{"id":48576,"date":"2026-06-08T11:14:35","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T18:14:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=48576"},"modified":"2026-06-08T11:14:36","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T18:14:36","slug":"the-real-divide-among-democrats-over-israel-is-between-party-leadership-and-voters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/06\/08\/the-real-divide-among-democrats-over-israel-is-between-party-leadership-and-voters\/","title":{"rendered":"The Real \u201cDivide\u201d Among Democrats Over Israel Is Between Party Leadership and Voters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Supporting Israel is now a fringe position among Democratic voters. Why does the media keep covering it like a 50\/50 issue?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Adam Johnson<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

June 4 2026 (TheIntercept.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"NEW
A supporter of Israel counterprotests as Palestine solidarity activists take part in a demonstration on Nakba Day on May 15, 2026, in New York City. Photo: Adam Gray\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Adam Johnson is co-host of the Citations Needed<\/a> podcast and author of \u201cHow to Sell a Genocide: The Media\u2019s Complicity in the Destruction of Gaza,\u201d which is available now<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Israel\u2019s standing<\/strong> in the U.S., and among liberals in particular, continues to crater, the mainstream American media is vaguely taking notice. But when they report on this increasingly potent political dynamic, national publications continue to frame it as a tension among Democratic voters <\/em>\u2014 rather than a tension between Democratic voters and their party leadership. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA Democrat\u2019s Dodge on AIPAC Points to the Party\u2019s Tensions Over Israel<\/strong>,\u201d read one recent New York Times<\/a> headline. \u201cTensions over pro-Israel lobbying<\/strong> group highlight rifts <\/strong>in Democratic primaries,\u201d read another Reuters<\/a> headline. \u201cIsrael\u2019s subsequent military campaign in Gaza has driven a significant, deeper-than-ever divide among Democrats<\/strong>,\u201d NBC News<\/a> reported last week. \u201cThe U.S.-Israel alliance has rapidly gone from a point of bipartisan consensus to a wedge issue dividing<\/strong> both parties,\u201d opined the Washington Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of those were just last month, but the false equivocation goes back further. \u201cThe Democratic primary electorate,\u201d\u00a0The Hill<\/a>\u00a0informed readers in March, \u201cis\u00a0increasingly divided over Israel<\/strong>.\u201d \u201cIsrael tensions<\/strong>\u00a0threaten Dems\u2019 midterm plans,\u201d\u00a0Politico<\/a>\u00a0announced in a January headline, which continued in the piece: \u201cJust as Democrats are finding their footing by focusing on affordability,\u00a0their differences on Israel are threatening to tear them apart.<\/strong>\u201d \u201cNew York City\u2019s annual Israel Day Parade has long been considered a bipartisan tradition \u2014 but this year, the event is becoming a\u00a0symbol of the growing divide<\/strong>\u00a0within the Democratic Party over Israel,\u201d Sinclair\u2019s National News Desk\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0last week.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

DNC Shoots Down Resolutions Calling Out AIPAC and Limiting Arms to Israel<\/a><\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s only one problem with the \u201ctensions,\u201d \u201cdivided,\u201d and \u201cwedge issue\u201d framing: It is not supported by any polls. The \u201cdivide,\u201d such as it is, is increasingly not among Democrats or even liberals; it is between the supermajority of Democratic Party voters and party leadership. While party leaders such as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senator Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and big Democratic donors<\/a>, are pro-Israel, actual Democratic voters have moved on from Israel with remarkable speed and consistency. Let\u2019s take a look at the polling:<\/p>\n\n\n\n