House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said on Thursday that should Democrats regain control of the House in the upcoming midterm elections, the party will adopt a “broadly inclusive” but fundamentally new approach to policy on Israel.

Jeffries’ comments follow a historic, highly divisive floor vote on Wednesday where nearly half of House Democrats broke with him to support an amendment cutting off $3.3 billion in U.S. foreign military aid to Israel. The amendment to the 2027 State Department appropriations bill, introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), ultimately failed, but laid bare a continuing erosion of support for Israel within the Democratic caucus.

“The situation relative to the United States’ relationship with Israel, the Palestinian people and policy in the Middle East has to change because the current status quo is unsustainable,” Jeffries said at a press conference. “Our approach will be one that is broadly inclusive … [and will include] dialogue across the entire spectrum of the House Democratic Caucus and then be able to land on the highest common denominator, but being guided by the effort to actually create a just and lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinian people.” 

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said that should Democrats retake the House, the party will adopt a “broadly inclusive” but fundamentally new approach to policy on Israel.

"The situation relative to the United States' relationship with Israel, the Palestinian people and… pic.twitter.com/AELh50as7i

— Jewish Insider (@jewishinsider) July 16, 2026

Jeffries outlined that the future Democratic approach will be “anchored in several different principles,” including a renewed commitment to a two-state solution.

“[It will include] Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state and homeland for the Jewish people, and at the same time, pressing the urgent need to establish an independent Palestinian state that allows the Palestinian people to live with dignity, respect, and self-determination — and that needs to be dealt with urgently.”

Jeffries also noted that the Democratic Party under his leadership will support all necessary measures to allow for the “prosperity” of the Palestinian people and the alleviation of “suffering,” including calling for a surge of humanitarian assistance into Gaza. 

“It means not just the reconstruction of Gaza, but the modernization of Gaza and investing, along with our partners in the Gulf states and moderate Arab nations, in a path toward prosperity for the Palestinian people,” Jeffries said. “Hamas needs to be disarmed and completely removed from power, and we need to deal with the out-of-control settler violence that the Netanyahu administration has allowed to take place in the West Bank, and perpetrators of that violence should be sanctioned and criminally prosecuted.” 

Still, Jeffries noted that Israel remains a valuable ally.

“[The Democratic policy approach also includes] recognizing that Israel is an ally of the United States of America in the fight against terrorism, whether that’s Iranian-backed proxies, Hezbollah, Hamas or the Houthis,” Jeffries said. 

As the Democratic Party debates how to improve its brand and sharpen its messaging ahead of the midterm elections, one progressive strategist is emerging as an influential behind-the-scenes casting agent pushing a style of unvarnished left-wing populism, notably combined with aggressive criticism of Israel and its standing as a U.S. ally.

Morris Katz, an ad maker in his mid-20s widely seen as a political wunderkind on the far left, has been instrumental in helping to elevate outspoken detractors of Israel in a range of key congressional contests — serving as a sort of anti-Israel whisperer for candidates seeking to fine-tune their messaging about one of the most potent sources of Democratic division in the current election cycle.

Katz, who is Jewish and grew up in a wealthy neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, has attributed his jaundiced view of Israel to the pro-Israel group AIPAC, which he called “the main accelerator that radicalized me” in an interview with Haaretz last November. In 2022, he worked on the House campaign of Erica Smith in North Carolina, where she was defeated thanks in part to outside spending from AIPAC’s super PAC, an effort Katz characterized as “sinister and bad faith.”

“I started to see what was happening with clear eyes. My eyes were open to the realities of apartheid in Israel,” Katz told Haaretz, arguing AIPAC “poses the single biggest existential threat to democracy in America out of any group.”

Since then, Katz has advised, among others, the insurgent Senate campaign of Graham Platner, the scandal-plagued Maine Democrat whose masculine image, gravelly voice and status as a Marine veteran aptly embodies the sort of rough-hewn features that Katz insists are well suited to energize voter turnout — even for swing seats crucial to the party’s strategy to reclaim majorities in both chambers.

