How can you write this article and not even mention
(1) That hundreds of thousands of Palestinian-American Democrats have had relatives killed in the fighting? or
(2) That Israel relentlessly announces new settlements in the West Bank, oblivious to the sentiments of Americans?
Without a doubt, the sense that Israel simply ignores all pleas for restraint, including those from countries that supported Israel in the Gaza war, produces frenzied anger among people who are understandably appalled by what is being done with weapons they fund or provide.
I would think that the rise of the radical socialist left within the party would be enough for every rational individual to abandon the Democrats. For me, it started before October 7, with the party embracing censorship, DEI, science denialism and BLM. The rise of antisemitism, thinly disguised as antizionism, only confirmed that Jew-hatred never comes alone but as a component of an illiberal, totalitarian worldview. This does not mean that I like the GOP but right now, I see the radical left as a greater danger to Western civilization.
75,000 Gazans were killed by Israel after October 7th. That's not self defense. 10,000 people in the first month. 4000
Do you know how many people HAMAS has killed total since it's creation in 1987? 2000 people. That includes October 7th.
36 children were killed by Hamas. You have great sorrow for them. And outrage at their murder. 18,000 Palestinian children were killed in response. To which you expect the world to shrug.
You're trying to justify mass slaughter by saying Israel could have killed more? Saddam didn't kill all the Kurds. Does that mean he didn't slaughter them?
And yet, oddly, the death of liberalism in Israel provokes nothing like the same extent of anxiety. The judeofascists command around 10% support, and this will probably rise in the long term. Demographically, the religious element will expand to 25% within a generation. The Labour party, once the natural party of government, is practically extinct. Only 4% of Israelis identify as left wing.
Its all very well to say you can support Israel but oppose its government, but when there is no reasonable prospect of any alternative government in the foreseaable future, then any principled liberal is forced to make a choice. It seems like you have.
"If Israel moves away from annexation and toward regional integration, and works to restore its democracy, it would give its supporters abroad something worth defending again"
And if my grandma had balls she'd be my grandpa. I wish you and your fellow Liberal Zionists well, but I see no reason to believe you're going to win any elections in the foreseeable future. People here are talking up Eisenkot, who at least still claims to believe in a two state solution. But until he pledges to start evacuating all West Bank settlements immediately upon taking office, the basic precondition for a two state solution, there's no reason to take him seriously. He would also need to cooperate with the ICC in turning over the numerous wanted war criminals in the current government, of course.
If you want to be taken seriously, elect a government which will evacuate settlements, abide by international law, and recognize a Palestinian State TODAY, not at some indefinite time in the future when "conditions" are met. Anything short of that is worthless.
Thanks for reading, but I never said leave the party or vote on one issue. The piece says the GOP isn’t a home either, that the Massie vote wasn’t a rout, and that Shapiro and Emanuel are the lane worth fighting for.
I feel uncomfortable in a party that just nominated Darializa Avila Chevalier and endorsed Graham Platner en masse with his record already public. None of which is advice on how to vote. It’s just what the position costs now. I hope a new Israeli government changes things.
I am sorry that I misinterpreted your post. When you stated that you are politically homeless, I concluded that you want nothing to do with either party. I am also angry about the Platner debacle and do not think that Chevalier belongs in Congress, but I do not agree that Chevalier was nominated by the Party. She won the nomination in a specific district. Did the Democratic Party have the power to stop that?
Rahm Emanuel is right. Israel now has the ability to fend for itself economically and should no longer receive the massive economic assistance it has been receiving from the US. It should be like any other US ally.
"If Israel moves away from annexation and toward regional integration, and works to restore its democracy, it would give its supporters abroad something worth defending again."
I think this is really the critical point, and importantly, there is a clock ticking.
Once Israel loses support in the West, generally, it might take generations for that to change, even if Israel does everything right.
I'm aware of their view. But people can find an argument more persuasive and less persuasive. What's made the Anti-Zionist argument more persuasive are the actions of the Israeli State.
