Convention Preview: Republicans and Democrats On Israel
This is the second in a series of insights we’ll be providing on different policy platform fights in the weeks leading up to the Republican and Democratic National Conventions.
Here’s What You Need to Know
The Republican and Democratic party platform positions on U.S.-Israeli relations are going to produce two very different debates at the conventions in Cleveland and Philadelphia. On the one hand, the Democratic Party will clash over how politely to ridicule Israel, while the Republican Party will consider altering its platform to provide greater deference to Israel on the path towards peace.
- Bernie’s Spoilers: Bernie Sanders and his progressive wing of the Democratic Party may have lost the primary but they still have two seats on the DNC platform committee which they have opted to fill with Princeton professor Cornell West and Arab American Institute President James Zogby, both noted critics of Israel.
- DNC Storm Warning: Last weekend the DNC platform committee produced a preliminary draft of their position on Israel. Despite calls from progressives like West and Zogby for language to describe settlements in the West Bank as an “occupation” and to refute Israel’s claim to Jerusalem, the current draft mostly maintains the centrist stances supported by Hillary Clinton and her allies. Despite the present victory, however, the centrists aren’t out of the woods yet since the committee will meet again to debate the draft later this month and nothing is official until it passes a vote on the convention floor giving progressives several more opportunities to alter the platform language on Israel.
- Where Do The DNC Delegates Stand? Bernie Sanders’ pro-Palestinian rhetoric from the campaign trail has emboldened the left-wing of the Democratic Party to even more vocally push for official positions that are critical of Israel. It should not be forgotten that anti-Israeli sentiment was notably present at the last DNC Convention. The truth is that even if you believe Hillary Clinton is centrist and reasonably pro-Israel, poll after poll shows the party she hopes to represents no longer is. Many delegates in Philadelphia would commend Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, despite his virulently anti-Semitic remarks, while criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
- Meanwhile, In Cleveland: In contrast, the GOP’s debate will be a quintessentially Jewish one: the platform language is good, but, it could always be better. Spurred by groups like the Iron Dome Alliance, GOP delegates on the platform committee may consider changing the party position to make explicitly clear that the U.S. will not force or pressure the Israeli government to take steps it does not deem appropriate toward achieving peace and security. Currently, the party officially supports a two-state solution regardless of Israeli policy and does not explicitly reject the application of U.S. diplomatic pressure to achieve it. The proposed changes would bring the party more in line with GOP nominee Donald Trump’s position that the U.S. should not dictate terms while serving as an arbiter of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
Despite suggestions by some, mostly left-leaning news outlets like the Jewish Forward, that Republicans will face a nasty fight over their position on Israel, it will in fact be a friendly debate over how best to support Israel’s security and prosperity. Meanwhile, the potential for vocal and nasty opposition to the diminishing centrist Democrats’ putatively pro-Israel positions could be just another in a long list of issue areas Hillary Clinton will need to worry about during a convention nominating her while solidifying in a new progressive era in Democratic politics.
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News You Can Use
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SO MANY QUESTIONS
Here at Delve, we believe that small details can make big things happen. In a recent example of this belief, The Daily Caller’s Chuck Ross picked up on a local Arizona news station asking why “Attorney General Loretta Lynch met with former President Bill Clinton for a half-hour on her government airplane at the Phoenix airport on Tuesday.” The Attorney General claims Clinton “spoke to myself and my husband on the plane. Our conversation was a great deal about his grandchildren. He mentioned the golf he played in Phoenix.” Given the scrutiny his wife is under by her department, however, such a claim leaves us skeptical. Not to mention, why were they using an official, government-owned plane for a social call? Why was her husband traveling with her? And does anyone really believe they just spoke about grandkids and golf?
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Mark Your Calendars
Monday, July 18 – Thursday, July 21: Republican National Convention in Cleveland
Monday, July 25 – Thursday, July 28: Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia