Democrats Must Confront Their Antisemitism Problem
In March 2022, I was interviewed by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) to discuss the rise of antisemitism across the political spectrum in the United States. I warned that the hostility towards Jewish Americans would only get worse. Fast forward to October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a coordinated terrorist attack against Israel proving my concerns right.
The Israel- Hamas war has caused antisemitism to surge in America. According to CNN, antisemitic incidents rose for the fourth straight year in 2024 hitting record highs since the ADL started tracking them in 1979. Protestors have filled streets and university campuses to protest Israel’s campaign to destroy Hamas often using language that crosses from government criticism into racism towards Jews.
This growing hostility has political consequences. In New York’s 2025 mayoral race, Zohran Mamdani won the election by nearly 10 points, but former Governor Andrew Cuomo beat him 65-31 among Jewish voters according to CNN exit polls. That’s a large reversal from a community, Vice President Kamala Harris won 78-22 against President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
New York isn’t the only place where cracks in the Democratic Jewish coalition are showing. In Georgia, Jewish voters are unhappy with Jewish Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff’s stance on Israel and are threatening to abandon him for his Republican challenger.
As a liberal Democrat, I can understand why the Jewish community is reconsidering their political home. Many within our party cater to virtue signaling activists instead of advocating for Israel’s right to exist or confronting the growing antisemitism in our party.
Being from Queens, New York, I was outraged watching young people share Osama bin Laden’s “Letter to America” and express sympathy for 9/11. Many of them justified bin Laden’s hatred of America because of its support of Israel. They view Hamas as freedom fighters opposing an Apartheid regime.
However, Hamas are not freedom fighters; they are a terrorist organization devoted to Israel’s destruction and America’s enemy. Young Americans need to realize that you can’t learn history through thirty-second social media clips. The history of this conflict is far more complex than social media presents.
One of the most reckless claims circulating online is that Israel is committing genocide. The death toll in Gaza is concerning, but genocide, a deliberate attempt to exterminate a group of people is not happening in Gaza.
Since the Israel-Arab war of 1948, the Palestinian population grew from 1.4 million in 1949 to over 14 million worldwide by 2024. However, the worldwide Jewish population of about 15 million in 2020 still has not reached its pre-World War II number of around 16.6 million. These numbers alone disapprove the accusation of genocide.
If Israel were truly committing genocide against the Palestinians, its Arab neighbors have shown no urgency to help Palestinians fleeing Gaza. Former US.Ambassador Ryan Crocker who spent four decades representing America across the Middle East stated, “every Arab state has long viewed the Palestinians with fear and loathing.”
Shortly after the October 7th attacks Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi warned that allowing Palestinians into Egypt could destabilize the region. Jordan’s King Abdullah II was equally clear, “No refugees in Jordan, no refugees in Egypt.”
Israel, meanwhile, has repeatedly pursued peace. From the Camp David Accords of 1978, the Israel-Jordan peace treaty of 1994, and the Abraham Accords of 2020, have allowed Israel to normalize relationships with Arab nations once deemed its enemies. At the 2000 Camp David Summit, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak even offered all of Gaza, 95% of the West Bank, and East Jerusalem back to the Palestinians. The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) led by Yasser Arafat still said no.
Israel is not the problem for peace in the Middle East. The decades of corrupt and despicable leadership in Gaza are. Until Hamas is destroyed or removed from power, a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine is nothing but a fantasy.
If Progressive voters truly cared about human rights and Palestinian lives, they should call for Hamas to surrender its arms, not calling for Israel’s destruction. If Democrats care about winning elections, they must show solidarity to Jewish Americans, denounce antisemitism, and reject the toxic rhetoric that has taken root in our base.
The Democratic Party was once the party of justice, inclusion, and civil rights. We cannot claim that mantle while tolerating antisemitism within our own ranks. If Democrats fail to confront this now, we risk not only losing Jewish voters, but our moral compass and the future of our party.
