Varun Venkatesh, a 27-year-old Brooklyn resident, cast his ballot in New York’s primary this week with a clear test in mind: what are the candidates doing for the Palestinian cause? He chose Claire Valdez, backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, over Antonio Reynoso, a progressive favored by the Democratic establishment, because she had “a clear and more consistent stance.” Valdez won her congressional primary, as did two other insurgent candidates endorsed by Mamdani, with Israel emerging as a decisive issue in each race.
Israel Question Becomes Defining for Democrats
The war in Gaza, which began during Joe Biden’s presidency and undermined Kamala Harris’s 2024 bid, remains an open wound for the party. How Democrats address it will shape their path toward the November midterms and the 2028 presidential election. President Joe Biden spoke about a hostage release at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., on Jan. 19, 2025, as three Israeli hostages were handed over to Israeli forces in the first test of a fragile ceasefire. Israel later released around 90 Palestinian prisoners.
“The Israel question has become defining,” said Matt Bennett, who leads the centrist Democratic group Third Way. He criticized some in Mamdani’s camp for embracing “a new level of extremism,” warning that “Republicans are very good at weaponizing crazy ideas on the fringe against mainstream candidates.” Mamdani, however, sees no such concerns as he tries to reshape the Democratic Party from New York City’s mayor’s office. He sharply criticized the American Israel Public Affairs Committee for defending what he calls “a status quo of immorality” in Gaza, and voters who celebrated his slate’s victories on Tuesday night chanted “Free Palestine.”
Schism Over Israel Animates Left Flank
The schism over Israel has been blistering even for a party accustomed to progressive-moderate debates. The U.S. alliance with Israel once had bipartisan support, but the ascendancy of Israel’s right wing under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strained ties, and the war in Gaza shredded them. Biden was denounced as “Genocide Joe” by pro-Palestinian supporters, who shifted their focus to Harris once she replaced him as the Democratic nominee for president two years ago.
“She was trying to do the right thing,” said Jamie Harrison, who led the Democratic National Committee at the time. “It was a hard and awkward place to be in.” Harrison said the war in Gaza helped cost Harris the state of Michigan, which has a sizable Arab American population, but doubted it was a defining national issue. “It’s one thing to be in New York. But I can tell you that most places, including where I am in South Carolina, it’s not what people are talking about. They are concerned about affording gas and groceries and housing.” He expects Democrats to seek middle ground, including “still supporting Israel’s sovereignty” while calling for “reducing U.S. aid to Israel and changing the nature of the relationship.”
Primary Victor Blasts ‘Hug Bibi’ Strategy
Finding middle ground has been difficult, as demonstrated in New York’s 10th congressional district. Brad Lander, the former city comptroller backed by Mamdani, successfully challenged U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman. Both candidates are Jewish and have criticized the Israeli government, but Lander says the war in Gaza is a genocide, while Goldman does not. “Our party needs to admit that Joe Biden’s ‘hug Bibi’ strategy was a catastrophic mistake,” Lander said in his primary victory speech. “We cannot keep paying for Netanyahu’s wars with our tax dollars. Democratic voters are saying this, loud and clear.”
Ari Rassouli, a voter in the district, said the incumbent’s views on Israel were “one of the many reasons that I didn’t like Dan Goldman.” Describing the war as a genocide, she said “a candidate that is in support of that has no place in our democracy at all.” Lander acknowledged that Israel was among the top issues along with affordability and immigration. “I like talking to Jewish voters who feel anxiety about the times we live in and say, ‘I have these values, I want to treat everyone like they’re equal and with dignity and created in God’s image. How do we navigate the times we’re in?’” he said. He added with a smile, “Those are probably the longest conversations at the polls.”
