After Democrats’ electoral drubbing last week, some prominent members of the party have come out of the woodwork to raise concerns about the party’s appeasement of progressive activists rather than appealing to more centrist voters. 

Particularly revealing is the shift in rhetoric from several prominent Democrats on issues of concern to the American Jewish community.

The Jewish Federations of North America’s annual General Assembly gathering this week provided an early opportunity for elected officials to debut their post-election messages. The confab, which concluded Tuesday, saw top officials double down on support for Israel and against antisemitism, suggesting Democratic politicians may see those positions as a sign of where the U.S. body politic stands after Vice President Kamala Harris’ defeat.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, viewed as a potential future Democratic presidential contender, was a last-minute addition to Sunday’s Jewish Unity Rally in Washington. Her appearance there just days after former President Donald Trump’s win in Michigan hinted at a possible shift by Whitmer, who spent the campaign speaking carefully about the war in Gaza in a bid to appeal to both Jewish and Muslim voters in the state.

After taking the stage, Whitmer thanked other elected officials in the crowd, kicking off an ode to bipartisanship.

“This bipartisan presence here is a testament to some fundamental truths: We stand with the people of Israel. We share their pain. We are committed to their safety, and we will never forget the horrors of Oct. 7,” said Whitmer. “We stand against the scourge of antisemitism, and we will fight back against this ancient force wherever it rears its ugly head.” 

One Democratic activist in Michigan said Whitmer’s appearance at the rally appears to be following the “political winds.”

“I do think there’s going to be a big fight over Israel within the party, and I think that there is an understandable sense that you want to be on the right side of this one,” said the Michigan Democrat. “I think that she sees where the political winds are blowing a little bit.”

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), a pro-Israel Democrat who has long been critical of the anti-Israel left and its influence in Democratic politics, said Democrats’ concerns about losing support from Michigan’s Arab American community, and the resulting rhetoric that aimed to appease opposing constituencies when it comes to Israel, cost them the chance to grow support elsewhere.

“What did all the obsession about the Michigan vote get us? Not only did we hemorrhage support from within the Jewish community, but we lost Dearborn, Mich., to Donald Trump,” Torres told Jewish Insider on Tuesday. “It was almost the worst case scenario. Whereas, if we had spoken with moral clarity on the subject of Israel, we would have run up the score in Jewish communities across the country.”

Whitmer’s post-election appearance at the Federation event and speeches by other high-level Democrats offer a counterpoint to the progressive narrative on how to build back support.  

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) spoke on a panel at the GA to affirm her support for Jewish New Yorkers. She called out university leaders for their lack of leadership after Oct. 7, saying college presidents who can’t keep students safe should be fired, along with professors who support Hamas.

“It is an outrage that so many college campuses were unsafe for our children. It is unconscionable, as a mother,” Gillibrand said. “I think any college president who cannot keep all her students or his students safe should be fired. Any professor that celebrates Oct. 7 and lifts up the actions of Hamas as a good thing should be fired. It is untenable, what’s been happening on our college campuses, and we need better leadership than we have.”

At the Sunday rally, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro, who is now the Pentagon’s top Mideast-focused official, reiterated President Joe Biden’s support for Israel in a message that Shapiro said came from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. 

“President Biden has a secure place in history as one of the greatest champions of Israel’s right to defend itself. That has been true throughout his long career of public service, and it was especially crucial after the terrible day of Oct. 7, 2023,” Shapiro said. “President Biden, Secretary Austin and their team have been there for Israel in days of war, and we will continue to fight, to help move Israel and the entire region toward a more hopeful, secure and integrated future.”

Liberal critics of Israel hoped that the lame duck period before Trump is sworn in might provide Biden an opportunity to do what the left has been demanding for more than a year — for Washington to take punitive action against Israel and the Netanyahu government. But Biden’s foreign policy moves in the days after the election suggest that he is sticking with his support for the Jewish state. 

On Tuesday, the State Department said the U.S. had determined Israel was making progress toward increasing the humanitarian aid going into Gaza, 30 days after Austin and Secretary of State Tony Blinken wrote to Israel’s leaders saying the humanitarian situation needed to change or Israel would face consequences. 

“So far, thanks to intervention by the United States, Israel has taken some important steps, including restoring aid deliveries to the north,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said at a Tuesday U.N. event.

State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters on Tuesday that he had no change in U.S. policy toward Israel to announce, drawing ire from some left-wing organizations. J Street, the progressive Middle East advocacy group, slammed the decision and called for the U.S. to withhold certain weapons from Israel. “The law is clear. American arms should not be provided to countries that block humanitarian assistance,” J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami said in a statement. “The White House should not give any country, even its closest friends, a pass. This can’t be delayed anymore. “

At a Tuesday Oval Office meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Biden shared an oft-repeated story that one does not have to be Jewish to be a Zionist. When Herzog thanked Biden for being a Zionist, he responded with a smile: “God love you,” Biden said to Herzog.