Jewish Democrats have a choice to elect anti-Israel Democrats or vote for Republican candidates that support Israel.
As tensions in the Middle East continue to grow, Jewish Democrats in the United States are being faced with a difficult decision ahead of the November general election. As the Democratic Party increasingly shares strong views in opposition of Israel, Republican candidates have maintained strong support of the nation.
“It is concerning that there are an increased number of Democrats vocalizing views on Israel that are not aligned with the values and views of the vast majority of American Jews,” said Jewish Democratic Council of America CEO Halie Soifer in a recent interview.
“There’s a handful of them and they’re increasing in number, and they’re increasingly loud. Their voices have been heard on this campaign trail in ways that we have not seen before, and we are concerned about that,” Soifer said.
In heavily Democratic districts, concern is growing over anti-Israel candidates that have won early primaries. The amount of anti-Israel Members of Congress is expected to grow come the November general election.
In Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District, one of the bluest districts in the country, state Representative Chris Rabb won the Democratic primary. No Republicans ran, ensuring that Rabb will win in November in the unopposed election.
Rabb is an outspoken critic of Israel. He has attacked pro-Israel groups and has accused the nation of “genocide.”
“Our message to Jewish Democrats is simple: If your party won’t stand with the Jewish community, you don’t owe them your vote,” said Sam Markstein, political director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, in a recent interview.
“There is only one party today where American Jews can be proudly Jewish and loudly pro-Israel, and it is the Republican Party,” he continued.
Joel Rubin, executive director of the Jewish Electorate Institute, spoke in a recent interview about the increase in political candidates engaging in anti-Israel rhetoric and the stakes for the future.
“We now have candidates who are openly using language or have been affiliated with people who have been very dangerous to Jewish safety,” he said. “It’s a test for the Democratic Party right now. This is a test moment to see the kinds of candidates that make it through the primaries.”
