CHICAGO — Division over Israel took a backseat when the Democratic National Convention convened in Chicago last week, when protests over the Israel-Hamas war were smaller than expected and the party’s nominee for president, Vice President Kamala Harris, emphasized her support for the party’s historic policies on Israel.
Harris pledged to bring about an end to the fighting in Gaza, to seek Palestinian self-determination, and to “always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself.”
Yet her party does not speak with one voice on the issue, any more than American Jews do. Delegates and activists at the DNC represented the full range of Jewish opinion on Israel, from pro-Israel stalwarts who are wary of the influence of the left, to leftists who want a ceasefire and an arms embargo on Israel, to centrists who support a two-state solution and are no fans of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
We spoke to a minyan of Jews at the DNC about what they hope to hear from Harris, before and after her speech there; how they view their party’s Israel policies; whether they still feel at home as Democrats, and what they consider their top priority out of this year’s unsettled politics.
The answers were as diverse as the famously unruly party:
Jon Phoenix, 35, Barbourville, Kentucky
Doctoral student and startup founder; in Chicago as a convention delegate
What do you want to hear from Harris? I want to know that Kamala Harris is going to stand on the side of Israel in its fight against Islamofascism. The fact that I even have to ask that is slightly worrying. But on the other hand, Donald Trump hosted a Holocaust denier [Ian Smith, who appeared alongside Eric Trump at a Trump property] immediately after Oct. 7. And I don’t want to have to choose between a Holocaust denier and somebody who might take the other guy’s side in the event of a conflict.
How do you see the party’s Israel policy? Both sides are supposed to support Israel, and what I see on the convention floor, what worries me, is support for Israel disappearing gradually out of the Democratic Party — unless we fight for it. Because I don’t want support for Israel to be Republican-only.
Are Jews still welcome on the party’s left? (Phoenix is on progressive mailing lists because he supports Bernie Sanders’ economic policies.) Seeing what happened on Oct. 7, seeing friends of mine on Facebook take the sides of the invading army of Hamas, with those parachute symbols [the paraglider, used by some Oct. 7 terrorists to cross into Israel, has become a symbol of support for Hamas], My God almighty! I think some chunks of the progressive left are trying to hide the amount of antisemitism that’s there. And for people like me who’ve been on the progressive left for ages, I’ve seen this antisemitism get worse and worse and worse and worse over time. I can see through their attempts to try to mask it, they’re not working.
What is your No. 1 issue? My big issue has always been, how is this candidate going to make life better for working-class people in Appalachia. I live in the second-poorest congressional district in the country. It’s going to come down to, what are you going to do for working-class people in my neck of the woods, which just so happens to be one of the poorest necks of the woods in the American forest.
Alma Hernandez, 31, Tucson, Arizona
Arizona state representative; law student and faculty member; in Chicago as a member of the DNC credentialing committee
What do you want to hear from Harris? I think it’s important for us to not only know more of her commitment on foreign policy issues that are very important and relevant right now, I also would like to hear [what] the plan is to help dreamers and minorities in our communities, because I represent a district in Arizona where we have a lot of individuals who are [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals] recipients [or “Dreamers”] or who are living in the shadows.
How do you see the party’s Israel policy? Kamala Harris has been very clear about where she stands on bringing back the hostages, getting a deal done so that the hostages can come home and that there could be a ceasefire. It would be really great and reassuring to a lot of us to hear that she will also be just as supportive as Biden has been to Israel and making sure that Israel has what it needs to be able to defend itself.
Are Jews still welcome on the party’s left? I can’t say that it’s not a difficult place to be in, because a lot of the activists have made it difficult to go into places we also belong to, right? But at the end of the day, what I tell folks all the time is, “Look, as someone who is very progressive, and I am always supporting candidates who feel just as strongly about all the issues that I feel about, I don’t believe that we should leave something just because there’s loud voices saying that we don’t belong there.” I think the biggest mistake we can do as progressives and Democrats is leave those spaces because we’re not, quote, unquote, welcomed.
What is your No. 1 issue? I really want to hear about Israel. Every [congressional] candidate that is representing, regardless of what state, they’re going to be voting on, not only national security issues but foreign policy. If we want a free world, and we want to protect our country, we need to be strong on those issues.
A crowd packs the United Center for the Democratic National Convention, Chicago, Aug. 21, 2024. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Kira Tretiak, 19, Hudson Valley, New York
Cornell University student; in Chicago with a study group from Cornell’s Institute of Politics and Global Affairs
What do you want to hear from Harris? People want more clarity about what her platform is. I would say I’m pretty much a Democrat, so I would likely align with what she’s going to say.
How do you see the party’s Israel policy? I do think antisemitism is an issue — on my campus last year we had a shooter threat made to the Jewish living center — and I appreciate the energy put towards combating it. It is also important that we see from Democrats a real commitment to Palestinians and a greater acknowledgement of the suffering happening in Gaza. Especially at the DNC, it was disappointing to see that there was no time allocated for a Palestinian speaker to share their experience.
