'Anti-Jewish' Democrats completely abandoning their historic support for Israel | At White House, President Trump with signed proclamation on the Golan Heights alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump’s steadfast support for Israel and the festering anti-Semitism within the Democratic Party is truly striking, writes the op-ed author., (SAUL LOEB / AFP/Getty Images / AFP/Getty Images)

Michael Glassner

Privacy Policy

Foreign policy isn’t usually so black and white. But the contrast between President Trump’s steadfast support for Israel and the festering anti-Semitism within the Democratic Party is truly striking.

When Trump officially recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, Democrats reacted with the same studied indifference they showed when he moved the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem in 2018, marked by a ceremony that  not a single Democrat politician attended.

So far, not one Democratic candidate for president has publicly supported this historic show of support for America’s closest ally in the Middle East, which affirms Israel’s legitimate control over a strategically significant area that is vital to Israel’s ability to defend itself from hostile powers in the region.

Michael Glassner (Handout)

On the other hand, the decision was heartily applauded by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who  said, “Mr. President, over the years, Israel has been blessed to have many friends who sat in the Oval Office, but Israel has never had a better friend than you.”

Israel truly does have a great friend in the White House — sadly, the same can’t be said for the Democratic Party.

Democrats used to be among Israel’s most fervent supporters, but today, the few remaining pro-Israel Democrats are being cowed into silence by the far-left extremists who have taken over the Party.

Not one of the nearly two-dozen 2020 Democratic presidential candidates attended the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference this week, a gathering that has historically been a big draw for leading politicians in both parties. Senators Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, and Elizabeth Warren, as well as former Congressman Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke and several others, even made it a point to announce publicly that  they would not be attending the AIPAC conference.

The boycott was stunning in light of the  uproar sparked by Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar’s anti-Semitic tweets alleging that Republican support for Israel is bought with political contributions from Americans who support Israel.

Omar, in fact, has a long history of making anti-Semitic remarks. In 2012, for instance, she notoriously  said that "Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel."

More recently, she  compared Israel to repressive theocracies such as Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Throughout it all, the Democratic Party has sheltered and protected Omar, even  watering down a resolution denouncing anti-Semitism after some Democrats complained that it would be “Islamophobic,” even though the resolution didn’t mention Omar specifically.

For Jewish Americans and supporters of Israel, this isn’t only offensive, it’s frightening.

Hostility toward Israel isn’t limited to Omar, though.

In 2017, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand  withdrew her support for legislation to

combat the “Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions” (BDS) movement that wages a global campaign of economic terrorism against Israel. That same year, Senator Cory Booker  voted against a bill that would stop U.S. funding of the Palestinian Authority, a major financier of anti-Israel terrorism.

Delegates at the 2012 Democratic National Convention actually  booed the inclusion of a pro-Israel position in the party platform. Five years after that, the Democrats selected former Rep. Keith Ellison, a man  deeply connected to the anti-Semitic Nation of Islam, to serve as the Party’s deputy chairman.

Perhaps President Trump put it best  saying, “I don’t know what’s happened to them, but they are totally anti-Israel… Frankly, I think they’re anti-Jewish.”

The Democrats’ disturbing treatment of Israel stands in stark contrast to the Trump administration's unflinching support for America’s closest ally in the Middle East.

Thankfully, no matter how radical the Democratic Party becomes, Trump’s actions continue to reassure the people of Israel that America stands behind them and will never back down.