It’s now official. The Democratic Party no longer views Israel as an alley. Instead, they have embraced Senator Bernie Sanders’ resolution to punish Israel for its involvement in our War against Iran. Forty of 47 Democratic Senators including a few Jews, voted to deprive Israel of much needed military aid in terms of sales, not donations. Of the Seven Democrats who voted with the Republicans on this resolution were three Jewish members: Chuck Schumer of New York, Jack Rosen of Nevada, and Rich Blumenthal of Connecticut. Their days in office may be numbered for this “crime.”.

This is the same Bernie Sanders who ran for president alongside Hilary Clinton in 2016 and came close enough to winning the primary to make moderate Democrats sweat. (He garnered 43% of the vote versus Clinton’s 55%). The same Bernie Sanders who scared the bejeezus out of the Democratic Party with his initially strong numbers early in the race with Hillary, who just squeaked by to win the Iowa caucus. This caused the Democratic Party power brokers to rally with Hillary and engage to make sure Sanders wasn’t nominated. Because Bernie, with his talk of campaign finance reform and economic inequality, was considered way too Left, too extreme.

Well, Bernie has had the last laugh. He is now the official kingmaker of the Democratic Party, even though he is officially an Independent (whatever that means!) and it seems he is the one pulling the strings with nearly all Party senators hewing the line, including the Jewish ones like Adam Schiff of California (as expected) and newcomer Elissa Slotkin of Michigan (who declares herself a “moderate”). Most of them, with the exception of the three mentioned earlier, voted with Sanders. (Tellingly, there are NO Jewish Republican senators).

Especially poignant was Slotkin’s official post on Facebook on how she considers herself to be “a strong supporter of a Jewish and Democratic State of Israel” and how tough it was for her to vote this way. If this is what support of Israel looks like, I wonder how opposition to the Jewish State would play out! She uses the word “complex truth” to justify her vote and goes on to say, “The people of Israel, like all people throughout the region, deserve long-term security and peace.” But by her logic that translated into  withholding necessary military means for that security… if approving the sale means showing loyalty to Trump and approval of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Even more horrifying than Slotkin’s rationalization of her Brutus-like betrayal of Israel, were the comments I read under her statement. They were almost uniformly in agreement with her vote and she received much praise from her constituents, many of whom appeared to be Jewish. Of course, even Slotkin had to acknowledge the fact that Michigan has a growing number of Muslim citizens; this may have possibly (heavy sarcasm here!)  played into her decision.

What these loyal Democrats are forgetting is that being pro-Israel today is not about supporting the political or military agenda of Prime Minister Netanyahu, just like being pro-American should not be equated with loyalty to President Trump.

Oh how labels have changed!

The Democrats, if you are to believe their motives, fear that arming Israel will lead to more warfare, and that they are against war no matter the threat to US interests. Or perhaps, although they really secretly admire Israel’s ability to decapitate Iran’s Military leadership, and who awesomely slashed its missile arsenal and industrial complex, that is the Israel they are against. The Israelis they can eagerly embrace are the kibbutzniks! (OK, I’m being overly sarcastic here). Or the ones who are against Netanyahu, because they view Netanyahu as the Jewish version of Trump. They don’t understand the Israeli system of government or that the Israeli people support Netanyahu’s war efforts even though they don’t like other aspects of his governance. They don’t get that Israelis, unlike us Americans, are unified against an enemy, Islamic jihadism, that hates all Jews, liberals and conservatives alike, as well as not being too crazy about Christians and Druze and certainly not Americans.

I can’t get inside anyone’s head, let alone people who have to scramble for votes every six years, or less depending on their office, or else lose their well-paying jobs. My guess is that these Senators made a cold calculation. They knew that all 52 Republicans would vote against this resolution and probably a few of their own party members. That means they recognized that the bill would never advance. They also knew the second resolution blocking the sale of 1,000 pound bombs to Israel, those are the ones used to destory the nuclear bombs deep inside the nuclear sites, also wouldn’t pass.

So they knew that votes  were essentially only cast to signal to their constituents: “Hey, we’re on your side.” It’s no longer fashionable to be pro-Israel or even pro-America if that means showing any degree of support for the United States military or G-d forbid Trump in our fight against a nuclear worldwide threat. A recent Pew Poll found that eight of ten Democrats have an unfavorable view of Israel. As the Wall Street Journal so well put it, “progressives make slander and betrayal of Israel a litmus test.” (Democrats Try to Block Arms Sales to Israel, April 17, 2026). I guess nowadays there is no daylight between Progressives and Liberals and your everyday Democrat. Like I said before, labels no longer matter.

Pretend it was, say Kuwait, that assembled an awe-inspiring airforce and worked side by side with the United States to take out a pre-imminent threat, would these same Senators decide that now would be a good time to signal that Kuwait deserved to be punished for their efforts? We know the answer. No such resolution would see the light of day.

The gap between Americans who believe Israel needs to be kept on a tight leash like you would a vicious and poorly behaved pitbull, and those like the incredible young people serving in the military who support Israel, must be widening and soon may become insurmountable.

How about these Congresspeople invite these soldiers into their offices to talk about how much of a threat Israel is. Not Iran, Not the Houthis, Not Hamas, Not Hisbollah, Not Islamic Jihad, nor the Muslim Brotherhood. Just the Jewish state of Israel. The one composed of about 11 million citizens, including 2 million Arabs, and a sizable population of Christians, Druze and other minorities.

Please listen to them talk about what it has been like fighting side by side with Israeli soldiers, who unlike them, are conscripted, but who willingly serve. Talk to them about why we should be restraining Israel and making it more difficult for them to defend itself from a nuclear and ballistic threat, one that has made sheltering in bomb shelters a “normal” way of life.

You Senators, every one of you and especially those Jewish Senators who voted for the resolution, think about this. You weren’t willing to risk offending your own party members for standing up for Israel which has shown itself again and again deserving of our praise,not our condemnation. You lack the moral fiber to fight the most extreme and growing numbers within your own party. You are not willing to say that this new form of what used to be considered a liberal, caring, party has turned into something completely different. It’s turned into a Bernie Sanders version of the 72 virgins in paradise of a Democratic Party. One that is anti-Patriotic.

Whatever happened to America first? Is that a bad thing? We are currently in a war that you might disagree with, but at the least you should want us to be successful even if it means a win for our President, Donald Trump. You are turning the Democratic Party into something that resembles a more anti-American Party. Instead of opposing the most toxic elements within your own party, you are encouraging them, because you want to be popular, you want to be considered among the well-regarded (I won’t say well-respected), and frankly, it’s just easier to go with the flow.

Israel will continue to get its much needed military equipment, despite your efforts to the contrary and Israel will continue fighting against Iran, which represents everything that America today is not and which is dedicated to destroying us, and Israel will continue to develop its own military hardware and software and intelligence that has proven itself over and over again to be effective in fighting our MUTUAL enemies, and Israel will continue to be more self-reliant, and Israel will continue to represent the West’s moral values even when the West seems to be abandoning them, and Israel will continue to be a beacon to others who are so impressed with its military and intelligence prowess that they are asking Israel to share their knowledge and equipment. Israel, because it has demonstrated that, unlike our other allies (think Europe), is willing to put lives on the line to fight against Islamic extremism and depravity, will succeed.

The Democratic Party of the United States on the other hand has shown where its true values lie. Soon Americans will forget about this vote and life will go on and Israel will continue to receive what it needs and pays for. But the Democrats will eventually be seen for turning into something other than a major voice for moderate Americans.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)