Inside the fight over Israel tearing Democrats on the Hill apart

By Annie Grayer, CNN

(CNN) — When a Brooklyn coffee shop announced on social media it was banning Rep. Dan Goldman over his views on Israel, some of his Jewish colleagues in Congress wanted their Democratic leadership to weigh in.

But even as the controversy rocketed around the internet, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries remained silent. Many in his ranks were frustrated.

“I think they’re doing everything they can to not talk about the antisemitism on the left to get themselves through elections,” Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz said of his leadership team. “I think it’s more convenient just to pretend it’s not happening.”

Goldman told CNN, “it was noticeable how few people publicly spoke out in response to it.”

The episode reflects a growing conundrum for Democrats on Capitol Hill, who are increasingly seeing their ranks filled by members with dim views of Israel for what they see as reprehensible conduct in the Middle East.

If Democrats win the House majority in November, the fierce debate unfolding within the party could complicate efforts to hold the caucus together after a slate of candidates critical of Israel ousted incumbents – including Goldman – in recent primaries.

The tension exploded to the fore on Wednesday, when 103 Democrats voted to block billions of foreign aid to Israel – joining a measure that was sponsored by a Republican, though Republicans and other Democrats ultimately rose to defeat it. Even House Democratic leadership was split on the vote, with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar voting against the measure while Minority Whip Katherine Clark voted for it.

“Nothing will be the same on this issue ever again, I think, after this vote,” said Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Greg Casar, surrounded by his colleagues who voted with him in blocking the aid.

A day later, Sen. John Fetterman warned he would leave the Democratic Party if it adopted anti-Israel policy, calling the issue his “red line.”

“If the Democratic Party becomes official anti-Israel, then that’s when I would force me out,” he told CNN’s Manu Raju.

Democrats on the Hill have variously downplayed the tension, said it is roiling their party in uncomfortable ways, or tried to build relationships with people whose views on Israel are sharply divergent from their own. But this much is clear: it’s an issue.

Jeffries shut down a question from CNN on Thursday when asked if he was out of step with the direction House Democrats are heading on Israel.

“If you ask me a serious question, I’ll give you a serious answer,” Jeffries told CNN.

Looking forward, Jeffries argued that Democrats are united in tackling this complex issue: “our approach will be one that is broadly inclusive.”

Jeffries has tried to be a bridge for the competing factions in his caucus, encouraging those differences of opinions to coexist. He believes in Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state but also demands that US foreign policy towards Israel change to hold the Israeli government accountable. At the same time, he has called for the reconstruction of Gaza, humanitarian assistance for Palestinians and ultimately the creation of an independent Palestinian state. Jeffries has also called out instances of antisemitism in the past.

The day before the vote on funding for Israel, Jeffries was candid with his colleagues in a closed-door meeting about how he wanted the caucus to respect differences of opinion, understanding that lawmakers would be divided on whether to block billions of dollars in military aid to Israel on the House floor.

“We have to run towards this issue, not run away from it,” Jeffries said, according to a person in the room. “Let’s respect everyone’s perspective but move forward together as a team.”

A spokesperson for Jeffries declined to comment for this story.

Building bridges

In private, House Democrats and campaign operatives have fiercely debated what their identity should be. Embrace the Democratic socialist candidates unseating incumbents in blue pockets across the country who have been unabashed in their criticism of Israel? Or try to push the party in a more moderate direction?

Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal told CNN she tried to find common ground when she met with Democratic socialist Melat Kiros in Denver last week after Kiros unseated a colleague she had endorsed, Rep. Diana DeGette.

“My goal is really, let me establish a relationship. I think I can be a bridge,” Jayapal told CNN.

Kiros came with a list of lawmakers she wanted to reach out to in the Democratic caucus, according to Jayapal. And Jayapal made more suggestions, including what committee assignments Kiros should consider.

Jayapal said she hopes to meet with all of the Democratic socialist candidates.

