A Democratic National Committee panel blocked a resolution Tuesday that would have called for a suspension of military aid to Israel and recognition of Palestinian statehood, after a debate underscoring growing fissures within the party over its longstanding support of Israel.
The resolution, which was proposed by Allison Minnerly, a new Gen Z member from Florida, would have joined the growing chorus of calls in the House and Senate in recent weeks to block weapons sales to Israel. Following debate over the resolution Tuesday morning at the DNC’s summer meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the resolution received a resolute bloc of “nay” votes from the panel.
The committee unanimously passed another resolution, proposed by DNC Chairman Ken Martin, that called for the unrestricted flow of aid to Gaza, a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and a “two-state solution negotiated through direct bilateral negotiations.”
“One thing all of us in this room agree on is that the crisis in Gaza is urgent,” Martin said during the meeting. “This resolution is focused on the humanitarian crisis and makes clear that it must be addressed as the emergency that it is.”
But immediately after his resolution passed, Martin withdrew it, saying that he would instead convene a task force to continue discussing Israel issues. The series of developments both highlighted wide-ranging and changing perspectives on Israel within the Democratic Party and also underscored that a more traditional outlook continues to prevail.
Indeed, Martin’s resolution echoes long-standing positions on Israel held by the Democratic party as outlined in its 2024 platform, which affirmed that former President Joe Biden had worked “tirelessly” to ensure the “unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people.”
The debate over the two resolutions reflects a growing divide among Democrats over their stances on Israel as support for the country’s ongoing offensive in Gaza has sharply declined in the past year.
A recent Gallup poll found that among Democratic voters, approval for Israel’s war in Gaza had fallen from 36% in November 2023 to just 8% last month.
The DNC vote comes weeks after a record number of Senate Democrats voted in favor of two resolutions by Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Jewish Independent from Vermont, seeking to block U.S. military sales to Israel. In the House, a growing number of Democrats are also signing onto a bill that would withhold the transfer of offensive weapons to Israel.
Despite waning support among Democratic lawmakers for Israel amid reports of mass starvation and journalists killed in the embattled enclave, the DNC appeared unready to wade into controversial positions such as an arms embargo.
Ahead of the debate over the arms embargo resolution, Minnerly called on the party to “follow the will of our voters and call for an end to U.S. involvement in this particular tragedy.”
“This is a moment that calls for leadership, listening and hard conversations,” Minnerly said. “We urge that beyond calling for a ceasefire, that we acknowledge the devastation and we also outline actionable items for our elected officials with the Democratic Party to align ourselves with the voters of our base.”
Minnerly told the Washington Post that after submitting her resolution, DNC staff contacted her to make “clear that they didn’t think that this resolution was the right thing for this moment.”
During Tuesday’s debate over the resolution, Harini Krishnan, a member from California, criticized the resolution for failing to put “any onus on a militant group that I think is also oppressing the Palestinian people,” referring to Hamas. She added that she hoped that “as a party, we can move beyond this issue.”
In a statement earlier this month, the Democratic Majority for Israel, an advocacy group, also called on DNC members to reject the resolution, calling it “flawed” and “irresponsible”
“Should it advance, it will further divide our Party, provide a gift to Republicans, and send a signal that will embolden Israel’s adversaries,” DMI president and CEO Brian Romick said in a statement. “As we get closer to the midterms, Democrats need to be united, not continuing intra-party fights that don’t get us closer to taking back Congress.”
But Sophia Danenberg, a member from Washington, said that passing Martin’s resolution was “not enough,” adding that “people want to hear a louder, stronger statement, and that this isn’t the time for subtlety.”
“Oct. 7 does not justify the actions of this right-wing regime massacring and starving and slaughtering the Palestinian people,” Danenberg said, later adding, “I do fear that we’re losing our future as a Democratic Party by not being courageous on this issue.”
The DNC, like its Republican counterpart, is charged with establishing the party platform, synching up candidate messaging across multiple elections and publicizing the national party “brand.”
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