But Platner, who has drawn scrutiny in recent months for promoting extremist content online as well as a freshly covered tattoo on his chest whose Nazi symbolism he claims to have not been aware of, has otherwise gained prominence for his strident opposition to Israel, a marked contrast with rhetoric traditionally heard from candidates in battleground states. Platner, 41, has accused Israel of commiting genocide in Gaza, vowed to block U.S. arms sales to Israel and pledged to reject donations from AIPAC.

Earlier this week, Platner notched a high-profile endorsement from Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), who called the Maine oyster farmer “the only candidate” capable of defeating Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), even as Platner faces Maine’s Democratic governor, Janet Mills, in the primary. For his part, Gallego, also a former Marine, stirred some controversy this week after suggesting the U.S. had only gone to war with Iran at the behest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “So much for America First,” he wrote on social media, stoking accusations he invoked an antisemitic trope while referencing partial comments made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. 

Gallego, who had previously demonstrated a broadly pro-Israel record during his time as a congressman, is seen as a potential presidential contender in 2028. He was elected to the Senate in 2024 with the help of Rebecca Katz, a progressive strategist who recently launched a new consulting firm, called Fight Agency, that also employs Morris Katz (no relation). 

The consultancy has signed on as clients several far-left candidates who have made Israel a central focus of their campaigns, including Platner; Abdul El-Sayed, running for Senate in Michigan; and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a close friend of Morris Katz. It is also working with one unexpected candidate, Tom Steyer, the billionaire businessman and former presidential contender now seeking the Democratic nomination in California’s crowded race for governor. 

While Steyer said at a recent forum that he is committed to deepening California’s partnership with Israel and fighting boycotts of the Jewish state, he also sat for a lengthy interview this week with the far-left streamer Hasan Piker, whose popularity has remained strong among progressives even as he has frequently voiced antisemitic views and pro-Hamas sentiments.

Fight Agency did not respond to a request for comment.

Morris Katz rose to political fame last year as a top advisor to Mamdani, who drew some criticism for speaking with Piker — and whose disinterest in visiting Israel is a notable exception to every New York City mayor over the past 75 years, who all traveled to the Jewish state .

During the mayoral campaign, Katz also reportedly served as an unofficial liaison to Jewish leaders who were suspicious of Mamdani’s anti-Israel record — though one well-placed Jewish community activist familiar with such outreach said he did not interact with the strategist and was not aware of others who had.

His own views on Israel would have been unlikely to reassure Jewish leaders. Katz has called Netanyahu “the existential threat to Israel’s existence” and said AIPAC is “spending hundreds of millions of dollars defending a fascist in Israel,” among other things.

More recently, Katz has worked for Brad Lander, the former New York City comptroller challenging Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), a pro-Israel Democrat who is defending a heavily Jewish House seat that includes parts of Brooklyn and Manhattan. Lander, a critic of Israel, is echoing other left-wing primary candidates in seeking to highlight Goldman’s ties to AIPAC as a sign he is not aligned with Democratic sentiment on Middle East policy.

In addition to Lander, Katz is now advising Claire Valdez, an anti-Israel state assemblywoman who is competing in a hotly contested Democratic primary to succeed retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) in a safely blue district covering Brooklyn and Queens.

Meanwhile, he is also reportedly working to help consolidate progressive backing for Micah Lasher, a Jewish state assemblyman with a record of support for Israel, who is running in a crowded Democratic primary for the House seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) in Manhattan. Lasher had endorsed Mamdani during the general election, in a move that sparked blowback from some Jewish leaders.

Until Mamdani, Katz’s most consequential work had included advising on the Senate campaigns of Dan Osborne, an independent from Nebraska who lost his race, and Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), who has disappointed his former progressive backers for promoting staunchly pro-Israel stances since taking office. Fetterman recently dismissed Platner as “the guy with the Nazi tattoo,” after the Maine candidate had said the senator should lose his seat for backing the war with Iran.

Not all of Katz’s clients have become stars of one sort or the other. Earlier this month, for instance, one of his clients, Nathan Sage, a scruffy Democrat who was competing for an open Senate seat in Iowa, announced that he was ending his campaign, citing a lack of fundraising.

Still, some of his better-known clients have gained momentum in their respective races, most notably including Platner, who has continued to maintain a commanding lead over Mills — in spite of controversies that have engulfed his campaign in the past weeks.

