{"id":4771,"date":"2026-06-27T18:00:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T18:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/2026\/06\/27\/its-become-a-litmus-test-wins-for-israel-critics-shine-light-on-key-issue-for-democrats\/"},"modified":"2026-06-27T18:00:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T18:00:18","slug":"its-become-a-litmus-test-wins-for-israel-critics-shine-light-on-key-issue-for-democrats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=4771","title":{"rendered":"\u2018It\u2019s become a litmus test\u2019: wins for Israel critics shine light on key issue for Democrats"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-14sl0e4\">\n<div class=\"dcr-17l77cs\">\n<figure id=\"2bfbb4d8-4888-4ddb-8a86-83daf9a8179a\" class=\"dcr-191xnya\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t7hdmw\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Two men look to side\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/12744da867382ad644cd542292b65bbad04344c2\/300_0_3333_2667\/master\/3333.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"372.0837083708371\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-up96pv\"><span class=\"dcr-kogzpx\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-18mnkpm\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1294qmb\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-4sl2vt\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1mfxiaj\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Brad Lander, who won his Democratic House primary, with New York mayor Zohran Mamdani in Brooklyn this week.<\/span> Photograph: Eduardo Mu\u00f1oz\/Reuters<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-zwabc0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"2bfbb4d8-4888-4ddb-8a86-83daf9a8179a\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-1bitgpn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-1shbixy\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-qda0hp\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1e9iiy9\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Brad Lander, who won his Democratic House primary, with New York mayor Zohran Mamdani in Brooklyn this week.<\/span> Photograph: Eduardo Mu\u00f1oz\/Reuters<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-ql9l8l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-6mja0y\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-l0wuod\">\u2018It\u2019s become a litmus test\u2019: wins for Israel critics shine light on key issue for Democrats<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1xpojbf\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1kvrm3n\">\n<p>Candidates who believe Israel has committed genocide won big in New York \u2013 will it push the party to move their way?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-x1al2c\">\n<div class=\"dcr-11gq2tx\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-1w2vkyc\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-ogvvui\">\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\"><span style=\"color:var(--drop-cap);font-weight:500\" class=\"dcr-1iwzucl\">R<\/span>egardless of which party wins control of Congress in November, New York City voters have all but ensured that next year a vocal bloc of new House <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/democrats\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Democrats<\/a> will arrive on Capitol Hill, elected, in large part, because they believe Israel has committed a genocide in Gaza.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">That is an upshot of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/jun\/23\/new-york-primary-results-house\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">primary elections<\/a> held Tuesday in New York, where voters ousted two incumbent House Democrats and replaced a third who is retiring with progressives championed by Zohran Mamdani.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The democratic socialist, who is the city\u2019s first Muslim mayor, campaigned on opposing US support for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/israel\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Israel<\/a> and rejecting the influence of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac), which has for decades donated heavily to candidates that ally with the country\u2019s government.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The trio of insurgent victories in New York has sent shockwaves through the Democratic establishment, underscoring how internal divisions over Israel \u2013 an issue that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2024\/mar\/08\/why-joe-biden-support-israel-relationship-history\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">dogged Joe Biden<\/a> \u2013 continue to shape races across the country ahead of November\u2019s midterm elections, when the party hopes to win back power from Donald Trump\u2019s Republican allies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cI think that it is a testament to just how much our movement has progressed against lobbies like Aipac, who have tried to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to keep us in a position where we spend hundreds of billions of dollars of our taxpayer money to fund a genocide and weapons and bombs abroad,\u201d said Usamah Andrabi, a spokesman for Justice Democrats.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The progressive group had recruited doctoral student Darializa Avila Chevalier, who narrowly beat five-term congressman Adriano Espaillat after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/jun\/24\/darializa-avila-chevalier-win-new-york\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">criticizing him for accepting money from Aipac<\/a>. In the district represented by retiring congresswoman Nydia Vel\u00e1zquez, Justice Democrats endorsed state assembly member Claire Valdez, who triumphed in the Democratic primary over Brooklyn borough president Antonio Reynoso, after convincing voters she was more opposed to Israel than he was.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cNow, we are seeing what happens when you give voters the opportunity and candidates who not only reject Aipac money and call it out for what it is \u2013 a rightwing lobby \u2013 but also uncompromisingly stand up to oppose continued funding for the genocide and for a free <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/palestinian-territories\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Palestine<\/a>,\u201d Andrabi said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">More than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/global-development\/2026\/mar\/23\/gaza-ceasefire-paramedic-father-killed-civilian-death-toll\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">75,000 people<\/a> have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, after Hamas militants killed some 1,200 and took 250 hostage in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2024\/sep\/29\/the-middle-east-in-crisis-7-october-the-day-that-changed-the-world\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">attack on Israel<\/a>. Biden\u2019s decision to back prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the wake of the 7 October assault led to him being dogged by protesters who decried him as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2023\/dec\/04\/john-kirby-white-house-genocide\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">\u201cGenocide Joe\u201d<\/a>, and may have dampened enthusiasm for Kamala Harris\u2019s failed presidential campaign.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">A ceasefire in the conflict was reached last October, but the question of whether to call Israel\u2019s actions in Gaza a genocide \u2013 a determination reached by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2025\/jul\/28\/israel-committing-genocide-in-gaza-say-israel-based-human-rights-groups\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">human rights groups<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/jun\/23\/israel-deliberately-targeting-gaza-children-to-commit-genocide-un-inquiry-finds\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">a United Nations commission<\/a> \u2013 has roiled Democratic primaries across the country and turned into something of a litmus test for the left.