I don't think this was a defeat for liberal Zionists but a right sizing. I'd wager that most people who would be categorized as liberal or progress Zionists would have supported the Massie amendment. And the reason is clear: Protest against a Right Wing Israeli government who, in the words of Joaquin Castro wants to "ethnically cleanse" the Palestinian people. In Ro Khanna's interview with Haaretz this week, the same To Khanna who sponsored the bill, he made clear he's a Zionist who believes in the right of the Jewish people to self determination and a 2 state solution.
If liberal Zionism is defined as supporters of Israel who aren't willing to do more than give a strongly worded statement if Palestinians were being ethnically cleansed (which is the explicit intention of the Israeli Right Wing) or permanently disenfranchised (which is the policy preference of most Israeli Jews), then yes, this was a defeat for Liberal Zionism. But while that may be how Liberal Zionists in the US have operated until now, that will not continue. Apartheid is unacceptable to most American Jews, including most Zionist ones. And they aren't going to tolerate an Israel that has that as it's goal any longer.
That's fair — I agree the old unconditional posture is ending; that's my argument. But zeroing out all aid with no carve-out, binding on any future government, is blunter than "conditional Zionism," which is why Jeffries and 98 Democrats voted no. We differ on whether what comes next feels like a home.
I also don't think most Israeli Jews want Palestinians permanently disenfranchised. They want to live in security — and if the political conditions allow for it, I believe two states is still possible. We are, of course, a ways away.
On point two, I've asked myself the question: if the IDF tomorrow got the Egyptians to open the border and started marching Gazans across the border, would there be any protest? Not only do I think their would be no protest, I think you'd get a wave of respected intellectuals in Israel saying things like "This is a humanitarian intervention. Their quality of life will improve, etc."
It wouldn't even register as ethnic cleansing to most Israelis, the euphemisms would be so thick in the media.
That's what the Gaza War has shown Americans, because all this stuff is being talked about and planned openly right now and has been for almost 3 years. And the reaction in Israel is so muted.
Also 38% of Republicans say abortion should be legal in most or all cases and abortion is a state issue these days. Many red states are pro choice. Texas builds more clean energy than California. I don’t think centrist liberal American Jews will have so many issues with energy or that abortion is a big deal. The dumb populism, conspiracy theories, 2020 election denial etc sounds worse. But centrist Bari Weiss Manhattan Institute Rubio-style Republicans and centrist Democrat Ritchie Torres style Democrats are the best political homes. Both parties have many factions and one shouldn’t expect to agree with either party’s position on every issue.
I think there’s too much doomerism in the post. Once Eizenkot wins and the Iran war ends and aid is phased out the anti Israel movement will lose steam, and Republicans and centrist Democrats will continue to support arms sales. In any case Israel is developing its own arms industry. This anti Israel stuff is going to peak and decline the same way the defund the police and trans in women’s sports declined. Did you watch the Drop Site Ro Khanna interview? Eventually these people will realize the Hamastards are nuts and they’ll lose support. In a world with Israel phasing out US aid, no US direct involvement in Middle Eastern wars, and PM Eizenkot, the far left will be exposed for the nuts they are.
Clavicular having fun on his visit to Israel is great and is a harbinger of things to come.
For me, voting Republican was one of the hardest political decisions I've ever made. It's not who I ever thought I was, and it's not how I naturally see myself. But I reached a point where I felt I couldn't ignore what I was seeing.
In my eyes, bigotry toward Jews and the Jewish nation is the ultimate litmus test.
I don't feel like I walked away from the Democratic Party. I feel like the Democratic Party walked away from me.
As long as Republicans want to end a woman’s right to make her own medical decisions—something Israel affords all women—and repeal the 19th Amendment, Israel will have to do without my vote. It makes me sad as my brother lives there,,but I’ll send a check
Is opposition to the permanent disenfranchisement of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza or their ethnic cleansing from those lands bigotry towards Jews and the Jewish nation in your opinion? I'm curious.
