying behemoth that for decades had financially sustained pro-Israel Democrats and Republicans alike. There didn’t seem to be much of a political consequence for Democrats like Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries sharing donors with Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham.
That era might now be ending. Israel hawks still live in the Democratic Party, but there are fewer of them in 2026.........