The Democratic Party claims to be one of inclusion, yet its policies have become so radical that they exclude most of the country. While this applies to so many of the party’s positions, it is especially salient when it comes to Democratic views on Israel. Now, College Democrats chapters around the United States are pushing the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to adopt even more radical anti-Israel language in its official platform.
The College Democrats at Georgetown University issued a statement saying, in part, “We’re calling on DNC platform delegates to add language affirming the rights of Palestinians, condemning the unjust and illegal Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the blockade of Gaza, and opposing annexation of Palestinian territory to the official Democratic Party platform. The Democratic Party must be clear about its values.”
The students are advocating for the J Street platform—a group that claims to be pro-Israel while endorsing blatantly anti-Israel policies.
The Democratic Party used to be distinctly pro-Israel. Every Democratic platform in recent memory, including the most recent one, drawn up in 2016, has included language recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital—something U.S. President Donald Trump was crucified for by Democrats in 2018. But over the years, outside forces have invaded the party, pulling it farther and farther left—away from reason. Trump is the most pro-Israel president this country has ever seen, and yet he is constantly browbeaten by angry Democrats for his support of our greatest ally in the Middle East.
Even now, although a rising number of Democratic officials are spouting anti-Semitic rhetoric on the campaign trail, the DNC remains in favor of a strong Israel.
In fact, the DNC’s official platform states that a “strong and secure Israel is vital to the United States because we share overarching strategic interests and the common values of democracy, equality, tolerance, and pluralism.” The platform goes on the approve of Israel’s right to defend its borders, affirming that “we will always support Israel’s right to defend itself, including by retaining its qualitative military edge, and oppose any effort to delegitimize Israel, including at the United Nations or through the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement.”
A few outliers from the fringe left want to strip this language from the DNC platform and replace it with text that would be grossly damaging to the U.S.-Israel relationship because of an unbelievably misguided belief that Israelis are the “oppressors” in their own country. No other nation faces the type of scrutiny Israel does, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out why. The ancestral homeland of the Jewish people, Israel is always held to a different standard. Does Georgetown really want to be on the forefront of this kind of intolerance?
Democrats cannot continue to cave in to the most radical elements of their party. The DNC needs to resoundingly reject this misguided effort on the part of the Georgetown College Democrats and stand up for the essential relationship between the United States and Israel.
Ryan Fournier is the founder and co-chair of Students for Trump.
