Youth wing of the Democratic Party passes amendment opposing Israel’s ‘ongoing genocide in Gaza’

Fatima Heyward, the newly elected president of the Young Democrats of America, speaking at the organization’s convention in Philadelphia last week. (Screenshot)

(JTA) — The Young Democrats of America, the youth wing of the Democratic Party, has passed an amendment to its foreign policy plank opposing the “Israeli government’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.”

The amendment, which passed narrowly at the organization’s convention in Philadelphia last week, also expresses opposition to the Israeli government’s “occupation of the West Bank, and its denial of civil and political rights on an equal basis in the territories it militarily occupies,” according to an updated foreign policy plank reviewed by Jewish Insider.

The changes to the organization’s foreign policy stances underscore a sharp decline in the perception of Israel across the Democratic Party as Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza wages on after more than 21 months.

Last month, a poll released by Quinnipiac University found that among Democrats, 12% said that their sympathies lay more with Israelis, while 60% sympathized more with Palestinians. In February, a Gallup poll found that just 33% of Democrats have a favorable view of Israel overall.

The Young Democrats of America added the word “genocide” to an existing amendment which outlined its policy stances for the years 2023 to 2025. It was proposed to “reflect current events and align with present-day actions,” according to a platform committee document from the convention obtained by Jewish Insider.

Using the term “genocide” to describe Israel’s ongoing offensive in Gaza has become a lightning rod for discussions surrounding the war. Israel and its supporters vehemently deny the characterization, but as the death toll mounts in Gaza and killings at aid distribution sites have been reported on a near-daily basis, some of Israel’s supporters are beginning to use the term, as are a number of scholars of genocide.

At the biennial convention last week, YDA also approved a resolution that voiced support for student protests “against U.S. complicity” in what it called the “Israeli government’s genocidal actions in Gaza,” according to a document shared with Jewish Insider.

Last year, some Jewish caucus members criticized the group’s denunciation of former President Joe Biden after he gave an address condemning violence at pro-Palestinian campus protests.

But despite the organization’s condemnation of Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, some efforts to amend YDA’s Middle East policy plank failed to pass, including an effort to strike a line that endorsed Israel’s “right to exist as a Jewish democratic state,” according to Jewish Insider.

Some delegates also proposed removing language that condemned “the oppression of the Iranian government” and backing “anti-regime protests,” which was met by alarm by Jewish members following Israel’s ceasefire with Iran, according to Jewish Insider.

While those proposals failed to pass, one member of YDA’s Jewish caucus told Jewish Insider that the fact they were suggested “presents a scary reality.”