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A new group calling itself the “Democratic Majority for Israel” will launch a campaign intended to veer the Democratic party away from the emerging anti-Israel contingency in its numbers (Prominent Democrats Form Pro-Israel Group to Counter Skepticism on the Left). The group’s president, Democratic pollster and political consultant Mark Mellman, on Monday told the New York Times, using cancer cell imagery: “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.”
According to the Times, the new group’s board includes former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and former Clinton administration housing secretary Henry Cisneros.
Democratic strategist Ann Lewis and J.P. Morgan executive and Democratic fund-raiser Todd Richman will co-chair alongside Mellman – who told the Times the new group brings “substantial” financial backing to the table and intends to “be around for years.”
A survey conducted in January by Pew, only 19% of liberal Democrats sympathize more with Israel than the Palestinians, down from 33% three years ago. But while the staggering majority of congressional Democrats are strong supporters of Israel, the party was rocked by election of three declared anti-Israel Congresswomen who also strongly support boycotting the Jewish State: Ilhan Omar (Minnesota), Rashida Tlaib (Michigan), and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (New York).
Unfortunately, the same Pew survey also identified Democratic support for Israel with the older party members: 56% of voters over 65 sympathized more with Israel than the Palestinians, while only 32% of Democrats 30 and younger shared the same sentiment.
Representative Hakeem Jeffries (New York), the fourth-ranking Democrat in the House who is viewed as Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s future replacement, told the Times that “the relationship between the United States and Israel is a special one that is rooted in shared values, an important strategic partnership in the Middle East, perhaps the world’s toughest neighborhood, and a mutual commitment to a lasting two state solution.”
“I look forward to working with the Democratic Majority for Israel as it advances the unbreakable US-Israel bond into the future,” Jeffries said.