WASHINGTON — The Jewish center did not hold in the midterm elections because the Jewish center is a thing of the past, especially when it comes to Israel.
This is true not just among the Jewish politicians returning to Congress; the eight newly elected Jewish Democrats vastly differ on Israel.
Should Israel get offensive weapons? No, says Brad Lander, newly elected Jewish Democratic congressman from New York.
Absolutely, says Elaine Luria, newly elected Jewish Democratic congresswoman from Virginia Beach.
For decades, the Jewish caucus in Congress was a cohesive unit, the go-to destination for Republican and Democratic leaders who wanted its approval for issues of special interest to Jewish Americans — especially Israel.
At political conventions every four years, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee convened breakfasts for “mishpacha” (family in Hebrew) —the Jewish lawmakers in Congress.
That gathering would be unimaginable now.
Lander ousted incumbent Jewish opponent Daniel Goldman in the Democratic primary in part because Goldman rejected Israel’s conduct in the Gaza war as genocide.
Lander also used AIPAC’s endorsement of Goldman against him — a signal of how divisive AIPAC has become.
Major pro- and anti-Israel voices in Congress
Jewish partisans on Israel — both pro and anti — each claimed that the midterm election proved the appeal of their diametrically opposed positions.
“Brad’s victory in one of the most Jewish congressional districts in the country is proof that our vision for safety, equality, justice, and a thriving future for all Palestinians and Israelis is shared by Jewish voters,” declared IfNotNow.
But the Democratic Majority for Israel touted the wins of pro-Israel Jewish Democratic freshmen and returning lawmakers:
• Luria in Virginia
• Brad Schneider in Illinois
• Kim Schrier in Washington
• Mike Levin in California
• Brad Sherman in California,
• Greg Landsman in Ohio
• Josh Gottheimer in NJ
• Jeremy Moss in Michigan, and, in Florida:
• Jared Moskowitz
• Lois Frankel
• Debbie Wasserman Schultz
The Jewish Democratic Council of America counted 38 Jewish lawmakers in Congress this cycle, including senators who were not up for election on Nov. 3:
25 Democrats in the US House of Representatives, among them the eight freshmen; three Jewish Republicans returning to the House; and 10 Democrats in the Senate.
‘No’ to Israel’s existence
None of the Jewish lawmakers elected Nov. 3 rejected Israel’s existence as a Jewish state, an outlook until Nov. 3 held only in Congress by Democratic Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib.
She was joined after the election by three other rejectionists: Darializa Avila Chevalier in New York, Melat Kiros in Denver and Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan.
Lander, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Vermont Rep. Becca Balint and Scott Wiener accuse Israel of genocide and favor banning most weapons sales to the country.
Another significant cadre, led by reelected Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, oppose the sale of some offensive weapons to Israel as they also say they uphold Israel’s right to defend itself.
Hawks
There are Israel hawks like Gottheimer, Moskowitz and Luria who vigorously defend Israel’s right to obtain US weaponry and reject genocide charges. And that’s just within the Democratic Party.
On the other side of the aisle are three Republicans. Two, David Kustoff of Tennessee and Craig Goldman of Texas, do not oppose a two-state outcome, deferring to Israel to decide its best path forward.
The most outspoken pro-Israel representative, Randy Fine of Florida, favors Israeli control of all the disputed territory.
No more Jewish center
Halie Soifer, CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, said: “The Jewish community is not a monolith and neither are the Jewish members of Congress.
“Jewish voters largely support Israel’s security and right to exist as a Jewish state, and disapprove of the policies of the current Israeli government.
“The same is true of the vast majority of elected Democrats, including Jewish members of Congress.”
Only after Hamas’ deadly raids in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, was there a formal Jewish caucus in Congress. It was launched by Wasserman Schultz.
But even when they lacked a formal structure, Jewish lawmakers would routinely consult with one another on issues of Jewish interest. Presidents and party leaders knew to check in with them before launching any major moves involving Israel.
Before initiating renewed Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in 2007, the Republican George W. Bush administration secured the backing of key Jewish Democrats for expanding assistance to the Palestinians — a precondition to the talks.
Getting the Jewish Democrats on board helped nudge AIPAC, which was deeply skeptical of the PA leadership, into backing the initiative.
That may have been the last gasp of an era of Jewish consensus.
The following year saw the launch of J Street, which believes the US should pressure Israel into a two-state outcome.
J Street from its outset methodically solicited the backing of Jewish Democrats as a means of integrating itself into the community, announcing each Jewish endorsee with fanfare.
Among the first were Reps. Jan Schakowsky of Illinois, John Yarmuth of Kentucky and Steve Cohen of Tennessee.
J Street now competes with AIPAC in influencing Democratic Middle East policy.
In September, J Street established an advisory board consisting of former officials of mainstream Jewish organizations that had once sought to marginalize the lobby.
“J Street is now the political center of gravity on Israel and Palestine in the Democratic Party,” its president, Jeremy Ben-Ami, maintains.
“When the new Congress convenes, nearly two-thirds of the Democrats in the House and Senate will be J Street-endorsed.”
But AIPAC said on Nov. 4 that it “congratulates the hundreds of pro-Israel Democrats and Republicans who won their elections last night.”
It said that “more than 234” candidates supported by its members had won — but did not say how many were Democrats.
Ira Forman, who for years led the now-defunct National Jewish Democratic Council, said the collapse of a congressional Jewish consensus on Israel reflected the reality of a community that no longer spoke as one on the subject — or on any subject.
In his day heading a Jewish organization, he would take cues from giants of the community like AIPAC or the ADL when it was led by the late Abe Foxman.
“Who do you go to now in the Jewish community if you want to know where the center of the Jewish community, the organized Jewish community, is?” he asked.
“Who’s the center? Who’s out there?”
