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New Group Seeks to Promote Pro-Israel Democrats

[additional-authors]
January 29, 2019

A new group called the Democratic Majority for Israel has been formed by veteran Democrats aiming to promote support for Israel among Democrats.

The group is headed by Democratic pollster Mark Mellman, strategist Ann Lewis and J.P. Morgan executive Todd Richman. Former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) and Henry Cisneros, who served as the secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under President Clinton, are among those serving on the group’s board.

According to Haaretz, the goal of the group is “to convince progressive Democrats to adopt a more traditional, pro-Israeli policy line.”

“Most Democrats are strongly pro-Israel and we want to keep it that way,” Mellman told The New York Times. “There are a few discordant voices, but we want to make sure that what’s a very small problem doesn’t metastasize into a bigger problem.”

The Times notes that the group might also start to get involved in primaries to support pro-Israel Democrats, such as Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who might face a primary challenge over his support for Israel.

Halie Soifer, executive director of the Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA), said in a statement, “JDCA welcomes the establishment of the Democratic Majority for Israel. While our mission is distinct from DMFI’s, we welcome additional pro-Israel voices and look forward to working with DMFI to elect Democrats in 2020.”

Soifer continued, “JDCA is the only organization serving as the voice of Jewish Democrats, mobilizing the Jewish electorate to support Democrats who share our socially progressive and pro-Israel values. JDCA advocates for a values-driven agenda including, but not limited to, U.S. support of Israel. This past election, JDCA engaged more than half a million Jewish Democrats in a Get Out the Vote (GOTV) effort to elect House and Senate Democrats. We look forward to building on this work in 2020 to support Democrats who share our values.”

The establishment of DMFI comes as newly elected Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) have received attention for their open support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Tlaib has come under criticism for her associations with anti-Israel figures and for posting a “Palestine” sticky note over a map of Israel in her office; Omar has been criticized for accusing Israel of “hypnotizing the world.”

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