How To Counter Anti-Israel Candidates In The Upcoming NY Primaries
Why I’ve joined the New York Solidarity Network, a new group taking on the hard-left’s efforts to end U.S. support for Israel.
Not what you’d think: This flyer was distributed on behalf of a candidate for New York State Assembly and endorsed by “Jewish Vote,” a group highly critical of Israeli policy.
Did you know that a group called The Jewish Vote is endorsing candidates in local New York political races who call for ending U.S. aid to Israel, support BDS and consider Israel an apartheid state?
Yes, you read that correctly.
As the political arm of the progressive Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ), and aligned with the far-left Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), The Jewish Vote is the antithesis of what the great majority of American Jews would consider a pro-Israel group. It no doubt seeks to confuse voters by offering a Jewish Vote endorsement to candidates who adhere to the DSA’s foreign policy platform, which threatens the very existence of the Jewish State.
The platform calls for ending “U.S. complicity in Israeli apartheid, occupation and other violation of Palestinian rights.” It also urges support for BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel) and an end to “all U.S. aid to Israel.”
The Jewish Vote is a dramatic example of the concerted, largely under-the-radar and increasingly successful effort among progressives in New York politics to elect candidates committed to undermining American support for Israel, the only democracy in the Mideast, and Washington’s strongest ally in the region.
And there is disturbing evidence that Democratic backing for the Jewish state in Congress and among the U.S. electorate, while still strong, is waning and certainly no longer a given.
Polls show that progressive millennials and Gen Z Jews tend to view the Mideast conflict through the prism of American racial politics, championing the Palestinians and opposing Israel. One recent survey found that one-quarter of Jewish voters under 30 perceive of Israel as an apartheid state.
Bottom line, the Congressional election in 2018 of Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, better known as AOC, with the support of the DSA, was not a fluke. She and her fellow members of “the Squad,” who aggressively denigrate Israel in advocating for the Palestinian cause, represent only a handful in number in Congress today. But we are fooling ourselves if we don’t recognize the trend among young Democrats, including Jews, who have little sympathy for or historical knowledge of Israel and are drawn to increasingly strident progressive candidates who single out Israel as an enemy of human rights and freedoms.
Upcoming Primaries Are Key
Frankly, I hadn’t been paying close attention to the upcoming primary elections for state offices. But I realize now that was a mistake – one that the DSA is counting on being widespread.
Please note: June 28 is the primary for State Assembly (early voting is June 18-26) and Aug. 23 is the primary for Congress and State Senate (early voting Aug. 13-21)
The DSA, in preparing for the elections, has been strategically savvy in recognizing two key factors. One, that these state posts are, in effect, a stepping stone to careers in Congress, where policies are made on the Mideast conflict. And two, that even a small core of dedicated, focused voters can have a major impact on primary election results, especially when most of us are not focused on these elections.
The DSA has been increasingly active in recent years organizing, fund-raising, getting the word out and endorsing candidates, in part based on the office-seeker’s views on Israel.
For example, the DSA’s questionnaires to candidates in local races have included a “Foreign Policy” section that only addresses Israel; it consists of just two questions: Do you promise to support BDS, and do you promise not to participate in trips to Israel sponsored by traditionally pro-Israel groups?
While local politics has little connection to the Mideast, the DSA clearly is taking the long view, looking to support potential members of Congress, where views on Israel-Palestinian issues count.
Intersectionality is a key factor, with deeply unsettling results. Consider Jessica Haller, a seasoned expert on climate change, who ran for City Council unsuccessfully two years ago. When it became clear during the race that she was a proud Zionist, progressive environmentalist groups cut their longstanding ties with her and denounced her as a racist. “I was really shaken to the core,” she told The New York Times.
Democratic insiders worry that while the DSA is making inroads on the grass roots level, most Democrats are paying little if any attention. As one Democratic politician noted, “our party is at war with itself, but only one side is engaged in the battle.”
Countering The Radicals
There are several Jewish groups seeking to hold the space between the progressive and centrist factions of the Democratic Party.