It’s not about opposition to the Israeli governments policies in the WB and Gaza but about the influential DSA faction in the Democratic Party that’s pro-Hamas and opposed to the existence of Israel.
They’re loud. They’re are not even 50% of the Democratic Party yet, but they follow their Beloved Leader, Bernie—who isn’t even a Democrat. They aren’t winning many races outside of Very Blue districts
Part of the answer is that the war and current coalition government give them plausible deniability. Their nature will become apparent to centrist Dems over the next few years, after some time of quiet with PM Eizenkot.
You believe in the Right of Return of Palestinians to Jaffa and Ashkelon and Ashdod? It wasn't Palestinians who drove Jews out of Gaza, but Jews certainly drove some residents of the Gaza Strip today out of their homes in Ashdod and Jaffa.
The only places that today's Palestinians can be credibly accused of driving Jews out of is Hebron, Gush Etzion, and some of today's Jewish suburbs.
Nonsense. Arabs left due to threat of being killed by Arab nations that attacked Israel when they declared independence in 1948. The Arabs who didn't flee the invading Arab armies became Israeli citizens, as the 2 million Arab Israeli citizens can attest. Name ONE Arab nation that boasts of 2 million Jewish citizens. Name ONE Muslim nation that has 20% Jewish citizens as Israel has 20% Muslim citizens. Generational genocide going back hundreds of years and generational ethnic cleansing is the reason the Jewish population is so small throughout the world. Israel is more multi-cultural than any of the nations that surround it.
The Democratic Party is hijacked by the antizionist hate movement.
Describing antizionists as “pro-Palestinian” is one of the most persistent and damaging errors in contemporary discourse.
It suggests that antizionism is motivated by concern for Palestinian wellbeing, and implies that opposing antizionists is equivalent to opposing Palestinians.
Both claims are false.
Antizionism is responsible for the forever war that has seen countless Palestinians killed. The IRGC and its proxies continue to use civilians as human shields in the hope that Israel will suffer. Tens of thousands of Palestinians were knowingly sacrificed by an antizionist agenda. This is not “pro-Palestinian.” Credit to: https://fornormalpeople.substack.com/
Palestinians should be treated with dignity and respect. It's not okay for them to be denied their right to self determination. It's not okay for the West Bank to be carved up and the land annexed to Israel. It's not okay for the plan to be that Palestinians either are permanently disenfranchised or ethnically cleansed.
The question is, does Zionism, as an ideology, necessitate what we've seen. Is the way things were are inevitably supposed to go? Anti Zionists AND Right Wing Zionists say yes. Liberal and progressive Zionists say no.
The Democratic Party hasn't been hijacked. Americans don't support the disenfranchisement of Palestinians and the current Israeli government and society does. So Democrats are going to be more open to Anti Zionist arguments and Politicians. If Israel changes politically, support for anti Zionism will fall.
The Palestinians have rejected their own state and self determination since The League of Nations.
And they were handed self determination in Gaza by The Oslo Accords, and they elected Hamas.
They want Israel to disappear, which isn’t going to happen. What’s their Plan B? Their violence hasn’t worked—why haven’t they tried non-violence?
The Palestinians receive billions annually under the terms of The Oslo Accords. What have they done with the money to improve the life of Palestinians? Why would they change anything and lose those billions?
"I know this be super difficult to hear, but antizionism does not care who leads Israel—whether Bibi Netanyahu, Yair Golan, or David Ben-Gurion. It is a deep-seated hostility that casts Israel as a uniquely evil state, unworthy of existence. Credit to: https://nayalekht.substack.com/
How can you write this article and not even mention
(1) That hundreds of thousands of Palestinian-American Democrats have had relatives killed in the fighting? or
(2) That Israel relentlessly announces new settlements in the West Bank, oblivious to the sentiments of Americans?
Without a doubt, the sense that Israel simply ignores all pleas for restraint, including those from countries that supported Israel in the Gaza war, produces frenzied anger among people who are understandably appalled by what is being done with weapons they fund or provide.
I would think that the rise of the radical socialist left within the party would be enough for every rational individual to abandon the Democrats. For me, it started before October 7, with the party embracing censorship, DEI, science denialism and BLM. The rise of antisemitism, thinly disguised as antizionism, only confirmed that Jew-hatred never comes alone but as a component of an illiberal, totalitarian worldview. This does not mean that I like the GOP but right now, I see the radical left as a greater danger to Western civilization.
75,000 Gazans were killed by Israel after October 7th. That's not self defense. 10,000 people in the first month. 4000
Do you know how many people HAMAS has killed total since it's creation in 1987? 2000 people. That includes October 7th.
36 children were killed by Hamas. You have great sorrow for them. And outrage at their murder. 18,000 Palestinian children were killed in response. To which you expect the world to shrug.
You're trying to justify mass slaughter by saying Israel could have killed more? Saddam didn't kill all the Kurds. Does that mean he didn't slaughter them?
There is no such thing as a liberal Zionist, it's like saying your an ethical serial killer
And yet, oddly, the death of liberalism in Israel provokes nothing like the same extent of anxiety. The judeofascists command around 10% support, and this will probably rise in the long term. Demographically, the religious element will expand to 25% within a generation. The Labour party, once the natural party of government, is practically extinct. Only 4% of Israelis identify as left wing.
Its all very well to say you can support Israel but oppose its government, but when there is no reasonable prospect of any alternative government in the foreseaable future, then any principled liberal is forced to make a choice. It seems like you have.
"If Israel moves away from annexation and toward regional integration, and works to restore its democracy, it would give its supporters abroad something worth defending again"
And if my grandma had balls she'd be my grandpa. I wish you and your fellow Liberal Zionists well, but I see no reason to believe you're going to win any elections in the foreseeable future. People here are talking up Eisenkot, who at least still claims to believe in a two state solution. But until he pledges to start evacuating all West Bank settlements immediately upon taking office, the basic precondition for a two state solution, there's no reason to take him seriously. He would also need to cooperate with the ICC in turning over the numerous wanted war criminals in the current government, of course.
If you want to be taken seriously, elect a government which will evacuate settlements, abide by international law, and recognize a Palestinian State TODAY, not at some indefinite time in the future when "conditions" are met. Anything short of that is worthless.
Eli, some of what you wrote makes sense, but overall, I profoundly disagree that we are politically homeless. And it is extremely dangerous to be a one issue voter. We need to work within the Democratic Party and not abandon it if we wish to have any say in policy matters. Melanie Nathan states it perfectly in one of her posts: https://jwori.com/2026/05/18/the-security-nexus-why-jewish-republicans-and-democrats-must-unite-and-vote-democratic/
Thanks for reading, but I never said leave the party or vote on one issue. The piece says the GOP isn’t a home either, that the Massie vote wasn’t a rout, and that Shapiro and Emanuel are the lane worth fighting for.
I feel uncomfortable in a party that just nominated Darializa Avila Chevalier and endorsed Graham Platner en masse with his record already public. None of which is advice on how to vote. It’s just what the position costs now. I hope a new Israeli government changes things.
I am sorry that I misinterpreted your post. When you stated that you are politically homeless, I concluded that you want nothing to do with either party. I am also angry about the Platner debacle and do not think that Chevalier belongs in Congress, but I do not agree that Chevalier was nominated by the Party. She won the nomination in a specific district. Did the Democratic Party have the power to stop that?
It’s not only “many American Jews”
who are now politically homeless. It’s “many Americans”……
Rahm Emanuel is right. Israel now has the ability to fend for itself economically and should no longer receive the massive economic assistance it has been receiving from the US. It should be like any other US ally.
"If Israel moves away from annexation and toward regional integration, and works to restore its democracy, it would give its supporters abroad something worth defending again."
I think this is really the critical point, and importantly, there is a clock ticking.
Once Israel loses support in the West, generally, it might take generations for that to change, even if Israel does everything right.
The window is closing, and closing fast.
