From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, August 20, 2024
Inside DNC, Democratic lawmakers tell ToI that anti-Israel protesters don’t represent party
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
CHICAGO — Three Democratic lawmakers speaking to The Times of Israel on the floor of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago say the anti-Israel protesters outside are not representative of their party.
“They’re outside for a reason. They’re not delegates, and they’re not part of this convention. They’re not Democrats. If they’re anything, they’re Socialist Democrats of America,” says Representative Steve Cohen from Tennessee.
He argues that there is an overlap between those protesting outside earlier today and those who condemned progressive Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for hosting an event about the dangers of rising antisemitism.
“That’s how far out they are — either that or anarchistic,” says Cohen.
His stance is largely echoed by fellow Democratic Representative Brad Sherman, who also asserts that the thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters who marched on the DNC are “not Democrats.”
“They’re supporters of (far-left activist) Cornel West and Jill Stein and the Green Party,” Sherman says, noting that the one Democratic candidate who espoused the positions against Israel of those protesting — Marianne Williams — is largely unheard of.
On the other hand, Sherman respects Harris’s decision to engage with some of the “uncommitted” activists who led a protest vote movement against President Joe Biden during the Democratic Party primaries over his support for Israel in the war against Hamas.
“This election will be decided by so few votes that no one wants to write off any group of them, no matter how small. If I found out that people in the kumquat industry were upset with us, I’d reach out to them, even though there are very few kumquats grown in America,” Sherman quips.
Still, he asserts that Harris has only gone “one step, maybe half a step” further than Biden in engaging with critics of Israel, while not accepting their views.
While distancing themselves from the anti-Israel protesters outside, the lawmakers still make a point of expressing displeasure with the current Israeli government and with how its prosecuted some of the war.
Sherman notes that “the pictures coming out of Gaza are terrible. The statements by some Israeli politicians are awful.”
The California Democrat says Israel’s leaders “have put their own electoral interests over the interests over the interests of the state, and the voters have to punish that behavior.
“Someone who appeals to your gut, but hurts your international relations position — he might be meeting your immediate psychological needs, but a country under as much credit as Israel, should play it smart,” Sherman adds.
“Democrats’ disappointment is focused at Bibi Netanyahu. Under his leadership, there’s a feeling that Israel has lost its way in many directions,” says Representative Bill Foster.
“We’re not going to abandon Israel, but we have to talk sternly to a friend who’s lost their way,” the Illinois lawmaker adds.
Foster says the views of those at the anti-Israel protest are “not consensus on the floor here, but there’s very strong concern.”
