CHICAGO — The second night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago saw the repeated elevation of Jewish voices.
The Tuesday program began with an invocation from Los Angeles Rabbi Sharon Braus. It continued with enthusiastic embraces of Gov. JB Pritzker, Gov. Josh Shapiro and Sen. Bernie Sanders from the tens of thousands in the packed United Center; and it featured primetime speeches from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who used the platform to speak out against antisemitism, followed by Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, who reveled in his Jewish identity and how it has strengthened since his wife Kamala Harris became vice president and as she now seeks one final promotion.
Perhaps it was because of the overwhelming visibility enjoyed by Jewish Democrats — including those who support Israel — that efforts by other members of the community to hide the location of the events held on the sidelines of the convention became more noticeable.
The fear of disclosing exact details of such gatherings proved warranted when several anti-Israel protesters burst into an afternoon event organized by Agudath Israel of America and began shouting “Shame!” at the participants and chanting against Zionism. The event ironically dealt with rising antisemitism in the US and had little to do with Israel, but the visibly Jewish Orthodox attendees were apparently an easy target for the masked far-left activists.
Other events organized by Jewish or pro-Israel groups went forward uninterrupted, but attendees of receptions such as the Israeli American Council’s “Hostage Square” were only notified of the pop-up expo’s exact location several hours in advance. IAC also said it set up on private property roughly a mile away from the United Center after failing to secure a permit from the city for a space closer to the DNC perimeter.
And while Jewish events other than the Agudath meeting were held without incident, Tuesday saw a second day of anti-Israel protests, with thousands marching toward the United Center and a handful arrested after clashing with police.
Inside the convention hall, Schumer and Emhoff discussed their Jewish identities and spoke out against antisemitism, but avoided the more controversial topic of Israel altogether.
But to delegates, focusing on the small minority of protesters outside, and the precautions that they have prompted Jewish side-event organizers to take, is to paint an inaccurate picture of the Jewish experience in the Democratic Party, which in many cases appears to be flourishing.
“Doug” signs fluttered across the arena as Emhoff recalled taking the bus to Hebrew school as a child, bringing Harris to High Holiday services after they became a couple and touting her Passover brisket as he shared his Jewish upbringing and adulthood with the crowd.
“Over the past decade, Kamala has connected me more deeply to my faith — even though it’s not the same as hers,” said the second gentleman. “Kamala has fought against antisemitism and all forms of hate, and she encouraged me to take up a fight that’s personal to me.”
Schumer recognized rising antisemitism but was cheered after expressing his desire to root it out so that it doesn’t plague future generations.
“As the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in American history, I want my grandkids and all grandkids to never face discrimination because of who they are,” he said.
While neither Schumer nor the first Jewish spouse of a vice president mentioned Israel, other top speakers during the first two nights of the convention — including US President Joe Biden — didn’t shy away from the issue, talking about the necessity of a hostage release deal as part of a ceasefire in Gaza, and distinguishing themselves from protesters outside who largely direct their demands at Israel and not Hamas.
Democratic delegates also passed a platform that touted an “ironclad” commitment to Israel with audible opposition during Monday’s voice vote.
Jewish Democratic Council of America CEO Halie Soifer, who previously served as Harris’s national security adviser in the Senate, asserted that her former boss will not cut or condition aid to Israel if elected. Speaking at a Tuesday morning sideline event, Soifer recalled how Harris whipped votes in support of a security assistance package earlier in the Israel-Hamas war.
“With regard to support for Israel, the Democratic Party, the Biden administration and Vice President Harris have been very clear: They recognize the special relationship between the United States and Israel, that it’s important for both countries and that Israel has a right to defend itself,” Sen. Ben Cardin told The Times of Israel from the DNC floor.
“They also recognize that the tragedies in the Middle East have been caused by Hamas, supported by Iran, and that we need to eliminate that threat,” added the veteran lawmaker, who is also the chair of the Foreign Relations Committee.
Rep. Jamie Raskin recognized that Harris has adopted a tougher tone than Biden regarding Israel’s prosecution of the war in Gaza, but he argued that Democrats differentiate between the strategic bilateral relationship and the current right-wing government in Jerusalem.
