President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu embrace on the tarmac at ben Gurion Airport, Oct. 18, 2023. (Avi Ohayon, Israel Government Press Office)

By Jacob Kornbluh August 19, 2024

The Democratic National Convention’s 2024 platform references Israel 29 times, highlighting the Biden-Harris administration’s response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and reaffirming the party’s commitment to providing military assistance to Israel. This comes amid widespread protests against the war in Gaza outside the DNC venue in Chicago, and as speakers on behalf of the pro-Palestinian “Uncommitted” movement expressed hope that Vice President Harris will shift towards supporting a permanent ceasefire and an arms embargo on Israel. 

“President Biden and Vice President Harris have unequivocally denounced Hamas’ brutal attack on Israel” and have “made clear that the United States wants to see Hamas defeated,” the platform reads. The 92-page document, released on Monday, also reiterates the commitment of Biden and Harris to “Israel’s security, its qualitative military edge, its right to defend itself, and the 2016 Memorandum of Understanding is ironclad.” 

Gaza is also mentioned 11 times and there are nine references to the Palestinians, as the platform cites the Biden administration’s push for the three-phased hostage-ceasefire deal that would end the war in Gaza, bring relief to the Palestinian population in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, allows Israelis to return to their homes in the south and the north protected from terror threats, and a path towards a “negotiated two-state solution” and regional peace. 

The more-than-10-month-long war between Israel and Hamas remains a contentious issue that has divided Democrats. The protest movement and some progressive Democrats are keeping up the pressure to have the Democratic ticket embrace their stance. Pro-Palestinian activists are hosting a panel on Palestinian rights on the first day of the convention. 

​​Addressing the  high death toll of Palestinian civilians to Israeli airstrikes and military operations in the Gaza Strip, the platform reads: “President Biden has long believed that partners and allies should be able to deter conflict and defend themselves in ways that safeguard human rights and prevent civilian harm.” (The draft was written before Biden withdrew from the race last month.) 

Abbas Alawieh, a co-founder of the “Uncommitted” movement that refused to vote for Biden because of his policy toward Gaza, said on Monday that he and other Uncommitted delegates had “advocated strongly” for the inclusion of a call for an immediate ceasefire and for an arms embargo against Israel. “The language that we advocated for wasn’t fully incorporated,” he noted, saying there was some language the group likes and some it does not.

At a news conference, Alawieh noted that the platform says Democrats value equally the lives of Israelis and Palestinians, and “we want to make sure that that value is reflected from the DNC main stage,” with the inclusion of a Palestinian-American speaker, a request the party has not yet addressed.

View of the Republicans

Republicans and some Jewish groups have questioned the commitment of Harris and Walz to Israel, citing their engagement with the pro-Palestinian movement. Former President Donald Trump suggested last week that a group of left-wing members of Congress and the protesters “will be running U.S. foreign policy in the White House, and Israel will be gone.”  Matt Brooks, chief executive of the Republican Jewish Coalition, said ahead of the DNC that the RJC would plant 1,800 trees in Israel for each Democrat who praises Israel from the stage. 

Asked by text how many trees the RJC will plant for the 29 positive references to Israel in the party platform, Brooks said, “Zero.” 

President Biden is expected to speak at the DNC on Monday night, a platform given to him as he exits the stage and passes on the baton to his successor. In an interview with Axios, White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients said that the president is focused on solidifying his legacy in his remaining five months in office, with one of his key objectives “securing a hostage deal on a ceasefire in the Middle East.” 

In the three-page section on Israel, the party cites support for the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and the support the Biden administration has provided Israel amid Iranian attacks and threats to target Israelis. “All of this stands in sharp contrast to Trump’s fecklessness and weakness in the face of Iranian aggression during his presidency.” 

The document also cites the administration’s national plan to counter antisemitism, including on college campuses. 

Ahead of the DNC, the Jewish Democratic Council of America’s PAC launched a digital ad campaign that highlights Harris and Walz committed to bolstering the U.S.-Israel relationship and combating antisemitism.

Jodi Rudoren contributed to this report. 

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