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Democrats in Israel rebuild after antisemitism controversy with Democrats Abroad
Republican, Democrat arms in Israel campaign to register 500,000 eligible American voters in time to mail in absentee ballots
The Oct. 7 Hamas attack and ensuing war in Gaza roiled the political waters in the United States, unleashing a torrent of antisemitism and driving a wedge between moderates and progressives in the Democratic Party. The waves, it turns out, washed up on Israel’s shores too, forcing the group once known as Democrats Abroad Israel to break from the party’s international umbrella organization over antisemitism in the wake of the attack.
Now, as the Republican and Democratic Party arms in Israel launch their 2024 campaigns to get the half-million American expats in Israel to vote in the November election, the newly named American Democrats in Israel has reconstituted itself and affiliated with the Jewish Democratic Council of America.
The rebranding comes as the U.S. citizens in Israel turn their attention to the presidential race between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump and debate who is a better friend to Israel, and which candidate would more effectively handle domestic issues central to the American Jewish community. Those debates are playing out against the backdrop of strained relations between Washington and Jerusalem as the Gaza war grinds on into a ninth month.
Republicans Overseas Israel launched its campaign with a logo that says “Trump: A true friend of Israel” in Hebrew and “make your voice heard” in English, plus a yellow ribbon advocating for the release of the hostages from Gaza. Right-wing TV and radio host Yinon Magal shared a link to the Republicans’ crowdfunding campaign with the message: “Elect Trump; support a great friendship; contribute to strengthening Israel.” Yet when the campaign to fund the Republicans’ efforts in Israel ended on Tuesday, it brought in only 16% of its $190,500 goal.
The chairman of American Democrats in Israel, Ethan Kushner, said that voters with whom he has spoken are “primarily looking at domestic politics in the U.S. We’re obviously thinking about how the U.S.-Israel relationship will play out, but the overall concern by voters is what would happen to domestic policies in the U.S. in the event that Donald Trump wins the 2024 election.”
As both sides gear up their get-out-the vote efforts, the impact of Oct. 7 continues to loom over American Democrats in Israel as it navigates the ideological divisions within the Democratic Party.
The group once known as Democrats Abroad Israel resigned, in its entirety, from the international group Democrats Abroad in December, writing that it was “targeted by antisemitism from people who should be our allies” following the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
“We certainly wanted to stay within the confines of the Democratic Party. … However, we felt – this was even before antisemitism in the U.S. was rearing its ugly head – that it wasn’t the environment for us. We didn’t feel comfortable having this thrown at us from within the rank and file of some of the ultra-progressive elements within Democrats Abroad,” said the chairman of American Democrats in Israel, Ethan Kushner.
“The failure of Democrats Abroad’s leadership to distinguish between a terrorist attack on civilians and a sovereign nation’s response to that attack is a major reason behind our decision,” the Israeli board members wrote in their resignation letter, Ha’aretz reported.
The backlash began when Kushner notified Democrats Abroad Global Leadership that Hayim Katzman, son of board member Hannah Katzman, was murdered in Kibbutz Holit on Oct. 7, as were as Eviatar and Lilach Kipnis and Filipino caregiver Paul Castelvi, relatives of active Democrats Abroad member Dan Smith, in Kibbutz Be’eri. DA’s leadership declined to acknowledge the murders or send condolences. Anti-Israel rhetoric, including accusations of genocide proliferated in the DA’s caucuses, which are typically focused on domestic issues.
The resignation “wasn’t a move that we took lightly,” Kushner said this week. “We certainly wanted to stay within the confines of the Democratic Party. … However, we felt – this was even before antisemitism in the U.S. was rearing its ugly head – that it wasn’t the environment for us. We didn’t feel comfortable having this thrown at us from within the rank and file of some of the ultra-progressive elements within Democrats Abroad.”
The board decided that it “would be better served if we were to align ourselves with Jewish liberal and progressive Democratic organizations working within the U.S. to identify and endorse candidates who share a liberal agenda and also share a deep commitment to the State of Israel,” Kushner added.
As such, the group legally changed its name to American Democrats in Israel and affiliated with the Jewish Democratic Council of America earlier this year. The groups co-hosted a webinar with Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) on Thursday, billed as the American Democrats in Israel’s launch event.
JDCA CEO Halie Soifer said that the organization, “is happy to partner with American Democrats in Israel given the importance of our shared efforts to deliver the Jewish vote for President Biden and Democrats who share our values, including strong support of Israel.”
The Democrats Abroad website says that it is “looking to re-activate the DA Israel committee.”
