DNC Shoots Down Resolutions Calling Out AIPAC and Limiting Arms to Israel

Special Investigations

Press Freedom Defense Fund

The party just kicked the can down the road again on Israel, deepening the divide between party members and their leaders.

In the latest fight to expose the yawning chasm between Democratic Party members and their leaders on Israel, the Democratic National Committee on Thursday shot down symbolic resolutions targeting AIPAC and arms transfers to Israel.

Members of a resolutions committee meeting in New Orleans rejected one symbolic resolution that would have condemned AIPAC’s role in party primaries and tabled a pair of resolutions that called for conditioning military aid to Israel.

Polls show that Democratic Party members are increasingly skeptical of Israel and supportive of Palestinians — a shift that hasn’t been reflected in the party’s official position.

The Democrats Don’t Know Who They’ll Be in 2028. Michigan May Offer an Answer.

Instead, party leaders rejected the AIPAC resolution and referred the hot-button issue of arms transfers to Israel to a task force created by DNC Chair Ken Martin, which has yet to produce concrete results since it was created in August.

Allison Minnerly, the DNC member from Florida who sponsored the AIPAC resolution, said the votes exposed serious shortcomings on the part of leadership.

“It says that the Democratic Party just isn’t willing to have a hard conversation, isn’t willing to stand up, and just misses the mark when voters need it the most,” she said. “It is an embarrassing display of cowardice.”

The DNC member chairing the meeting, Ron Harris, said the arms transfers resolutions would be better handled by the task force, whose work he defended.

“Just for the record, this isn’t one of those things where you kick it down the line, and a committee where things go to die. These are people working really hard over a very thorny issue, and taking the time that it takes,” he said.

The proposals before the DNC committee on Thursday once again put party leaders in the hot spot after an earlier resolution from Minnerly last August called for a ban on arms sales to Israel.

Minnerly’s latest resolution highlighted the millions of dollars AIPAC spent to influence recent Democratic primaries in Illinois before reaffirming the party’s commitment to “reducing the role of corporate money and large-scale outside spending in Democratic primaries and general elections.”

AIPAC Is Retreating From Endorsements and Election Spending. It Won’t Give Up Its Influence.

AIPAC in recent years has dumped tens of millions of dollars into Democratic primaries via a super PAC called the United Democracy Fund. It has taken an increasingly aggressive stance against anyone who questions U.S. support for Israel — including one pro-Israel congressional candidate who said he was open to conditioning military aid on respect for human rights.

The group’s heavy-handed role in recent Illinois campaigns drew fire from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, who blasted AIPAC when he won the Democratic Party primary for the 9th Congressional District.

We’re independent of corporate interests — and powered by members. Join us.

Join Our Newsletter Thank You For Joining!

Original reporting. Fearless journalism. Delivered to you. Will you take the next step to support our independent journalism by becoming a member of The Intercept?

By signing up, I agree to receive emails from The Intercept and to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Original reporting. Fearless journalism. Delivered to you.

In response to the growing backlash, AIPAC’s supporters have called its critics “antisemitic,” a charge echoed during the Thursday meeting when one member said that to single out AIPAC would be to “pick on the Jews.”

Separately, another resolution called for pausing weapons transfers to Israeli military units accused of human rights violations and recognizing Palestinian statehood, and a third called for conditioning military aid to Israel in compliance with international law in light of the U.S.–Israeli war on Iran.

Those resolutions were referred to the task force.

IT’S EVEN WORSE THAN WE THOUGHT.

What we’re seeing right now from Donald Trump is a full-on authoritarian takeover of the U.S. government.

This is not hyperbole.

Court orders are being ignored. MAGA loyalists have been put in charge of the military and federal law enforcement agencies. The Department of Government Efficiency has stripped Congress of its power of the purse. News outlets that challenge Trump have been banished or put under investigation.

Yet far too many are still covering Trump’s assault on democracy like politics as usual, with flattering headlines describing Trump as “unconventional,” “testing the boundaries,” and “aggressively flexing power.”

The Intercept has long covered authoritarian governments, billionaire oligarchs, and backsliding democracies around the world. We understand the challenge we face in Trump and the vital importance of press freedom in defending democracy.

We’re independent of corporate interests. Will you help us?

IT’S BEEN A DEVASTATING year for journalism — the worst in modern U.S. history.

We have a president with utter contempt for truth aggressively using the government’s full powers to dismantle the free press. Corporate news outlets have cowered, becoming accessories in Trump’s project to create a post-truth America. Right-wing billionaires have pounced, buying up media organizations and rebuilding the information environment to their liking.

In this most perilous moment for democracy, The Intercept is fighting back. But to do so effectively, we need to grow.

That’s where you come in. Will you help us expand our reporting capacity in time to hit the ground running in 2026?

We’re independent of corporate interests. Will you help us?

I’M BEN MUESSIG, The Intercept’s editor-in-chief. It’s been a devastating year for journalism — the worst in modern U.S. history.

In this most perilous moment for democracy, The Intercept is fighting back. But to do so effectively, we need to grow.

That’s where you come in. Will you help us expand our reporting capacity in time to hit the ground running in 2026?

We’re independent of corporate interests. Will you help us?

The Democrats Don’t Know Who They’ll Be in 2028. Michigan May Offer an Answer.

Sunrise Movement Pushes Anti-War Candidates, Endorsing Melat Kiros in Denver

How Does TrackAIPAC Actually Track AIPAC?

Why Dems Keep Saying Trump Has “No Plan” Instead of Calling to End the War With Iran

The Forever Spoiler: Netanyahu Has Been Blowing Up Diplomacy With Iran for Decades

Israel’s vicious attack on Lebanon emerged as the biggest threat to the Iran ceasefire. That might be intentional.

Government Ordered to Turn Over Files on ICE Agent Who Killed Renee Good

Noah Hurowitz, Austin Campbell

A magistrate judge will be able to review and consider releasing Jonathan Ross’s personnel files and materials that capture the hour surrounding Good’s shooting.

DOJ Wants to Scrap Watergate-Era Rule That Makes Presidential Records Public

Killing the Presidential Records Act would allow private individuals to hold the keys to American history, forever.

Enter your email to keep reading for free.

This is not a paywall.

By signing up, I agree to receive emails from The Intercept and to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

No ads. No corporate BS. Skip the propaganda and donate to keep The Intercept going strong:

We’re independent of corporate interests. Will you join us?

visit website

DNC Shoots Down Resolutions Calling Out AIPAC and Limiting Arms to Israel

© The Intercept