PRO-ISRAEL DEMOCRATS CAN PRIMARY DSA INCUMBENTS, TOO

For years, the Democratic Socialists of America and allied organizations have used Democratic primaries to target elected officials who support Israel.

This Tuesday, voters in Michigan have an opportunity to reverse that strategy.

Representative Rashida Tlaib is facing two challengers in the Democratic primary for Michigan’s 12th Congressional District. One of them, former Michigan state representative Shanelle Jackson, has spoken directly about rising antisemitism, defended the relationship between the United States and Israel, opposed the BDS movement, and emphasized the importance of rebuilding the historic alliance between Black and Jewish Americans.

I am endorsing Shanelle Jackson.

Elections often present a clear choice before every question has been answered. This one does.

Rashida Tlaib has become one of the most prominent anti-Israel voices in Congress. She supports the BDS movement, rejects the traditional two-state framework in favor of a single state, and has repeatedly used rhetoric that many Jewish Americans understand as denying Israel’s right to continue existing as a Jewish state.

In November 2023, the House of Representatives censured Tlaib by a vote of 234 to 188. The resolution accused her of promoting false narratives concerning the October 7 Hamas attack and using language that lawmakers interpreted as calling for Israel’s destruction. Tlaib rejected that interpretation and said her criticism was directed at the Israeli government rather than the Jewish people.

Nevertheless, the censure reflected how far her rhetoric had moved beyond ordinary criticism of Israeli policy.

There is a profound difference between criticizing an Israeli government and supporting a movement whose demands would ultimately eliminate Israel as the national home of the Jewish people.

There is also a difference between advocating for Palestinian rights and repeatedly presenting Israel as uniquely illegitimate while minimizing the........

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