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Democratic Party Platform Takes Pro-Israel Stance Amid Rising Internal Opposition to Jewish State
US President Joe Biden and Democratic presidential candidate and US Vice President Kamala Harris react onstage at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, Illinois, US, Aug. 19, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
The 2024 US Democratic Party platform took a strong pro-Israel stance despite rising opposition to the Jewish state from the progressive wing of the party.
“President [Joe] Biden and Vice President [Kamala] Harris believe a strong, secure, and democratic Israel is vital to the interests of the United States. Their commitment to Israel’s security, its qualitative military edge, its right to defend itself, and the 2016 Memorandum of Understanding is ironclad,” the platform reads.
The document’s tone and content was a striking change in comparison to the direction in which the Democratic Party has moved in recent months on the issue of support for Israel. During his speech on the first night of the Democratic National Convention (DNC), for example, Biden said the anti-Israel protesters outside the convention falsely accusing the Jewish state of genocide “have a point.”
Over the past 10 months, since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in October, anti-Israel protests have become routine across the US, with chants in favor of a violent “intifada,” demonstrators waving flags of of US-designated terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah, and pro-Hamas graffiti desecrating federal property.
Many progressive activists have supported, organized, and participated in such demonstrations, accusing Israel of committing war crimes during its ongoing military campaign in Hamas-ruled Gaza and demanding the US cease all support to its closest ally in the Middle East. Some left-wing groups have tried to persuade voters not to support Biden or Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, over the Biden administration’s support for the Jewish state.
Amid such pressure, a growing number of prominent, mainstream Democrats have in recent months made unprecedented statements against Israel, such as calling to condition Washington’s military aid to its democratic ally.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration, while rhetorically opposed to Hamas staying in power and supportive of Israel’s right to self-defense, has adopted a much tougher posture toward the Jewish state, even pausing certain arms shipments.
Nevertheless, the Democratic Party’s platform emphasized that “Biden traveled to Israel — the first US president to do so at a time of war — in the days after Oct. 7 [when Hamas invaded Israel and launched the war] to demonstrate that the United States stands with Israel in its quest for peace and security. He has also defended Israel at the UN against one-sided efforts to condemn Israel.”
Many members of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party were unhappy with the language in the platform. Ryan Grim, a co-host of the popular internet show “Counter Points,” lamented, “The platform released today reads as if AIPAC wrote it.”
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, better known by its acronym AIPAC, is the foremost pro-Israel lobbying organization in the US.
Grim also wrote, on X/Twitter, “Pretty incredible — though totally believable — that the final DNC platform has a one-side condemnation of sexual violence, and it’s aimed at Hamas, even as the Knesset [Israeli parliament] engages in a full-throated debate as to whether the acknowledged rape of Palestinian detainees is ok [sic] or not.”
The platform also discussed the importance of a ceasefire in Gaza and efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the war-torn enclave.
“President Biden has also been determined to broker an immediate and lasting ceasefire deal that once finalized secures the return of all hostages, including the remaining Americans held in Gaza; addresses the immense civilian pain and extreme suffering being caused by the conflict, including the displacement and death of so many innocent people in Gaza; results in a durable end to the war in Gaza; and sets the stage for a lasting regional peace,” the document said.
The platform highlighted the administration’s efforts “to surge and ensure the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people.” It continued: “Many vulnerable civilians are suffering deadly consequences of the Israel-Hamas war. Residents of Gaza have been displaced, and food insecurity has been severe.”
Meanwhile, the platform opposed the annexation of territory in the West Bank and the expansion of Israeli settlements — for which some far-right members of Israel’s government are pushing. Additionally, it said the Democratic Party supports a diplomatic solution to the ongoing conflict in Israel’s north “that would ensure the return of both Israeli and Lebanese families to their homes.”
Hezbollah, the powerful Iran-backed terrorist group in Lebanon, has been bombarding northern Israel with drones, missiles, and rockets daily since October, forcing some 80,000 Israelis to evacuate their homes.
The platform expressed strong support for a two-state solution to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israeli leaders have argued now is not the time to push for the establishment of a Palestinian state, noting Gaza is ruled by Hamas while the West Bank is governed by the Palestinian Authority (PA), which has long been riddled with allegations of corruption and authoritarianism.
Recent polling has found that the Palestinian people in both Gaza and the West Bank generally support the Oct. 7 massacre, want Hamas to remain in power in Gaza, and would back Hamas over the PA’s ruling Fatah party in elections.
The post Democratic Party Platform Takes Pro-Israel Stance Amid Rising Internal Opposition to Jewish State first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Before His Ouster, Syria’s Assad Told Iran that Turkey Was Aiding Rebels to Unseat Him
Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad attends the Arab League summit, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, May 19, 2023. Photo: Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS
In the final days leading to his ouster, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad complained to Iran’s foreign minister that Turkey was actively supporting Sunni rebels in their offensive to topple him, two Iranian officials told Reuters this week.
Five decades of rule by Assad’s family ended on Sunday when he fled to Moscow, where the government granted him asylum. Iran had backed Assad in Syria’s long civil war and his overthrow was widely seen as a major blow to the Iran-led “Axis of Resistance,” a political and military alliance that opposes Israeli and US influence in the Middle East.