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">As he faced off for the Democratic nomination against New York comptroller Brad Lander, congressman Dan Goldman sought to downplay the conflict\u2019s significance to his voters, while objecting to the use of the word \u201coccupation\u201d to describe Israel\u2019s military presence in Gaza and arguing its campaign did not amount to a genocide.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cIsrael is not the most important issue in this district,\u201d Goldman said, during a primary debate. He wound up losing to Lander by more than 30 percentage points.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cDemocrats are painfully divided by our differences over the US relationship to Israel and Palestine,\u201d Lander said in his victory speech on Tuesday night. \u201cWe have to face up to it squarely.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Lander said he intended to be \u201cone of the Jewish members of Congress most willing to stand up for Palestinian human rights\u201d and urged the party to \u201cadmit that Joe Biden\u2019s hug-Bibi strategy was a catastrophic failure\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cI believe it made us complicit in genocide,\u201d he told supporters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">After comparing the two Democrats, Manny Fidel, 34, a writer based in Brooklyn, said he ended up supporting Lander because of his views on Israel and Palestine, which he described as \u201cthe big issue of this race\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cI liked how kind of clear-headed Brad is on that issue,\u201d Fidel said. \u201cIt\u2019s become kind of a litmus test for national elections here in the United States \u2013 and I think it should be. I think it\u2019s the huge moral issue of our time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Corbin Trent, a former aide to Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, said US involvement in the conflict in Gaza was similar to its 2003 invasion of Iraq, in that it woke up scores of voters to the consequences of Washington\u2019s actions overseas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cOur foreign policy, generally speaking, has been something that when people are confronted with the cost of that in lives abroad, and lives here, and in money, they reject it,\u201d Trent said. \u201cThat was one of the things that propelled Maga, that\u2019s one of the things that propelled these victories here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The rise of Avila Chevalier, who defeated Espaillat, the current chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, has had perhaps the most disruptive impact on her party.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">She had made social media posts criticizing Biden and Harris but has since repudiated them. Following the primary, former Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison wrote on social media: \u201cI say this with no ill will or animosity: if you hate the Democratic party, then please don\u2019t run for our nomination.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Tom Malinowski, a former congressman who recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/feb\/10\/analilia-mejia-new-jersey-election-democrats\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">lost his bid<\/a> to return to the House to a progressive, criticized Mamdani and Sanders for endorsing Avila Chevalier, warning that they risked creating \u201cthe mirror image of Maga\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter if candidates are qualified or what their beliefs are. All that matters is that they\u2019re on the team, backed by its leader. Anyone who questions that is slated for the next political destruction,\u201d Malinowski wrote.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">He added: \u201cWhen your followers treat Israel as the world\u2019s only human rights violator and Aipac as the only evil dark money group, that should be a red flag.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Avila Chevalier, Valdez and Lander are seen as locks to win House seats in the November general election, since their districts are heavily Democratic. Congressional Republicans pounced on their ascendancy, saying it was proof that \u201ccommunists\u201d had taken over the Democratic party.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cThe Democratic party is in big trouble,\u201d Trump said, speaking on Friday at the Faith &amp; Freedom Coalition\u2019s annual <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ffcoalition.com\/about\/road-to-majority\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Road to Majority conference<\/a> in Washington. \u201cThis is not stopping with New York.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The trend may continue when Colorado holds primaries on Tuesday, and 15-term congresswoman Diana DeGette will face a challenge for the Democratic nomination from Melat Kiros, a democratic socialist who has criticized the incumbent for being too supportive of Israel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">This issue also looms in Michigan, where Democrats are hoping to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/apr\/06\/michigan-senate-race-democrats\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">keep hold<\/a> of the Senate seat being vacated by Gary Peters, who is retiring. Among the leading Democratic candidates, Aipac has backed congresswoman Haley Stevens, while state senator Mallory McMorrow and former public health official Abdul El-Sayed have both accused Israel of committing \u201cgenocide\u201d in Gaza.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">And it is almost certain to be an issue in the presidential election in 2028, when voters nationwide will choose a successor to Trump.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cEvery candidate for the presidency now on the Democratic side will be required to declare himself or herself on the matter of the United States\u2019 stance towards Israel,\u201d predicted Bill Galston, a former domestic policy adviser to Democratic president Bill Clinton who is now a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution thinktank in Washington.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cThe question was largely evaded in 2024. That strategy is no longer possible<em>.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\"><em>David Smith in Washington, Adam Gabbatt in New York and Lauren Gambino in Los Angeles contributed reporting<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-swayiu\"><span class=\"dcr-1xhbmzr\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-2c03t5\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-p7nd18\">\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/democrats\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Democrats<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/world\/israel\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Israel<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/world\/palestinian-territories\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Palestine<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/world\/middleeast\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Middle East and north Africa<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-congress\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">US Congress<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-313bdz\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=%E2%80%98It%E2%80%99s%20become%20a%20litmus%20test%E2%80%99:%20wins%20for%20Israel%20critics%20shine%20light%20on%20key%20issue%20for%20Democrats&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/jun\/27\/israel-democrats-palestinians?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-ncybeu\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-19bkree\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Fjun%2F27%2Fisrael-democrats-palestinians&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/jun\/27\/israel-democrats-palestinians\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-1c41onw\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-axwinp\"><span class=\"dcr-1ryr20k\"><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Brad Lander, who won his Democratic House primary, with New York mayor Zohran Mamdani in Brooklyn this week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":4773,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4771"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4771\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}