Kushner said that the move allows his group to be proudly Zionist.
“The mandate of Democrats Abroad is that the organization itself doesn’t get involved in the bilateral relations between host countries and the U.S.,” he explained. “This move kind of loosened the strings and allows us, as American Jews living in Israel, who made Israel our home and want a strong and safe Israel, to strengthen our message.”
The anti-Israel pressures Israeli Democrats faced after Oct. 7 is a microcosm of the views of some in the Democratic Party’s progressive wing, a fact that Kushner said his group is “not happy about.”
“We are working together with our friends in the U.S. to ensure that there will always be enough votes on the Democratic Party side to maintain a strong Israel. That’s the only message I have towards members of the Squad. Luckily, they’re still a minority within the party,” Kushner said.
About 500,000 U.S. citizens live in Israel, the U.S. Embassy in Israel estimates. Republicans Overseas Israel and American Democrats in Israel advise voters on absentee voting deadlines and procedures, which vary from state to state, and hold town hall meetings and debates in the months before an election. The U.S. Embassy collects ballots, but does not hold vote-collecting events. The Republicans plan to set up dropboxes for voters to leave their ballots and to help get them to the U.S. in time. Though many Republicans oppose the use of mail-in ballots, Republicans Overseas Israel’s chairman, Mark Zell, said that does not include absentee ballots for members of the military and U.S. citizens abroad.
Zell, a fixture of Hebrew-language political shows on TV and radio looking for pro-Trump guests, told Jewish Insider this week that funds raised by campaigns will go towards printing gear like hats, shirt and bumper stickers — “there’s a great deal of demand,” he said — as well as advertising, events and the salary of their one paid employee. He plans to attend the Republican National Convention next week, but is paying his own way.
Kushner, the chairman of American Democrats in Israel, told JI that his group is in “constant activity and get-out-the-vote activities ensuring American expatriates living in Israel are registered to vote in their home districts, assisting potential voters in obtaining their absentee ballots and ensuring they get them to their local secretaries of state. We’re currently canvassing, especially in areas where we have a strong base,” mainly in Israel’s large cities.
“Right after Oct. 7,” Republicans Overseas Israel’s chairman, Mark Zell, said, “when everybody was expressing their warm gratitude to [President Joe] Biden for ‘having Israel’s back,’ as he put it, I warned it was skin deep. The people behind him are not pro-Israel.”
Most Americans in Israel vote Republican, both Zell and Kushner said, though neither had up-to-date polling.
Zell said that many move to Israel as Democrats and shift to the Republicans over time: “They understand that the Democratic Party, which was once a strong supporter of Israel, has ceased to be that. I think people understand that the Republican Party has Israel’s interest genuinely at heart, and they vote accordingly.”
“Right after Oct. 7,” Zell said, “when everybody was expressing their warm gratitude to [President Joe] Biden for ‘having Israel’s back,’ as he put it, I warned it was skin deep. The people behind him are not pro-Israel.”
Kushner pointed to Biden’s meeting with released hostage Liat Benin Atzili this week as an indication of the president’s “compassion and dedication he has for the State of Israel and also for helping solve the hostage issue.”
The Republican campaign in Israel has emphasized the importance of voters from swing states, with a Facebook post saying they will “influence the Electoral College outcome…and thereby determine who will be the next President of the United States.”
Zell said there are “thousands of voters [in Israel] from real swing states – Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin. Have a lot of folks here from Georgia and a few from Arizona … Their votes will have an impact far different than blue states.”
Kushner noted that most American Jews living in Israel come from states that swing pretty certainly to one side – blue states like New York, New Jersey and Illinois, or once-swing states that have become solidly red like Florida and Ohio.
At the same time, he said “we do see in a global sense, not just in Israel, that the overseas absentee vote did help tip the balance in some critical states, like Georgia and Nevada. There probably is not a big aliyah [immigration to Israel] from Nevada, but we will definitely try to locate those people who may be living here, who may have not registered to vote, because every vote will count.”
Zell emphasized the importance of voting no matter where in the U.S. someone came from.
“I’m a Marylander, from a deep-blue state,” Zell said. “We have a senate election there, with former Gov. Larry Hogan running as the Republican candidate. Maryland doesn’t elect Republicans very easily, but he’s got a shot…New Jersey is a blue state and it has a competitive senate election this year.”
In his canvassing efforts, Zell said he saw “a lot of enthusiasm,” mentioning hundreds of voters contacting him and his organization.
“To see the interest people have in volunteering all over the country – it’s heartwarming, quite honestly,” he said.