I'm aware of their view. But people can find an argument more persuasive and less persuasive. What's made the Anti-Zionist argument more persuasive are the actions of the Israeli State.
I don't think this was a defeat for liberal Zionists but a right sizing. I'd wager that most people who would be categorized as liberal or progress Zionists would have supported the Massie amendment. And the reason is clear: Protest against a Right Wing Israeli government who, in the words of Joaquin Castro wants to "ethnically cleanse" the Palestinian people. In Ro Khanna's interview with Haaretz this week, the same To Khanna who sponsored the bill, he made clear he's a Zionist who believes in the right of the Jewish people to self determination and a 2 state solution.
If liberal Zionism is defined as supporters of Israel who aren't willing to do more than give a strongly worded statement if Palestinians were being ethnically cleansed (which is the explicit intention of the Israeli Right Wing) or permanently disenfranchised (which is the policy preference of most Israeli Jews), then yes, this was a defeat for Liberal Zionism. But while that may be how Liberal Zionists in the US have operated until now, that will not continue. Apartheid is unacceptable to most American Jews, including most Zionist ones. And they aren't going to tolerate an Israel that has that as it's goal any longer.
Very well stated. Agree wholeheartedly.
That's fair — I agree the old unconditional posture is ending; that's my argument. But zeroing out all aid with no carve-out, binding on any future government, is blunter than "conditional Zionism," which is why Jeffries and 98 Democrats voted no. We differ on whether what comes next feels like a home.
I also don't think most Israeli Jews want Palestinians permanently disenfranchised. They want to live in security — and if the political conditions allow for it, I believe two states is still possible. We are, of course, a ways away.
I'll give you point one.
On point two, I've asked myself the question: if the IDF tomorrow got the Egyptians to open the border and started marching Gazans across the border, would there be any protest? Not only do I think their would be no protest, I think you'd get a wave of respected intellectuals in Israel saying things like "This is a humanitarian intervention. Their quality of life will improve, etc."
It wouldn't even register as ethnic cleansing to most Israelis, the euphemisms would be so thick in the media.
That's what the Gaza War has shown Americans, because all this stuff is being talked about and planned openly right now and has been for almost 3 years. And the reaction in Israel is so muted.
Also 38% of Republicans say abortion should be legal in most or all cases and abortion is a state issue these days. Many red states are pro choice. Texas builds more clean energy than California. I don’t think centrist liberal American Jews will have so many issues with energy or that abortion is a big deal. The dumb populism, conspiracy theories, 2020 election denial etc sounds worse. But centrist Bari Weiss Manhattan Institute Rubio-style Republicans and centrist Democrat Ritchie Torres style Democrats are the best political homes. Both parties have many factions and one shouldn’t expect to agree with either party’s position on every issue.
“Centrist” Bari Weiss? That word does not apply to her at all.
I think there’s too much doomerism in the post. Once Eizenkot wins and the Iran war ends and aid is phased out the anti Israel movement will lose steam, and Republicans and centrist Democrats will continue to support arms sales. In any case Israel is developing its own arms industry. This anti Israel stuff is going to peak and decline the same way the defund the police and trans in women’s sports declined. Did you watch the Drop Site Ro Khanna interview? Eventually these people will realize the Hamastards are nuts and they’ll lose support. In a world with Israel phasing out US aid, no US direct involvement in Middle Eastern wars, and PM Eizenkot, the far left will be exposed for the nuts they are.
Clavicular having fun on his visit to Israel is great and is a harbinger of things to come.
For me, voting Republican was one of the hardest political decisions I've ever made. It's not who I ever thought I was, and it's not how I naturally see myself. But I reached a point where I felt I couldn't ignore what I was seeing.
In my eyes, bigotry toward Jews and the Jewish nation is the ultimate litmus test.
I don't feel like I walked away from the Democratic Party. I feel like the Democratic Party walked away from me.
