Influential Jewish political groups are way out of step with American Jews |
As midterm elections approach, American Jewish establishment organizations — such as AIPAC and the Anti-Defamation League — are determined to make unqualified support for Israel’s military, coupled with political backing of the ruling far-right government, the tail that wags the Democratic Party dog.
Whereas Democratic centrists prefer a singular economic focus in 2026, these “legacy” organizations insist that backing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies should be Democratic candidates’ litmus test.
This is not about antisemitism, but supporting the right-wing Likud party and the Israeli military since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 terror attacks. Cynically, the Anti-Defamation League insists on conflating antisemitism with opposing Israel’s military excesses, ginning-up hysteria about hatred of Jews.
The ADL and other organizations then weaponize the issue, effectively muzzling peaceful campus opposition to civilian bombing deaths, targeted assassinations of journalists in Gaza and now an engineered famine, along with any support for Palestinian rights — the First Amendment notwithstanding. This narrative effectively hijacks civil discourse, especially among non-Jewish critics intimidated from publicly criticizing Israel, lest they be labeled antisemitic.
That may be because the pro-Israel organizations and the Democratic Party have different agendas. Democrats want to win in the midterms in 2026 and the White House in 2028. The Jewish legacy organizations want to protect Israel’s interests regardless of election outcomes.
These groups exercise........