The New Face of the Democratic Party

Minnesota Democrat Ilhan Omar (New York Post)

Are Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar the new face of the Democratic Party? Most Democrats will say no, they are not. They will say that these two progressives are the exception that proves the rule. Which is that that Democrats represent mainstream centrist American values. The fact that they are part of the Democratic party shows that they allow the most diverse of views within their big tent.

As of now, I think that is largely accurate. But I fear that the future of this party will follow their lead. The current leaders are older and probably wiser, but they aren’t the new and more attractive candidates who are the new darlings of the media. The older candidates are on their way out. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is in her late seventies. She represents the old guard. Omar and Ocasio-Cortez represent the new. Their progressive politics are more in line with younger voters. What does this mean for Israel? Read on.

It is no secret that even as the Democratic Party is constructed now - its pro Israel stance includes a fair amount of criticism. They are saying, ‘Sure… we support Israel. But…’ And it is a big ‘but’. One that was expressed most clearly by the previous administration. Although their support for the Jewish state was as stronger than ever in terms of foreign aid and military/intelligence cooperation, it ended its 8 year term by allowing the UN to condemn her.

If anything things have gotten worse. Their leadership finds themselves condemning members of their own party for antisemitic comments. (Or more correctly condemning the comments without condemning those who made them). This is unprecedented in my lifetime.

Ocasio-Cortez is a work in progress vis-à-vis her position on Israel. But as an outspoken ‘Bernie Sanders’ progressive, her views on Israel more likely fall more on the critical side than they do on the supportive side. 

But Omar is an entirely different story. She presents quite the image. A petite, soft spoken young woman, a refugee from Somalia who nonetheless rose to become a member of congress. Only in America. She has been embraced by her party as one of first the 2 female candidates that are Muslim. Her criticism of Israel was considered an expression of a legitimate perspective of the Jewish state. It was thought that her views were along the same mainstream lines that many Democrats had. And her smiles and soft spoken nature made her outspoken more views palatable. 

But that has proved not to be the case. She has since come out as a supporter of BDS, a movement that supports boycotting Israel by pressuring companies doing business with Israel to divest and by urging sanctions against her.

While the freedom of speech in this country allows her to express whatever views she wishes, supporting BDS is a clear indication that her criticism of Israel goes far beyond being unhappy with Israel’s current leadership and their policies. It has come to light that Omar tweeted the following in 2012: 

Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel. 

She ‘apologized’ for that tweet when that it became public. But in a tweet less than a month after that apology she used an antisemitic trope favored by fringe groups on the right (e.g. neo-Nazis and the KKK) who accuse congress off being ‘Zionist occupied territory’. Although not using those words, she may as well have. Responding to criticism of her support of BDS as an infringement of her freedom of speech rights she said: ‘It’s about the Benjamins, baby.’

‘Benjamins’ is slang for $100 dollar bills which feature a portrait of Benjamin Franklin. And the reference was to AIPAC, a pro Israel lobbying group - even though they do not spend a nickel supporting anyone. They are just a lobbying group.  Her tweet was universally condemned as antisemitic. Most notably by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a strongly worded message.

This resulted in yet another ‘apology’. Which was accepted by Democrats who want to move on. Sure - she as sorry. But only because of the negative publicity it generated. As yet another followup tweet showed. It is clear that she believes that congress is being bought off by Jewish money. In other words her views about the unfair influence of Jewish money is hardy any different than the views of right wing fringe fanatics. If she is the face of the new Democratic Party, then there is no hope that there will ever be the kind of bi-partisan support Israel had enjoyed through several Presidencies.

Omar might think she is not an antisemite. She might even point to Jews on the left that share her criticism of Israel. But I doubt that a even the most left wing American Jews would say that Jewish money controls congress. That kind of talk is reserved for the real antisemites of the world. And Omar despite her sweet demeanor might just be one of them. (Without necessarily even realizing it.) 

The fact that she was given a seat on the House Foreign Relations committee shows just how clueless Democrats are about her. Do they seriously believe that she can be objective on matters pertaining to Israel? In my view she should be removed from that committee.

And what about the Jewish people in this country? Will they support this darling of the media as a fair example of diversity within the party whose critiques of Israel are legitimate? I don’t think there is any doubt that they will. Especially the majority of younger Jews. They are secular and care little if at all about their Judaism. And even less about a foreign country they will never visit and do not relate to as Jews. They buy too easily into the narrative that Israel is an oppressor nation that treats indigenous Palestinians no better than South Africa did their black population during the height of Apartheid.

If Jews don’t care about Israel, why should a progressive Democratic party care about them?

I hope I am wrong. But I fear I am not. That one of the two major political parties is going in that direction does not bode well for what was once bipartisan support for Israel. Blaming Netanyhau for that is not what fuels the current ‘new Democrat’ animus towards the Jewish State. I do not for example believe for a minute that even if Israel elects a leftist government, that anything will change. The ‘new’ Democrat will still see Israel as an ‘Apartheid State’. Sure - the old guard will be pleased – if that indeed happens. But as noted the days of their influence on the party are numbered. Besides, the way things look now, Netanyahu will stay Prime Minister.

Bearing all this in mind, my sincere hope is that Republicans retain the White House in 2020. This says nothing about my feelings for the current occupant. But with respect to Israel it is his party that is clearly the most supportive of the Jewish state. By a country mile.