Tuesday on CNN’s “The Lead,” Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) said antisemitism is “becoming normalized” in the Democratic Party over Israel policy.
Discussing why he lost his primary, Goldman said, “Well, look, I think, ultimately, this really did come down to Israel. It has taken on a massive and outsized role in Democratic politics.”
Host Jake Tapper said, “Looking at you and the man who defeated you, former Comptroller Brad Lander, you both believe that Israel should exist, you both believe Israel should be a Jewish state in a democracy. The difference is, and you really have to go deeper than just the shallow, superficial level, you don’t call what’s happening in Gaza a genocide. You have a relationship with AIPAC. And you I think you don’t refer to what’s going on in the West Bank as an occupation. Is there room in the Democratic Party for somebody who is progressive on all these other social issues having to do with the United States, but also disagrees with Brad Lander and Mayor Mamdani on these issues having to do with Israel?”
He added, “You go down the sort of list of progressive policies, and I’m on board there. What has I think happened and I think this is really dangerous, is that some of these, as you say, beneath the surface, very complicated, difficult issues have become buzzwords and litmus tests. Genocide, in particular, as you point out, has been adopted by many as a morality test. And the real concern I have is that that has translated into a tremendous danger and fear against Jews in America. Because American Jews are now being held responsible by too many people for what the Israeli government is doing, and that is antisemitism, and it’s becoming normalized. It’s becoming more and more frequent. And both as a Jew myself and having many, many Jewish constituents of all types, a lot are really, really afraid because American Jews are now being dehumanized because of frustration and anger with what’s going on in the Middle East that is anti-democratic, that is anti-American, and that fundamentally flies in the face of everything the Democratic Party has always stood for.”
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