“Kamala Harris has spoken for the vast majority of people here, which is that we are in complete defense of Israel’s strategic security and its survival and its future, and at the same time, we are not going to remain silent about [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and the right wing in Israel being indifferent to civilian casualties and death in Gaza,” he told The Times of Israel from his United Center seat among Maryland delegates.
“If anything, it is the right-wing politicians in Israel who… are the ones who are testing how far the Democratic Party will go,” Raskin argued.
In the meantime, even some of the most progressive of Democrats are refraining from writing off Israel entirely.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez met with the father of slain Israeli-American hostage Itay Chen, taking a photograph with him and expressing her support for the family’s effort to secure the release of his body along with 104 other hostages seized on October 7.
Chen’s father Ruby also told The Times of Israel Tuesday that the American families of hostages in town for the convention were in touch with organizers and that he was cautiously optimistic that they would be given a speaking slot on the main United Center stage before the confab concludes on Thursday night.
This contrasted with pro-Palestinian delegates who at a Tuesday night press conference expressed frustration with the lack of response from DNC organizers to their requests that a doctor who treated wounded Palestinians in the Gaza war zone address the convention.
Jewish and Israel-supporting delegates appeared to have no qualms displaying those identities, as dozens of yarmulkes and yellow hostage ribbon pins were spotted in the audience.
Massachusetts delegate Brian Lis acknowledged that some people make assumptions or project their own feelings onto him upon noticing his yarmulke, but he asserted that he has “received nothing but love and welcoming” from those at the convention.
“I started wearing a kippah the day after Donald Trump was elected because that was the first time in my life that I had felt worried about my status as an American Jew. I decided that I could either lean into it or lean away from it,” Lis said.
“In my own experience, I have been much more worried about violence from the right than I worry about violence from the left. Some on the left say things that don’t make me happy, that can upset me, but I’ve never been worried about violence from the left, and that that is a real hard dividing line,” he added.
Lis said people have a right to be upset over Israel’s prosecution of the war, but lamented that their “emotion is spilling over into really unhealthy places.”
Illinois delegate Bob Morgan cautioned against paying too much attention to the minority of anti-Israel protesters.
“There are tens of thousands of people here, and if you give five out of the tens of thousands the spotlight, media will jump on it. That does not mean that they’re a representative of any large group of people here,” he asserted.
And while the hostages’ families have yet to be represented on the main stage, Morgan noted that they have been featured at a handful of side events. “They are part of the critical fabric of what we’re doing here, and I am always supportive of highlighting them more.”
At the GOP convention last month, one hostage’s parents were given a primetime slot. Republican Jewish Coalition CEO Matt Brooks also spoke, receiving enormous applause after asking the audience to cheer for Israel. The RJC has challenged DNC speakers to make the same request at the United Center this week.
Maryland delegate Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi was dismissive of the dare, arguing that many Republican convention attendees cheered because they’re evangelicals who think “Jews should go there so that there can be a second coming.”
She also argued that Jewish event organizers taking safety precautions isn’t unique to the DNC.
“It’s a very frightening time. We have to be really cautious to take care of ourselves. But I’m loud and proud about my Jewish identity,” Mizrahi said, putting her hand on her yellow hostage pin and “Star of David” necklace.
“I’m incredibly pro-Israel, and I really am worried about Jew hate; but I’m also deeply concerned about innocent Palestinians who are being harmed by the fact that Hamas is using them as civilian shields. I think having empathy for the pain they’re going through, particularly since a large number of them have died, is part of my Jewish values, and I would hope that would be part of the Democratic Party’s values and America’s values,” she said.
Highlighting why the vast majority of American Jews have long supported Democratic candidates, Mizrahi pointed to “proud Jewish governors” Pritzker, Shapiro and Colorado’s Jared Polis.
“We’re a teeny, tiny part of the population, but we’re a big part of the Democratic Party. Jewish leaders are very active in the Democratic Party, because the Democratic Party shares our values on a tremendous number of issues,” she said.