The right stands unified as anti-Israel Democrats divide the left
Michigan presidential primary results show two things: President Joe Biden cruising towards renomination by the Democratic Party, and there is deep disagreement in that party over the United States’ support for Israel. That threatens big problems for the incumbent in November.
In Michigan, progressives hostile to the Jewish state asked Democrats to cast “uncommitted” votes on their primary ballots to protest the administration’s support for Israel. Enough did so to squeeze Biden between a left opposed to Israel and a public broadly sympathetic to that country’s defensive war against Hamas. That could make a close race even more of a nail-biter.
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Setting a goal of 10,000 to 20,000 uncommitted votes to echo the slim 10,000-vote margin that gave Republican Donald Trump his 2016 victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton in the state, progressive Democrats led by figures such as Abraham Aiyash, majority leader in the state legislature and a member of Democratic Socialists of America, called on Biden to end “unconditional funding” for Israel and to push for a “permanent ceasefire to usher in Palestinian statehood.” The campaign overachieved. While Biden drew 614,727 votes for 81 per cent of the total, uncommitted racked up 100,401 votes for 13 per cent in the official tally. Forget 2016; that’s closer to the 154,000 votes Biden beat Trump by in 2020.
That’s a big win for Michigan’s sizeable Arab-American community, of which Aiyash is a member and which is often openly hostile to Israel. Last October, after the bloody terrorist attack by Hamas, Aiyash opposed a resolution that expressed support for Israel. He called for Israel to end its military response, which is typical for........