Zioness, founded in 2017, is a grassroots movement with chapters in 30 communities around the country. It bills itself as “unabashedly progressive, unapologetically Zionist,” advancing “social, racial, economic, enviornmental and gender-justice in America” as well as “fighting” for Zionism. Acknowledging that it is criticized from the right for not being “pro-Israel enough” and from the left for believing Jews deserve national self-determination, it proves “that our work is both pivotal and effective,” according to the group’s website.
The New York Jewish Agenda (NYJA), founded in 2019, is a network of leaders in Jewish political, communal and religious life that, according to president and co-founder Matt Nosanchuk, liaison to the Jewish community in the Obama White House, “is making clear that the mainstream Jewish community stands on the side of social justice and democracy in both America and Israel.”
The group’s focus is on advocacy and education and has sponsored events, including a recent meeting with Mayor Eric Adams and 55 local rabbis and cantors from various denominations to underscore the diverse makeup of the New York Jewish community.
NYJA tends to seek collaboration with progressives while the newest group on the scene, the New York Solidarity Network (NYSN), in supporting specific political candidates, is prepared to do combat at the polls.
Backed by former Sen. Joseph Lieberman, NYSN is a political action network seeking to reach moderate, traditionally pro-Israel Democrats who are turned off by hard-left progressives and won’t vote Republican.
They may well represent the majority of Democratic voters, though many of them feel left out and frustrated about their voting options.
Steven Windmueller, an expert in the field of Jewish political affairs and studies, recently noted that “the center of our community is desperate to find voices to say what they believe.”
NYSN appears to be unique among pro-Israel groups in concentrating exclusively on local elections, encouraging members to vote for and donate to candidates that back Jerusalem and oppose BDS and other anti-Israel policies.
I have never joined a political group before, in large part because I spent my professional career as editor of Jewish newspapers in Baltimore and New York. But I represent only myself now. And given the uniquely high stakes in assuring that our democracy survives – in a political climate where only one party today is willing to cede defeat in a freely held election – I believe it is vital for that party to stand firmly for Israel, flaws and all.
NYSN sees no inconsistency in leaning progressive and supporting Israel. Rep. Ritchie Torres, a 34-year-old gay, Afro-Latino from the Bronx, asserts: “I love Israel because of my progressive values, not in spite of them.”
Torres, widely admired in the pro-Israel community for his outspoken support, is concerned that the radical left of the party is seeking to take command and purge those who favor the Jewish state. Not surprisingly, he has been sharply criticized by the DSA and other progressives for his views.
Spotlight On Riverdale
Amidst the last-minute chaos of redistricting in New York, it is likely that after the midterm Congressional elections, Torres will represent Riverdale, a section of The Bronx some call “the Upper Upper West Side,” with a significant Jewish population. This will be a welcome turn of events for mainstream pro-Israel voters in light of several political setbacks in the district in the last two years.
Many were surprised when Eliot Engel, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee for six years and a staunch supporter of Israel during his 16 terms, was defeated in the 2020 Democratic primary by a progressive candidate, middle school principal Jamaal Bowman.
Bowman told Jewish supporters he opposed BDS and would maintain his independence in Congress. He did join “the Squad,” though he was less adamant in his criticism of Israel than AOC and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.). But he bowed to pressure from the DSA earlier this year, rescinding his support for a bill to strengthen the Abraham Accords, and last month he joined the Squad in co-sponsoring a Congressional bill “recognizing the Nakba and Palestinian refugees’ rights.”
(“Nakba” is the Arab word for “catastrophe,” marking the end of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war that led to the creation of the State of Israel.)
If re-elected, Bowman will represent another district in the area.
The Bowman transition from independent thinker to adopting the Squad’s anti-Israel policies may be a harbinger for future progressives who come into office with little nuanced knowledge of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. That’s what is so worrisome as extremism on both sides of the political aisle increases in number and in the degree of opposition to Israel’s right to exist.
The primary elections are here. It’s time to translate our frustration into votes that can ensure ongoing support for Israel, locally and nationally.
NOTES:
Here is the link to the New York Solidarity Network, appearing soon:
https://www.nysn.org/
Here is the link to Zioness:
Here is the link to the New York Jewish Agenda:
https://nyja.org
Here is information on the 2022 New York Primaries:
Thanks for this article, Gary. I read about NYSN recently in the Times, & it made sense. Time for us to stand up and be counted.