When progressive Abdul El-Sayed declared victory on Wednesday against his moderate opponent, US Representative Haley Stevens, he was celebrating a win in a hard-fought Democratic Senate primary battle in Michigan.

But he was also cheering on behalf of a much larger cause: The ascendant anti-Israel movement in the Democratic Party. El-Sayed isn’t the first pro-Palestinian activist to win a major race. But more than any single candidate, his success demonstrates that the party is taking a sharp turn on Israel, and that it’s doing so quickly.

El-Sayed is hardly the first anti-Israel candidate to hoist the Democratic Party’s banner. Zohran Mamdani, who has called pro-Palestinian activism the “core” of his politics, is the mayor of America’s biggest city. A string of anti-Israel candidates have won Democratic primaries in recent months. Several more already serve in Congress.

But in numerous ways, this is a bigger deal than all of those — even if El-Sayed doesn’t win the general election in November. In many senses, in fact, it’s anti-Israel activists’ biggest victory so far — and the biggest defeat for pro-Israel activists, including the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC.

Putting a staunch opponent of Israel at the door of the Senate

For one thing, this is a race for the Senate — not for a House district, and not for a city hall. Every US House member is just one of 435, serving a two-year term. They tend to run the ideological gamut and include not a few people with fringe beliefs.

And Mamdani, for all his power and influence, has no direct role in American foreign policy. He and his critics talk about Israel often, but it’s always refracted through issues within New York’s city limits, like whether he’s going to march in the pro-Israel parade, or whether he can arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, or whether his public condemnations of Israel have anything to do with the rise in antisemitic attacks on his watch.

Senators are far more prestigious and influential, serving in a body of just 100 and elected to six-year terms that span presidential elections. The Senate votes on treaties, and it approves or strikes down defense budgets. Senators also have a history of direct involvement in American foreign policy. Look no further than the late Republican senator Lindsey Graham, who was known for globetrotting, and for his outspoken support for Ukraine and Israel.

Speaking against Israel’s Jewish character

Now, Michigan Democrats have nominated someone for that role who is a vocal critic not just........

© The Times of Israel