The Democratic Party is venturing into uncharted territory on Israel as deepening rifts emerge between longtime Zionist allies and a growing faction of lawmakers openly critical of the war in Gaza.

Haunting images of starving children and decimated neighborhoods have jolted Democrats across the ideological spectrum, scrambling long-held loyalties and pushing support for Palestinian civilians to the forefront of the party’s foreign policy agenda. 

Recommended Stories

• Sherrod Brown eyes 2026 Senate bid, giving Democrats glimmer of hope in Ohio
• Congress forges ahead to prevent Trump from making recess appointments
• Cotton asks IRS to investigate tax-exempt Muslim group over terrorist ties

Fearing the erosion of pro-Israel sentiment within the party, Democratic leaders are increasingly distancing themselves from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while grappling with how openly to criticize a military operation against Hamas that has now lasted 22 months.

With the 2026 elections and a 2028 race for president on the horizon, some strategists worry that support for Israel could soon become a liability in Democratic primaries. 

“It is very hard for Democrats to maintain their positions because they’re in a moment of great crisis internally,” said Democratic strategist Hank Scheinkopf. “So it’s not surprising they’re going to turn on their long-term friends [Israel]. Why? Because they’re panicked and they don’t know how to restructure things.”

The divide was displayed this week as freshman House Democrats traveled to Israel on an AIPAC-sponsored trip led by Reps. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar (D-CA). Long viewed as a rite of passage for new lawmakers, the delegation includes meetings with Israeli officials and military leaders, and is expected to include Netanyahu.

But the trip’s rollout has prompted some Democrats to question whether such high-profile engagement with Netanyahu sends the wrong signal amid mounting concern over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

“There’s a growing sense that being tied to Netanyahu is a political risk, not an asset,” said one Democratic source granted anonymity to speak candidly. “It used to be that a trip like this was routine. Now it feels like a liability.” 

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has become the party’s most vocal critic of the United States military support for Israel. Once backed only by a small group of progressive Democrats, Sanders’s monthslong effort to block weapons transfers now commands the support of more than half the Senate Democratic Caucus. “I think members of the Democratic Caucus are catching on,” Sanders said last week.

Twenty-seven Senate Democrats voted last week to block the sale of 20,000 fully automatic rifles to Israel’s national police, and 24 opposed the sale of heavy-grade munitions. The effort drew support from several politically vulnerable incumbents, including Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA), who had previously voted against a similar measure. “There’s overwhelming public concern, sadness, and outrage at the starvation of children,” he told reporters.

Even some of the party’s staunchest pro-Israel voices are recalibrating. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) has issued increasingly urgent calls for humanitarian relief. “All parties, including the U.S. and Israel, have a moral obligation to do everything in our power to ease the hardship and hunger that’s taken hold in the Gaza Strip,” Torres said in an interview with Politico.

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) has echoed those concerns, calling the conditions in Gaza “a travesty” and urging a ceasefire. A Jewish member of Congress, Goldman has focused his criticism on Netanyahu, a strategy Democratic strategist Jon Reinish says is resonating. 

“Goldman is resolutely pro-Israel, but he acknowledges the humanitarian crisis,” Reinish said. “He focuses on bringing the hostages home and ending the war. That’s an effective and adequate message.”

Still, the ground is shifting fast, and Netanyahu’s announcement that Israel intends to occupy Gaza has only deepened the political peril for U.S. lawmakers. “That boxes officials of both parties in even further,” Reinish noted.

Some strategists warn that Democrats are misreading the moment and criticize the majority of Senate Democrats for backing the failed attempt to block U.S. arms sales to Israel.

“There’s a massive difference between bombs going to Gaza and defense systems like Iron Dome that protect millions of Israelis, Jews, Arabs, Christians from annihilation,” Reinish said. “Taking that vote was gutless.” 

Behind closed doors, tensions are rising among younger Democrats who believe party leadership has failed to meet the situation with the urgency it demands.

“Nothing is going to change at the top,” said one senior Democratic source. “Leadership won’t budge, mostly because of fundraising. But younger members are fed up, and the friction is only going to grow, especially in the House.”

To that source, changing Democratic positions aren’t flip-flops, they’re responses to a shifting crisis. 

“This isn’t waffling. It’s a response to a changing reality. Tens of thousands of civilians have been killed. Thousands are starving. American taxpayers are footing the bill. Politicians have to respond,” the individual said.

New polling shows just how dramatically public sentiment is shifting. A Gallup survey released this week found just 8% of Democrats approve of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, the lowest ever recorded. Among Republicans, support has increased to 71%. 

The divide highlights a deeper concern among pro-Israel Democrats: that support for Zionism is eroding within the party base. Nowhere is that more visible than New York City, where Democratic voters recently nominated Zohran Mamdani for mayor, despite millions in outside spending attacking him over his pro-Palestinian views.

In a city with one of the country’s largest Jewish populations, Mamdani’s unapologetically pro-Palestinian platform proved viable and resonant. Many of his supporters have described Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide, language that, until recently, remained on the party’s fringes. Scheinkopf sees the fallout already underway.

“The Democrats are starting to lose the most ardent pro-Israel people, and that’s been going on for quite some time,” he said. “Jewish voters in the suburbs are less likely to keep voting for Democrats, and more Jewish money is going to flow to Republicans.”

To him, this reflects a deeper crisis. “They think they’re gaining the Left,” he said. “But groups like the Working Families Party and [Democratic Socialists of America] aren’t building the Democratic Party, they’re exploiting it for ballot access.”

He also warned that the consequences go beyond elections. “When the U.S. walks away from its allies, enemies take note, and history shows we pay a price. Israel has saved the West more than once, taking out nuclear threats in Iraq, Syria, and Iran. This isn’t a game.” 

While House Democrats moved cautiously through their AIPAC-sponsored trip, a Republican-led delegation struck a more forcefully pro-Israel tone. Led by House Intelligence Chairman Rick Crawford (R-AR), the bipartisan trip included Reps. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), with meetings that included Netanyahu, U.S. diplomats, and hostage families.

“Israel is committed to a peaceful end … but will not cede any ground to Hamas or other Iranian terrorist proxies,” Crawford said in a statement. Gottheimer emphasized the importance of ensuring aid reaches civilians, not terrorists. “There’s no better way to understand the situation than to see it firsthand,” he said.

Even so, cracks are emerging in the GOP’s once-unified stance. Last week, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) became the first Republican in Congress to describe Israel’s actions in Gaza as a “genocide.”

“It’s the most truthful and easiest thing to say that Oct. 7 in Israel was horrific and all hostages must be returned,” she posted, “but so is the genocide, humanitarian crisis, and starvation happening in Gaza.”

NETANYAHU: ISRAEL INTENDS TO CONTROL ALL OF GAZA BEFORE HANDING IT TO ‘ARAB FORCES’

For Democrats, the internal pressure is even more intense. The party is struggling to reconcile progressive critics of Israel with traditional pro-Israel allies, a rift that could soon force a broader identity shift.

“If Democrats force a choice onto Jews,” Reinish warned, “that’s not going to end well.”