
Daily Kickoff: Pro-Israel support surges among Democrats
Good Thursday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at how pro-Israel progressives are rejecting the far left’s narrative on the Israel-Hamas war, and report on yesterday’s meeting between President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Beanie Feldstein, Seth Mandel and Ian Kinsler.
A wave of new polling in the aftermath of Hamas’ terrorist attack against Israel reveals a significant uptick in American support for the Jewish state — especially among many of the Democrats that had been growing less supportive of Israel in recent years, Jewish Insider Editor-in-Chief Josh Kraushaar writes.
A CNN poll, conducted between Oct. 12-13, found that over two-thirds of respondents believe the Israeli military response in Gaza was either “fully justified” (50%) or “partially justified” (20%). Even among Democrats, the support for Israeli military countermeasures was nearly as high: Thirty-eight percent said they would be “fully justified,” while 30% said they would be partially justified.
The poll also found that while most Americans broadly sympathize with both the Israeli and Palestinian people, the depth of support with Israel is higher. Nearly three out of four respondents (71%) feel “a lot of sympathy” with the Israelis, while 41% say the same about the Palestinians.
A whopping 76% of respondents in a new Quinnipiac poll think supporting Israel is in the national interest of the United States — including 84% of Republicans, 76% of Democrats and 74% of independents. Only 20% of Americans said that America was “too supportive” of Israel — with the greatest degree of opposition (30%) centered among the youngest voters between 18-34.
Meanwhile, a recent FOX News survey found 68% of Americans side more with the Israelis, with just 18% favoring the Palestinians. Support for Israel spiked nine points since May 2021 when the pollster last asked the question. The uptick was mostly attributable to rising support for Israel among Democrats: 59% now say they side with the Israelis, and just 25% with the Palestinians.
The improved public opinion towards Israel among Democrats — at least for the moment — is attributable to incremental but notable shifts taking place in the political arena and on Capitol Hill.
Credible primary challengers are suddenly emerging against several vulnerable left-wing members of the Squad, as JI’s Matthew Kassel reported — and are citing the incumbents’ equivocation over the terrorist attacks as a reason for running. Squad-aligned lawmakers struggled to raise money in the latest fundraising quarter, a sign of their potential vulnerability.
As JI’s Marc Rod has reported, many typically progressive lawmakers who normally call for de-escalation and restraint from Israel have held back for now. J Street, the progressive Israel advocacy group, is telling supportive lawmakers that sponsorship of a bipartisan pro-Israel resolution is a prerequisite for their endorsement in 2024.
President Joe Biden’s own strong show of support for Israel, equating Hamas terrorism with ISIS, is also a key factor pushing Democratic voter support for Israel. Any mainstream Democrat looking to challenge an anti-Israel rival in a primary now has this powerful line of attack: Are you with President Biden, or with the terrorists?
Freshly returned from Israel, Biden is set to address the nation tonight at 8 p.m. The White House said the president intends to speak about the U.S. “response to Hamas’ terrorist attacks against Israel and Russia’s ongoing brutal war against Ukraine.”
The president’s primetime address comes a day after sanctions banning transfer of ballistic missiles, lethal drones and related technology to and from Iran expired, in accordance with one of the 2015 nuclear deal’s “sunset clauses.” World powers could have “snapped back” Iran sanctions due to its nuclear violations of the deal, but opted not to do so, with the European parties to the JCPOA saying that their individual sanctions will remain in place.
The Treasury Department announced new sanctions yesterday against 11 people and eight entities in Iran, Hong Kong, China and Venezuela over actions “that are enabling Iran’s destabilizing ballistic missile and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) programs,” as well as two Iranian officials tied to Tehran’s missile program.
In addition to backing Hamas and Hezbollah, Tehran has for more than a year worked closely with Russia in building up Moscow’s drone program and assisting in arms transfers for use against Ukraine.
Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Yevgen Kornichuk told JI’s Lahav Harkov that “we have been attacked by [Iran’s] drones and our military and victims are dying as a result of those attacks. Our concern was and still is the fact that Russia is using all means to strengthen its cooperation with Iran, and we have been alerting our international partners to that fact so many times. I hope that both Iran and Russia will be sanctioned in the strongest way.”
gaza war: day 13
Tensions rise on Israel’s northern border as skirmishes with Hezbollah increase

Tensions continued to rise on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon on Wednesday, with the IDF reporting multiple rounds of artillery fire, anti-tank missiles and rocket attacks against troops and civilian communities believed to be perpetrated by the Shiite militia group Hezbollah, Jewish Insider’s Ruth Marks Eglash reports.
Launches from Lebanon: Throughout the day Wednesday and overnight, the military said it had identified multiple rocket launches from within Lebanese territory – all of which were intercepted by the army’s “Aerial Defense Array,” including both the Iron Dome and David’s Sling missile-defense systems – as well as rounds of anti-tank fire shot toward the northern communities of Metula, Malkia and Manara.
IDF response: Despite fears of sparking a full-scale war on Israel’s northern front as it gears up for an intense ground operation inside Gaza, the military said it has responded to the ongoing Hezbollah attacks by striking targets along the border. In addition, the army reported that it had thwarted an attempted infiltration of terrorists into Israeli territory. Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, has said that 10 of its militants have been killed since Hamas’ brutal terrorist attack killing 1,400 people took place on Oct. 7, according to press reports.