Are Jews still welcome on the party’s left? And what do you make of concern that the campaign’s decision to pick Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro had to do with Shapiro’s Jewish background? I would identify myself as more progressive personally. I don’t think it’s because he [Shapiro] is Jewish. I think it’s that Tim Walz has a wider appeal for people because of his background. I don’t think [the Shapiro episode] is necessarily isolating.
What is your No. 1 issue? I’m not sure there’s a number-one issue. I think there’s a lot of issues where there are wide differences between Kamala Harris and [Donald] Trump, abortions, climate change — there’s a pretty wide chasm between them.
Aliza Sodos, 56, Littleton, Colorado
Yoga teacher; in Chicago as a convention delegate
What do you want to hear from Harris? A lot of positivity and enthusiasm for helping continue to move this country forward in the right direction. I think that the policy supporting Israel will continue under her leadership, and I think that we don’t need to be concerned that she does not support Israel.
How do you see the party’s Israel policy? I’m confident that we will continue to support Israel’s right to exist and right to defend itself.
Are Jews still welcome on the party’s left? Most American Jews support Israel, and Israel’s right to exist, Israel’s right to defend itself. How are we going to find that balance between supporting Israel and not supporting what’s been going on with innocent Gazans losing their lives? That balance is the issue. Progressive Jews don’t want to see what’s happening in Gaza.
What is your No. 1 issue? I struggle with this, because climate change and reproductive freedom and better gun laws are all really important to me, but I will say, right now, in this moment, reproductive freedom. I am a mother of four girls from 14 to almost 30, and my mother marched for this, these rights that are now at stake.
Richard Goldwasser (on right), 59, Highland Park, Illinois
Attorney; organized a daily run for a ceasefire during the convention
What do you want to hear from Harris? I want to hear that she’s going to make a different path than the one we’re on, that she’s going to use American leverage to arrive at a ceasefire and a hostage deal. Do I expect that we’re going to hear that? No.
How do you see the party’s Israel policy? The U.S. has to take a more assertive role. We’re on the brink of a possible regional war and the Biden administration has just allowed this to go on too far too long. Netanyahu is not interested in a deal, and a possible regional war will bring in the United States.
Are Jews still welcome on the party’s left? And what do you make of concern that the campaign’s decision to pick Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro had to do with Shapiro’s Jewish background? Josh Shapiro was considered for vice president of the United States. I mean, that’s a pretty big thing for American Jews. I feel there’s nothing we haven’t been able to do in this country. I understand there’s growing antisemitism. I just don’t see it playing out in that context.
What is your No. 1 issue? Democracy. Hands down, democracy. Look, I’ve been a Democrat my whole life, I am supportive of the Democratic agenda, but four more years of Trump — I mean, we’ll never recover.
Jacob Wesoky, 20, Sterling, Virginia
McGill University undergraduate; in Chicago as a Democrats Abroad delegate
What do you want to hear from Harris? How this election is about freedom and this election is about democracy and moving forward, because we’re not going back. And the MAGA extremism on the other side, it truly is a severe threat to everything we hold dear and who we are. We are a very big-tent party, and I hope she can appeal to a broad spectrum of voters.
How do you see the party’s Israel policy? Unfortunately, as a Democrats Abroad delegate, we have a longstanding policy of not commenting on foreign policy. What I will say is, I think that we need competent people in the State Department. The other party does not have competent people, they will gut the civil service and replace it with MAGA loyalists to Trump.
Are Jews still welcome on the party’s left? And what do you make of concern that the campaign’s decision to pick Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro had to do with Shapiro’s Jewish background? I’m personally very enthusiastic about Tim Walz. He will do a great job of connecting with voters in the Midwest, with regular, working class people. I trust the Harris campaign with the decision that they made, and I’m super enthusiastic about it and hoping Josh Shapiro still is a huge supporter of Harris-Walz, and I look forward to seeing Shapiro be an ally to the Harris campaign and helping us elect Democrats up and down the ballot in Pennsylvania.
What is your No. 1 issue? Voting. Part of the MAGA agenda is to restrict voting as much as possible. They are trying to suppress minority votes, suppress any votes that could lean Democratic.
Debby Kerner, 75, Houston, Texas
Retired speech therapist; in Chicago as a convention delegate
What do you want to hear from Harris? I want to hear her vision for the future in all areas, [including] domestic and foreign policy.
How do you see the party’s Israel policy? I think that pro-Palestinian people have gotten a lot more public coverage of their point of view, but I think there’s a lot of support within the Democratic Party for Israel and against Netanyahu. I was in Israel in March of 2023 and stood with the group against Netanyahu. I love Israel. I am not in favor of Netanyahu.
Are Jews still welcome on the party’s left? I’m not willing to cede that. I think that there’s room for us, and I think we need to keep speaking and pushing our point of view. The other side is getting the press from certain outlets, and we have sat back and have not been as vocal in our point of view. I don’t know that we have done enough of a job of educating people about that point, especially younger people.
What is your No. 1 issue? Democrats represent everything I believe: foreign policy, support for Israel, support for Ukraine, support for NATO. Domestically, women’s health and abortion rights, education, health care.
