For the first time in decades, possibly since the anti-Vietnam War and environmental movements, the left wing has led the center of the Democratic Party in a new political direction on a major issue — one sharply critical of the Israeli government, impatient with the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and increasingly willing to use American leverage to curb Israel’s military plans.
In recent weeks, Democratic leaders have begun inching closer to the progressive view that it is against U.S. interests to continue sending unconditional U.S. military aid to Mr. Netanyahu’s government in an asymmetrical war that has killed thousands of innocent civilians in Gaza. And they have recognized that anger among Democratic voters — especially young voters — over the U.S. role in Gaza is a serious threat to Mr. Biden’s re-election that cannot be ignored.
On Israel, the pressure from the left has been clear: protests by young Americans and many others against the American role in the conflict; an “uncommitted” movement that led thousands of Democrats to cast protest ballots instead of voting for Mr. Biden, especially in Michigan, a key swing state; and an intense, behind-the-scenes lobbying effort at the White House and in Congress by progressive Democrats.
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