As long as Republicans want to end a woman’s right to make her own medical decisions—something Israel affords all women—and repeal the 19th Amendment, Israel will have to do without my vote. It makes me sad as my brother lives there,,but I’ll send a check
Is opposition to the permanent disenfranchisement of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza or their ethnic cleansing from those lands bigotry towards Jews and the Jewish nation in your opinion? I'm curious.
It’s not about opposition to the Israeli governments policies in the WB and Gaza but about the influential DSA faction in the Democratic Party that’s pro-Hamas and opposed to the existence of Israel.
Why are they influential?
They’re loud. They’re are not even 50% of the Democratic Party yet, but they follow their Beloved Leader, Bernie—who isn’t even a Democrat. They aren’t winning many races outside of Very Blue districts
Part of the answer is that the war and current coalition government give them plausible deniability. Their nature will become apparent to centrist Dems over the next few years, after some time of quiet with PM Eizenkot.
You have it backwards. It is Jews who have been ethnically cleansed from Gaza and from much of the West Bank.
You believe in the Right of Return of Palestinians to Jaffa and Ashkelon and Ashdod? It wasn't Palestinians who drove Jews out of Gaza, but Jews certainly drove some residents of the Gaza Strip today out of their homes in Ashdod and Jaffa.
The only places that today's Palestinians can be credibly accused of driving Jews out of is Hebron, Gush Etzion, and some of today's Jewish suburbs.
Nonsense. Arabs left due to threat of being killed by Arab nations that attacked Israel when they declared independence in 1948. The Arabs who didn't flee the invading Arab armies became Israeli citizens, as the 2 million Arab Israeli citizens can attest. Name ONE Arab nation that boasts of 2 million Jewish citizens. Name ONE Muslim nation that has 20% Jewish citizens as Israel has 20% Muslim citizens. Generational genocide going back hundreds of years and generational ethnic cleansing is the reason the Jewish population is so small throughout the world. Israel is more multi-cultural than any of the nations that surround it.
Of Jerusalem.
The Democratic Party is hijacked by the antizionist hate movement.
Describing antizionists as “pro-Palestinian” is one of the most persistent and damaging errors in contemporary discourse.
It suggests that antizionism is motivated by concern for Palestinian wellbeing, and implies that opposing antizionists is equivalent to opposing Palestinians.
Both claims are false.
Antizionism is responsible for the forever war that has seen countless Palestinians killed. The IRGC and its proxies continue to use civilians as human shields in the hope that Israel will suffer. Tens of thousands of Palestinians were knowingly sacrificed by an antizionist agenda. This is not “pro-Palestinian.” Credit to: https://fornormalpeople.substack.com/
Palestinians should be treated with dignity and respect. It's not okay for them to be denied their right to self determination. It's not okay for the West Bank to be carved up and the land annexed to Israel. It's not okay for the plan to be that Palestinians either are permanently disenfranchised or ethnically cleansed.
The question is, does Zionism, as an ideology, necessitate what we've seen. Is the way things were are inevitably supposed to go? Anti Zionists AND Right Wing Zionists say yes. Liberal and progressive Zionists say no.
The Democratic Party hasn't been hijacked. Americans don't support the disenfranchisement of Palestinians and the current Israeli government and society does. So Democrats are going to be more open to Anti Zionist arguments and Politicians. If Israel changes politically, support for anti Zionism will fall.
The Palestinians have rejected their own state and self determination since The League of Nations.
And they were handed self determination in Gaza by The Oslo Accords, and they elected Hamas.
They want Israel to disappear, which isn’t going to happen. What’s their Plan B? Their violence hasn’t worked—why haven’t they tried non-violence?
The Palestinians receive billions annually under the terms of The Oslo Accords. What have they done with the money to improve the life of Palestinians? Why would they change anything and lose those billions?
"I know this be super difficult to hear, but antizionism does not care who leads Israel—whether Bibi Netanyahu, Yair Golan, or David Ben-Gurion. It is a deep-seated hostility that casts Israel as a uniquely evil state, unworthy of existence. Credit to: https://nayalekht.substack.com/