DNC blocks resolution urging halt to US military aid for Israel, Palestine recognition
Text of hardline resolution doesn't mention hostages; panel adopts more measured proposal before chairman withdraws it and agrees to set up task force for further talks on matter
The US Democratic National Committee on Tuesday voted down a resolution calling for an Israel arms embargo, recognition of a Palestinian state and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
The text of the resolution did not mention the Israeli hostages held by Hamas in the Strip.
The resolution was not expected to pass but was the latest measure to expose deep divisions within the Democratic Party over Israel, as discussion on the issue lasted longer than any other on Tuesday’s DNC agenda.
An alternative resolution submitted by DNC chairman Ken Martin that called for a ceasefire, a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza, the immediate release of the hostages and a two-state solution was initially advanced by the committee.
However, after the more hardline resolution was voted down, Martin announced that he was withdrawing his resolution and forming a task force with a diverse set of stakeholders to discuss the matter further and build bridges within the party.
“One thing all of us in this room agree on is that the crisis in Gaza is urgent,” said Martin during the panel meeting. “[My] resolution is focused on the humanitarian crisis and makes clear that it must be addressed as the emergency that it is.”
Martin’s resolution echoed long-standing positions on Israel held by the Democratic Party as outlined in its 2024 platform, which affirmed that former US president Joe Biden worked “tirelessly” to ensure the “unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people.”
The debate came amid waning American support for the country’s ongoing offensive in Gaza has sharply declined in the past year.
A recent Gallup poll found that among Democratic voters, approval for Israel’s military campaign in Gaza — launched in response to the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, terror onslaught that started the ongoing war — had fallen from 36% in November 2023 to just 8% last month.
The DNC vote came weeks after a record number of Senate Democrats voted in favor of two resolutions by Senator Bernie Sanders, a Jewish Independent from Vermont, seeking to block US military sales to Israel. In the House, a growing number of Democrats are also signing onto a bill that would withhold the transfer of offensive weapons to Israel, while the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee called Tuesday for the US to “leverage certain arms sales” to the Jewish state.
Despite waning support among Democratic lawmakers for Israel amid reports of mass hunger and journalists killed in the embattled enclave, the DNC appeared unready to wade into controversial positions, such as an arms embargo
Ahead of the debate over the arms embargo resolution, Allison Minnerly, a new Gen Z member from Florida who submitted the anti-Israel proposal, called on the party to “follow the will of our voters and call for an end to US involvement in this particular tragedy.”
“This is a moment that calls for leadership, listening and hard conversations,” Minnerly said. “We urge that, beyond calling for a ceasefire, that we acknowledge the devastation and we also outline actionable items for our elected officials with the Democratic Party to align ourselves with the voters of our base.”
Minnerly told the Washington Post that after submitting her resolution, DNC staff contacted her to make “clear that they didn’t think that this resolution was the right thing for this moment.”
During Tuesday’s debate over Minnerly’s resolution, Harini Krishnan, a member from California, criticized the resolution for failing to put “any onus on a militant group that I think is also oppressing the Palestinian people,” referring to Hamas. She added that she hoped that “as a party, we can move beyond this issue.”
In a statement earlier this month, the Democratic Majority for Israel, an advocacy group, also called on DNC members to reject the resolution, calling it “flawed” and “irresponsible.”
“Should it advance, it will further divide our Party, provide a gift to Republicans, and send a signal that will embolden Israel’s adversaries,” said DMI president and CEO Brian Romick in a statement. “As we get closer to the midterms, Democrats need to be united, not continuing intra-party fights that don’t get us closer to taking back Congress.”
But Sophia Danenberg, a member from Washington, said that the initial passing Martin’s resolution was “not enough,” adding that “people want to hear a louder, stronger statement, and that this isn’t the time for subtlety.”
“October 7th does not justify the actions of this right-wing regime massacring and starving and slaughtering the Palestinian people,” Danenberg said, later adding, “I do fear that we’re losing our future as a Democratic Party by not being courageous on this issue.”
The DNC, like its Republican counterpart, is charged with establishing the party platform, syncing up candidate messaging across multiple elections and publicizing the national party “brand.”