Texas Democrats adopted several anti-Israel amendments into their party platform at a state party convention last weekend — a significant move to the left on Israel policy in a generally conservative state with marquee Senate and gubernatorial races this November.

That said, much of the anti-Israel language was toned down from the original amendments as introduced — and the party also adopted some pro-Israel language in the platform.

The platform also supports the right of Israel to “exist in safe and secure borders” and condemns the “genocidal actions and goals of Hamas” and supports its removal from leadership in the Gaza Strip and the terror group’s disarmament.

At the same time, it offers support for the right of return for Palestinian refugees as well as for Palestine becoming a U.N. member state “when qualified under the U.N. Charter” and the International Court of Justice’s interim judgement in the genocide case against Israel — though it acknowledges that the ICJ has not ruled that Israel committed genocide — and recognizes the Palestinian “Nakba.”

“Israelis and Palestinians alike have the inalienable right to pursue self-determination, be it a unified political structure or separate sovereign states,” the platform reads.

The platform urges Texas Democratic members of Congress to support the Block the Bombs Act and the end of U.S. offensive weapons sales to Israel, as well as legislation calling for a war crimes investigation into certain Israeli actions in the West Bank. 

It states that Texas Democrats support the repeal of Texas’ anti-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions law and “greater accountability in campaign finance and eliminate and reject the influence and contributions of foreign-interest PACs and lobbying organizations, including AIPAC, on campaigns.”

The wording of several of the anti-Israel resolutions is slightly toned down from some proposed resolutions, including language describing pro-Israel groups as “foreign interference” in American elections and as compromising U.S. institutions.

One proposed resolution also specifically condemned Democratic Majority for Israel in addition to AIPAC, and called for investigations of the groups as unregistered foreign agents, but that language does not appear in the final platform.

Other proposed resolutions also explicitly accused Israel of apartheid and genocide, and called for a complete arms embargo on Israel and a cessation of all U.S. logistical support to Israel.

Still other proposed resolutions called for a statewide adoption of BDS policies, and stated that the repeal of anti-BDS legislation should be a “top legislative priority,” language that was also softened in the final platform.

The platform also calls for dismantling illegal settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem “while recognizing historical origins of multiple cultures in the area” and for displaced civilians from Gaza to have a right to return to the territory.

In addition to the anti-Israel language in the platform, the convention’s exhibit hall also included a display that downplayed and attempted to justify the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel, including denying allegations of mass rape and pointing blame for the attacks toward Israel and its settlement policies.