For years, Democrats warned that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing policies were eroding their party’s historic support for Israel, which dates back to the founding of the state in 1948. According to The New York Times, recent scenes of starvation and destruction in Gaza have made it clearer than ever that the long-standing bipartisan consensus on support for Israel has, at least for now, unraveled.
“Do I think the relationship between Israel and the Democratic Party has been irreparably damaged? No,” said Ritchie Torres, a Democratic Congressman from New York and a staunch supporter of Israel. “But do I think the relationship between Netanyahu and the Democratic Party has been irreparably damaged? Yes.”
Angela Alsobrooks, a Democratic senator from Maryland, said the crisis in Gaza is the number one issue she hears about from voters. “We can recognize Israel as a vital U.S. ally while also recognizing our human responsibility to intervene where we see this kind of hunger,” she said.
Senator Patty Murray of Washington, a longtime supporter of Israel, said: “As someone who has long supported Israel, I voted for the resolution to send a message: the Netanyahu government cannot continue this strategy.” Murray backed Senator Bernie Sanders’ proposal to block arms shipments to Israel and stressed the need to end the suffering and killing of civilians in Gaza.
Halie Soifer, CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA), the leading Jewish organization within the Democratic Party, said the vote on Sanders’ proposal—supported by 27 Democratic senators—was a statement on the conduct of the war, not a referendum on Israel itself. She pointed to the party’s strong support for approving $15 billion in military aid to Israel in 2024 as evidence that any decline in support for Jerusalem within the party is temporary.
“We must view U.S.-Israel relations through the lens of seven decades of partnership,” Soifer explained. “This is a difficult period, but I believe public opinion and political positions will shift again once the war finally ends.”
Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of the liberal pro-Israel lobby J Street, described the Democrats who supported the arms-blocking proposal as “true champions of Israel.” “They are courageously pro-Israel because they are willing to withstand political backlash from the right in order to do what’s right for Israel in the long run,” he said.
“The numbers show erosion in support for Israel,” Ben-Ami added. “Is it a reaction to the Gaza war, or a structural shift that will persist after the war ends? I don’t know the answer.”
Signs of erosion in support for Israel are also emerging among Republicans. This week, Marjorie Taylor Greene became the first GOP lawmaker to accuse Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.
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While Senator Sanders avoided labeling the situation in Gaza as genocide in a CNN interview—unlike many of his progressive colleagues—he called the term a “legal designation” and said the label mattered less than the urgency of ending the “absolutely horrific” situation unfolding in Gaza. Greene, however, did embrace the genocide claim. Like Sanders, she opposes continued U.S. aid to Israel—but primarily on isolationist grounds, viewing overseas spending as a waste of taxpayer money.
“It’s easy and true to say October 7 in Israel was horrific and that all hostages must be returned—but it’s also true that genocide, a humanitarian crisis, and famine are happening in Gaza,” she wrote Tuesday on X (formerly Twitter), responding to a report that pro-Israel lobby AIPAC had withdrawn support for Jewish Republican Congressman Randy Fine after he was heard supporting the starvation of Gazans.
Greene added: “For a Jewish American lawmaker to call for the continued starvation of innocent people and children is disgraceful. His horrific statement will only fuel more antisemitism.”