Ashley Bohrer, 36, Chicago, Illinois
Professor of peace and conflict studies at the University of Notre Dame, in Chicago to join Jewish Voice for Peace at the “March on the DNC” pro-Palestinian protest. (Bohrer emphasized that her replies do not represent those of her employer.)
What do you want to hear from Harris? I would love to hear that the vice president is standing for the justice and liberation of all people, both here in Chicago, across the country and across the world, which means, in particular, embracing an arms embargo to Israel and a real commitment to trying to use whatever is in her power to get an immediate and permanent ceasefire.
How do you see the party’s Israel policy? We need to stop sending arms to a government that is in the course of committing a genocide, atrocity after atrocity, month after month after month, bombs on schools, on mosques, on refugee camps. There is no way to say with any straight face that one is supporting values of peace, justice and freedom while continuing to materially and ideologically support that kind of injustice and atrocity.
Are Jews still welcome on the party’s left? I am a proud leftist, and have been for a long time. The left, not only in the United States, but across the world, has for generations been the home of so many Jews. And the reason that’s true is because the left is the political formation fighting for equality, justice, freedom, cross-class, cross-racial, cross-religious alliance. And that’s been true for hundreds of years. For Jews who have experienced discrimination and hatred and frustration, there is no place they should feel more safe than with a coalition across race, class, gender and sexuality, of people who defend multiculturalism and multiformation political life.
What is your No. 1 issue? Because my grandparents lost so many of their friends, family, community members in Germany, in Poland and Austria, and because I grew up with that legacy, there is no way that anything can be more important than stopping an unfolding genocide in this moment.
Nathan Lax, 22, Palm Beach, Florida
Graduate student at the University of Central Florida; in Chicago as a convention delegate
What do you want to hear from Harris? I expect to hear something kind of similar to what we’re putting out on the platform, which is that Oct. 7 was unacceptable. It was an attack on the fundamental right of the Jewish state to exist. I also would really appreciate hearing that we need steps moving forward, that war is not a state that can constantly be lived in, and that we need a path to peace.
How do you see the party’s Israel policy? I think a two-state solution is the only true, lasting solution for peace, and I think that needs to start with an equitable end to this war.
Are Jews still welcome on the party’s left? And what do you make of concern that the campaign’s decision to pick Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro had to do with Shapiro’s Jewish background? (Lax had just listened to Shapiro, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and state party chief Nikki Fried address the Florida delegation.) The fact that we’ve just had three Jewish leaders speak in a row really talks not only to the moment politically, but also the fact that we’re not going anywhere. We’re still here. Certainly there’s always a radical left, but within the Democratic Party, we’re still unified.
What is your No. 1 issue? Right now, women’s rights. We live in Florida where they’re trying to push a six-week abortion ban. I organized the gathering of over 1,000 petitions for amendment four [a state abortion rights measure]. It’s been an uphill battle, but we’re already pulling ahead of where we need to be, and we’re going to keep that fight on.
David Singer, 70, Miami Beach, Florida
Lawyer; in Chicago as a convention delegate
What do you want to hear from Harris? She doesn’t have to prove anything to me. She’s a huge supporter of Israel. She’s in lockstep with Joe Biden. She’s for what I am for, which is the two-state solution. She’s for a ceasefire, but it has to be a ceasefire in which Israelis are protected. So I’m in lockstep with her as I think she is with Biden as well.
How do you see the party’s Israel policy? They are our greatest ally in terms of the United States, so Democrats are always going to support Israel. We may have some differences of opinion, but we know that they’re our strongest ally in that region, and we need a strong ally in that region.
Are Jews still welcome on the party’s left? There are progressives who are making it harder, but Jews that are on the other side are fighting back. For instance, two… members of the Squad were defeated in primaries. I support two of the organizations that helped fund the opposition to those two members, Democratic Majority for Israel and the Jewish Democratic Council of America. I contribute to both. We’re fighting back. So I am optimistic.
What is your No. 1 issue? Democracy is number one. Trump and his legions, they’re a real risk to democracy in ways that we’ve never seen before, and hopefully we’ll never see again. This makes McCarthyism look like elementary school, with what these people have had planned.
Mark Alan Siegel, 80, Palm Beach, Florida
Lawyer and former New York State Assembly member; in Chicago as a convention delegate
What do you want to hear from Harris? I want to hear exactly what she’s been saying all along, that she stands with Israel. She stands with the Jewish people. She would love to see a ceasefire and the return of the hostages, which is the number one priority.
Are Jews still welcome on the party’s left? And what do you make of concern that the campaign’s decision to pick Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro had to do with Shapiro’s Jewish background? The idea is to get the candidate who would best work with the presidential candidate and Gov. Walz meets that standard. Jews were always the most progressive people in the political spectrum, and I don’t believe that has changed. Progressivism is more than just Gaza. It’s a whole range of issues where you care about people, you uplift the weak, you favor the powerless. And the Torah is very clear: You have to welcome the stranger, take care of the widow and the orphan. Read Psalm 136 and you’ll see God’s platform.
What is your No. 1 issue? Peace and prosperity. We have to stop the aggression in Ukraine. We have to bring a broad, universal peace to the Middle East. We have to unite against Iran. These are all things that I believe that the new ticket can accomplish.
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