As rebel forces from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), formerly aligned to al Qaeda, seized major cities and advanced towards the capital, Assad met Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Damascus on Dec. 2.
At the meeting, Assad voiced anger over what he said was Turkey’s intensified efforts to unseat him, according to a senior Iranian official. Araqchi assured Assad of Iran’s continued support and promised to raise the issue with Ankara, the official said.
The next day, Araqchi met with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to express Tehran’s deep concerns over Ankara’s support for rebel advances.
“The meeting was tense. Iran expressed its unhappiness with Turkey’s alignment with US and Israeli agendas and conveyed Assad’s concerns,” a second Iranian official said, referring to Ankara’s support for rebels and cooperation with Western and Israeli interests in targeting Iran’s allies in the region.
Fidan, the official said, blamed Assad for the crisis, asserting that his failure to engage in genuine peace talks and his years of oppressive rule were the root causes of the conflict.
A Turkish foreign ministry source familiar with Fidan’s talks said that those were not the exact remarks by Fidan, and added that Araqchi did not bring and convey any messages from Assad to Turkey, without elaborating.
Fidan told reporters in Doha on Sunday that the Assad regime “had precious time” to address Syria’s existing problems, but did not, instead allowing “a slow decay and collapse of the regime.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that Assad’s toppling was the result of a plan by the United States and Israel.
He said that one of Syria’s neighbors also had a role and continues to do so. He did not name the country, but appeared to be referring to Turkey.
NATO member Turkey, which controls swathes of land in northern Syria after several cross-border incursions against the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, was a main backer of opposition groups aiming to topple Assad since the outbreak of the civil war in 2011.
Assad’s downfall stripped Iran and its ally the Lebanese group Hezbollah of a vital ally. Tehran’s ties to Damascus had allowed Iran to spread its influence through a land corridor from its western border via Iraq all the way to Lebanon to bring arms supplies to Hezbollah.
Iran spent billions of dollars propping up Assad during the war and deployed its Revolutionary Guards to Syria to keep its ally in power.
Hezbollah also played a major part, sending fighters to support him, but had to bring them back to Lebanon over the last year to fight in a bruising war with Israel – a redeployment that weakened Syrian government lines.
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US General Discusses Syria, Other Regional Issues in Israel Visit
Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff. Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi salutes fallen soldiers at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem in a picture published on Oct. 27, 2024. Photo: IDF.
A top US military officer visited Israel from Wednesday to Friday, meeting with Israeli defense officials and discussing the situation in Syria, among other regional topics, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.
Army General Michael Kurilla, CENTCOM’s commander, met Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, along with Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, CENTCOM said.
Washington has urged Israel to be in close consultation with the US over events unfolding in Syria, where days earlier Syrian rebels led by rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani brought an end to more than 50 years of rule by the Assad family, as ousted President Bashar al-Assad fled the country.
The world has been watching to see if Syria’s new rulers can stabilize the country in which more than a decade of civil war killed hundreds of thousands and sparked a refugee crisis.
Following the collapse of Assad’s regime, the Israeli military said its jets conducted hundreds of strikes in Syria and destroyed the bulk of its strategic weapons stockpiles.
Katz has ordered Israeli troops to prepare to stay over the winter on Mount Hermon, a strategic location overlooking Damascus, adding to signs that Israel is planning a prolonged military presence in Syria.
“The leaders discussed a range of regional security issues, to include the ongoing situation in Syria, and preparedness against other strategic and regional threats,” the CENTCOM statement said.
CENTCOM said Kurilla also visited Jordan, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon in recent days.
While Israel welcomed the removal of Assad, an ally of arch rival Iran, it is suspicious of the rebel groups that toppled him, many of which have origins linked to Islamist groups.
In Lebanon, Kurilla visited Beirut to monitor withdrawal of the first Israeli troops under a ceasefire reached last month for a war that killed thousands and displaced over a million.
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HTS Leader Says ‘No More Excuses’ for Israel to Strike in Syria
An Israeli tank crosses the ceasefire line between Syria and the Israeli Golan Heights, Dec. 11, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Avi Ohayon
i24 News – The leader of the Islamist rebel army that overthrew the government of Bashar Assad declared that Israel had “no more excuses” to carry out airstrikes in the war-ravaged country.
“There are no excuses for any foreign intervention in Syria now after the Iranians have left,” Ahmed al-Sharaa, or Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, told Syrian state media. “We are not in the process of engaging in a conflict with Israel.”
The leader of the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) pointedly referred to the Jewish state by its name, rather than “the Zionist entity” or “the enemy.”
“We have ready plans for development and rebuilding in Syria, to address all its crises, and we are currently in the information-gathering phase,” Jolani further added. “Syria needs law and a state of institutions, the state must not be governed with a revolutionary mindset.”
Regarding the manufacture of Captagon, the jihadists’ drug of choice, for which the regime of Assad was renowned, Jolani pointed out that “the Assad regime deserves a global award for manufacturing Captagon, and we will put an end to its production in Syria.”
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