In a sharply worded social media post this week, Katz accused Republicans as well as Democrats of “lying about” Platner’s background “to uphold an oligarchy, and the military industrial complex it rests on.”

The Democratic Senate primary in Maine is shaping up to be among the most significant proxy battles over Israel in the upcoming midterm elections, pitting the state’s moderate two-term governor against a left-wing populist upstart who has vocally embraced an anti-Israel platform.

Gov. Janet Mills, who announced her campaign to unseat Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) on Tuesday and is backed by Senate Democratic leadership, is set to face a well-funded challenge from Graham Platner, a veteran and oyster farmer who boasts high-profile support from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).

In contrast with Mills, who has criticized anti-Israel divestment efforts in her state and warned against a “deeply troubling” rise in antisemitic incidents after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, Platner has promoted more hostile views on Israel and its alliance with the United States.

Since entering the race in August, Platner has accused Israel of genocide in Gaza and endorsed measures to block U.S. arms sales to Israel. His campaign did not respond to a request for comment regarding the recently brokered ceasefire and hostage-release deal between Israel and Hamas.

Platner has also been an outspoken critic of the pro-Israel advocacy group AIPAC, whose affiliated political arm is supporting Collins, one of the most vulnerable Republicans now seeking reelection — in a state President Donald Trump lost by seven points in 2024.

“We are focused on helping to re-elect Senator Collins, who has long been a leader and champion of strengthening the partnership between the U.S. and Israel,” Marshall Wittmann, a spokesperson for AIPAC, told Jewish Insider on Thursday.

Wittmann did not address whether AIPAC has plans to get involved in the primary. Collins, a five-term senator, has defended her relationship with AIPAC, which has faced growing criticism from Democratic candidates in recent months as intraparty tensions over Israel have intensified.

It remains to be seen if the Maine Senate race will draw outside spending from other pro-Israel groups including Democratic Majority for Israel, which has engaged in a number of recent primaries. The group did not respond to requests for comment from JI.

The primary also includes Jordan Wood, a former congressional aide whose campaign says that he has raised $3 million since April. Dan Kleban, a brewery owner in Maine, dropped out of the race on Tuesday and endorsed Mills, who was aggressively recruited by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). 

Mills’ campaign said this week that she had raised $1 million in the 24 hours after she announced her bid. Platner’s team reported a $4 million haul since entering the race over the summer, with prominent contributors ranging from Ron Klain, a former chief of staff to President Joe Biden, to the billionaire donors Donald Sussman and Chris Hughes, according to campaign filings.

While Platner, 41, has drawn scrutiny over his views on Israel — which he has made a central component of his campaign messaging and national fundraising appeals — the political newcomer has more recently weathered controversy surrounding past comments in which he identified as a “communist,” called “all” police “bastards” and said rural Americans are racist and stupid, among other incendiary statements.

Platner has said that such views, unearthed in a CNN investigation published on Thursday, do not reflect his current thinking. Still, the deleted posts underscore how a previously untested candidate is likely to navigate additional vulnerabilities in a race that Democrats view as one of their top priorities as they seek to win back the Senate majority next year.

Following Mills’ launch this week, Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball, a top elections forecaster, said that it had changed its ranking of the Maine Senate race from “leans Republican” to “toss-up” — a rating also echoed by The Cook Political Report.

Mills — who, at 77, would be the oldest freshman senator in history if elected — has won praise from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. The two-term governor also formed a joint fundraising committee with the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm earlier this week, according to a new campaign disclosure.

Mills’ campaign team features veterans of her 2022 bid for governor, a person familiar with the matter told JI on Thursday, including Eric Adelstein of the communications consultancy AL Media and Jefrey Pollock of the polling firm Global Strategy Group — which has conducted a number of surveys on Israel and the Jewish vote. 

Chelsea Brossard, a Democratic strategist who recently advised Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) in his bid for governor of New Jersey, is also joining Mills’ team as campaign manager, according to the source, who asked to remain anonymous to discuss undisclosed details.

Mills’ campaign did not respond to requests for comment from JI on Thursday. Pollock declined to comment.