“When a moderate wins an election, there’s all these things that we have to learn from the moderate,” Jayapal said. “When a progressive wins an election, ‘oh my god they’re destroying our party, we can’t be pulled from the left.’ Why can’t we learn from the people who are out there right now who are furious at us as Democrats?”

But many of Jayapal’s colleagues back in Washington disagree and are drawing their own red lines, particularly those who are Jewish and view some of the DSA candidates’ statements about Israel as disqualifying.

“The perception in the press, at least, is that you know the DSA is taking over the Democratic Party, and from my perspective, you know, I’ve been very clear that you’ve got to stop them from hijacking the party, because I don’t believe that socialists are Democrats,” a House Democrat, granted anonymity to speak freely, told CNN.

Democratic Rep. Brad Schneider of Illinois, a self-described Zionist who believes in a two-state solution and leads a moderate group of 114 House Democrats, said he believed the far-left candidates do not represent the future of the party.

“They’re winning primaries in exceedingly blue Democratic districts that isn’t growing our majority or going to help Hakeem Jeffries become speaker,” he said, adding, “The center of gravity in the party continues to move to the middle.”

Some Jewish Democrats warn the party is shifting

There are nearly two dozen members of the Congressional Jewish Caucus, and many joke there as just as many opinions. It’s why the group doesn’t take formal positions, such as whether the US should provide more aid to Israel. But the lawmakers say they do try to have meaningful conversations about how to combat the rise in antisemitism.

Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee said he has watched his party shift away from him on Israel and is warning his colleagues not to ignore it.

“There certainly were not people who were so anti-Israel when I started, and there are within the progressive caucus now,” Cohen said.

When Cohen came to Congress in 2007, he was among the first to align himself with J street, a progressive Jewish organization that rivaled the pro-Israel lobby and supported a two-state solution.

But through his tenure in Congress, he said, his party’s shift has lurched beyond even his left-leaning politics. It’s in part why he decided, at 77, not to run for re-election in a district complicated by his state’s redistricting.

“I foresaw it getting really nasty and antisemitism getting into it,” Cohen told CNN about how the topic of Israel would have been handled if he ran for re-election.

He even left the progressive caucus last year.

“I just found it to be not the same caucus I joined in 2007. It had become more the socialist caucus, and most of the leadership was socialist Democrats,” Cohen said. “I didn’t feel comfortable in it.”

Cohen was one of 22 Democrats to censure Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib for her defense of a pro-Palestinian chant “from the river to the sea” in a video accusing President Joe Biden of supporting a Palestinian “genocide.” He said that since taking that vote, Tlaib has refused to speak to him.

Tlaib’s spokeswoman Jessica Lee told CNN, “right now, Congresswoman Tlaib is focused on restoring power to Detroit residents after mass outages, and in DC, she will continue to work to improve the lives of our families—and work with anyone to do so, just as she did in the recent passing of her bill in the 21st Century Road to Housing Act.”

Democratic Rep. Becca Balint of Vermont said she is pushing her colleagues to carefully consider what is antisemitism and what is legitimate criticism of Israel.

“If we don’t figure that out for ourselves, then I think we’re going to lose the ability to really engage with our own voters who care deeply about this,” Balint told CNN.

Balint said one of her constituents recently called her a “traitor” for using the word genocide to describe Israel’s actions. She said she pointed out that her grandfather was killed in the Holocaust.

“It’s because my family went through that pain that I think about this stuff really carefully, and I demand of myself that I continue to try to hold nuance,” she said.

But Democratic Rep. Greg Landsman said he believes leadership will have to set the tone, encouraging legitimate policy disagreements while drawing a firm line to ensure they do not turn personal or antisemitic. It will be up to the DSA candidates to then make a decision, Landsman added.

“It is an issue that is dividing us, which weakens us and that’s a problem for the party,” Landsman told CNN. “I think it’s going to be incumbent on leaders in the party and people who have strong feelings about Israel, regardless of what side you’re on, to find that common ground and then pivot to those things that unite us, that bring us together, and then all focused on the issues that matter most to most voters.”

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