Narrowing the Democratic Divide on Gaza

Wednesday’s Senate votes on Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRDs) that would have blocked specific weapons transfers to Israel crystallized two critical realities within the Democratic Party as well as within the progressive movement more broadly. On one hand, 27 Senators, a majority of Democratic caucus, listened to their consciences and made a historic break with decades of unquestioned U.S. military aid to Israel. On the other hand, a substantial contingent of Democratic senators—some from states with progressive reputations and others who are self-styled progressive leaders—joined every single Republican senator in refusing to challenge the influential pro-Israel lobby.

The bipartisan consensus supporting unquestioned military aid to Israel had so far withheld a real reckoning as Gaza’s civilian population faces staggering devastation—bombed hospitals, restricted humanitarian access, and mounting numbers of civilians killed. Meanwhile, those realities in Gaza have caused a sea change with the Democratic Party’s increasingly justice-minded rank and file.

A Gallup poll from just this month found that a paltry 8% of Democratic voters approve of Israel’s military actions in Gaza, down sharply from 24% in late 2024, reflecting unprecedented disapproval amid mounting civilian casualties and humanitarian suffering. This collapse in support highlights a widening chasm between those Democratic leaders who continue to back unconditional military aid and the overwhelming majority of their base. This stark divide weakens the party as it tries to oppose U.S. President Donald Trump in D.C. and as it heads into upcoming elections.

How can Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) lead the Democratic Party against Trumpism if he sides with Bibi Netanyahu’s worst authoritarian instincts instead of with Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and the fight for human rights? How can someone like Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) give anti-authoritarian speeches about fighting “for the moral soul of the nation” while he votes to keep the U.S. complicit in starving a people and other war crimes? How can Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) claim to truly represent voters in progressive states like New York and California when they side with the Israel lobby over 90% of their base voters?

To present a robust counterweight to Trump’s authoritarianism, Democrats must articulate a fundamentally different vision—one that rejects complicity in violence abroad and centers human rights as a cornerstone of both its domestic and foreign policy.

As the atrocities in Gaza mount each day, the costs of listening to lobbying groups like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and aligned hardline organizations are growing. These groups leverage extraordinary financial and institutional clout, but they do so while representing a smaller and smaller subset of the electorate. At the same time, AIPAC has become a Republican dominated and Republican mega-donor funded organization. It is the largest conduit for Republican donors to meddle in Democratic primaries. It’s past time for the Democratic Party to divorce AIPAC and groups like it.

The electoral consequences of backing Israel’s war and oppression are already evident. A YouGov/IMEU survey reveals that nearly one-third of 2020 Biden voters who turned away from former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024 cited the Gaza crisis and U.S. policy on Israel as the decisive issue—outranking traditional concerns such as healthcare and the economy.

Alignment with entrenched special interests, including a hardline Israeli government accused of genocide and other war crimes, undercuts the party’s credibility with key constituencies and diminishes the Democratic Party’s ability to offer a coherent alternative to Donald Trump. To present a robust counterweight to Trump’s authoritarianism, Democrats must articulate a fundamentally different vision—one that rejects complicity in violence abroad and centers human rights as a cornerstone of both its domestic and foreign policy. The longer party leaders cling to the status quo, the more it creates openings for authoritarian narratives to resonate with disaffected voters.

Meanwhile, left and progressive forces within and outside the party must use this opening wisely—mobilizing progressive coalitions for clear, principled anti-authoritarian shifts in U.S. foreign policy, including robust opposition to ongoing military aid that enables war crimes and ethnic cleansing. This week’s vote can provide a springboard for mobilization to thank senators who voted yes and cement their support for an end to the war—and Israel’s apartheid policies. Even more importantly, those who voted against holding Israel accountable for its war crimes must hear from their constituents in their offices, at town halls, and with overflowing phone lines and email inboxes.

The stakes could not be higher. Gaza is facing mass starvation, and 90% of Palestinians in Gaza are displaced. The decisions made in the coming months, especially around military aid appropriations and diplomatic strategy to end the war, will determine not only the future of Palestinians under siege but the credibility and political fortunes of the Democratic Party and any ability to push back Trump’s reactionary authoritarianism.

Those of us who care about the fate of the Palestinians have a role to play in shaping these outcomes. Power from below—organizing, mobilization, and moral witness—can push these elected officials to finally end U.S. complicity. Now is the time to push more senators to join the 27 who voted to block weapons this week. At the same time, we can also organize behind the Block the Bombs campaign in the House. Reps. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), and Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), along with 18 colleagues, have introduced historic legislation to block the U.S. weapons being sent to Israel and used in human rights violations. Supporters are campaigning this August to get as much support in Congress for this effort as possible. If all this mobilization can force more and more members of Congress to take a stand for human rights and justice, that will be good for Palestinians suffering in Gaza and good for American democracy.