Israel’s support in the Democratic Party is gradually slipping away.

The latest evidence of this seminal shift is Abdul El-Sayed’s victory in Michigan’s Democratic primary on August 4.

El-Sayed, a harsh critic of Israel, may become the first Muslim to serve in the US Senate. A 41-year-old physician, former public-health official and onetime Columbia University epidemiology professor, he defeated Haley Stevens, a 43-year-old four-term pro-Israel congresswoman, by a razor-thin margin of 48.5 percent to 47.5 percent.

It was an intensely bitter race, replete with mutual accusations of anti-Arab racism and antisemitism. Both candidates were vying to replace the retiring Democratic U.S. senator, Gary Peters.

El-Sayed, a member of the party’s leftist progressive wing, will face Mike Rogers – a Republican supporter of Israel who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump – in the November election. The latest polls indicate that Rogers will defeat El-Sayed, who was born in Michigan but whose parents immigrated to the United States from Egypt.

El-Sayed’s victory may be seen as a watershed in American politics. Even a few years ago, the idea that a candidate like him could win a Democratic primary on an anti-Israel platform was virtually inconceivable.

Zohran Mamdani broke that mould last autumn when he became the first Muslim mayor of New York City.

In light of these developments, we have entered a new era in which the Democratic Party’s increasingly influential progressive wing is gaining ground. There is a pro-Palestine current running through it, and politicians like El-Sayed are exploiting this sentiment to the hilt.

Judging by recent CNN and Washington Post polls, about one-third of Democrats new consider themselves democratic socialists, while three-quarters would be open to supporting a democratic socialist for president. The last major American socialist figure, Eugene Debs, contested the presidency five times and won six........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)