Conclusion : The attitude of the U.S. Democratic Party towards Israel is undergoing the most dramatic change in decades. From the vote in Congress to the run-up to the election, an increasing number of Democrats no longer unconditionally supported Israeli military operations and settlement expansion, but instead promoted specific legislation such as sanctions and restrictions on military sales. This disagreement has evolved from a policy debate to a driving force behind the reorganization of power within the party and will profoundly influence the medium-term elections of 2026 and the presidential elections of 2028.
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The vote on the Hill of Congress turned around.
Last week, the United States House of Representatives voted on an amendment to reduce military assistance to Israel. The amendment proposed by the Republican Deputy Thomas Massie from Kentucky aims at reducing military assistance by $3.3 billion per year from the State Council Appropriations Bill. The vote ended with 314 votes and 104 votes in favour, but the point is that 103 Democrats voted in favour — close to half of the House Democrat Caucus.
This figure stands in stark contrast to the same vote in 2024. At that time, only 37 Democrats supported the cut in aid. Within two years, the number of pro-reduction Democrats jumped from 37 to 103, an almost threefold increase. This shift is taking place in the context of the Israeli military operation in Gaza following the Hamas attack of October 2023 and the large number of Palestinian civilian casualties caused by the operation.
It is worth noting that the Democratic Party leadership did not impose party discipline in this ballot. Hakeem Jeffries, D-NY, leader of the House of Representatives’ Minority Party, joined 97 Democrats in opposing the amendment, while Katherine Clark, the Second Democrat of the House, from Massachusetts, supported the cuts with 102 Democrats. Ten more Democrats abstained. The Jeff Lisbonians in general remain supporters of relations between the United States and Israel, but he was asked at a press conference about Israel-related legislation that might be promoted by Democrats, pointing to another bill, the West Bank Violence Prevention Act.
The West Bank has become a new legislative focus
Jeffreyus made it clear that settler violence in the West Bank had become a priority for the Democratic Party. He called settler violence in the West Bank "out of control" and said, "This cannot continue". The West Bank Violence Prevention Bill, which was designed to restore the West Bank sanctions regime established during the Biden Government — originally designed to punish Israeli settlers who committed acts of violence — was repealed by the Trump Government. The bill also specifically targets members of the Government of Israel associated with or acquiescing in settler violence, as well as other persons supporting such activities.
At the same time, the Senate Democrats are pushing for relevant legislation. It was reported that the Senate Democrats had proposed a bill to impose sanctions on those promoting controversial West Bank settlement projects, in particular the construction of the E1 settlement. The Senate is also promoting a vote to hold Israel accountable for the killing of United States citizens in the West Bank, which is approaching. In addition, Democrat Meeks has imposed a stand-off motion on the $2.8 billion bomb of the Trump government against the Israeli military, a rare attempt by Democrats to stop sales.
In fact, the Democrats' relaxation of the Israeli position was already evident months ago. On 15 April 2026, the United States Senate considered two resolutions sponsored by the Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders, aimed at preventing sales to Israel totalling nearly $450 million on the grounds of human rights concerns. The first resolution was aimed at preventing the sale of a $295 million bulldozer, which Israel had used to destroy civilian homes. - The resolution was rejected by 59 votes to 40; the second resolution was aimed at preventing the sale of 12,000 1,000 pounds of bombs amounting to $151 million, which was rejected by 63 votes to 36. Unfortunately, more than three quarters of the 47 Democrat senators voted in favour of stopping at least one military sale, unprecedented in history.
The three parties in the party fought in the 2028s.
There have been at least three camps within the Democratic Party for Israel. One, represented by Jeffreys, maintains overall support for American-Israeli relations, but begins to express dissatisfaction with settler violence; the other, represented by progressists such as Sanders and Tammy Duckworth, has long advocated aid cuts and pressure on Israel; and the third, between the two, between positions and events.
This disagreement is reshaping the pattern of electoral warfare. Anti-AIPAC groups have targeted nine House Democrats and are ready to challenge them during the 2028 electoral cycle. In the first elections for the Democrats in New York and Colorado, socialist candidates who strongly criticized Israel and opposed the continuation of military assistance recently won seats in the House of Representatives. The question of Israel is expected to be one of the key issues in the November 2026 midterm elections.
The depth of the differences within the party can be seen in the transformation of some iconic figures: Seth Moulton, a former Democrat and Senator in Massachusetts, voted for cuts in the Senate; Nancy Pelosi, former Speaker of the House, also voted for cuts, which she called "the most painful thing I have ever done". Meanwhile, Senator John Fetterman of Arizona warned that the Democrats were becoming "increasing anti-Israel".
A profound change in the attitude of the electorate is behind the internal change of positions within the Democratic Party. A poll commissioned by the Arab American Association indicated that 62 per cent of Democrats believed that the United States should take additional measures to pressure Israel to stop the bombing and withdraw from southern Lebanon, with only 17 per cent holding the opposite view. The gap between the positions in favour of pressure and the basic positions of the Democrat electorate is close to four to one.
However, differences also gave rise to tensions within the party. According to Boston reports, the failure of some left-wing Democrats to recognize the link between anti-Israeli rhetoric, anti-Semitism and violence has provoked criticism within the party. On the Israeli side, the Israeli Democratic Party, led by the former Labour leader, Yair Golan (which was formed in July 2024 by the merger of the Labour Party and the left-wing Meretz), has also changed in the recent past, and Ganz, after a meeting with opposition leaders, has indicated that Arab parties may be involved in the next Israeli coalition government.
In the short term, the Democratic Party is expected to focus its legislation on settler violence and settlement expansion in the West Bank, and the West Bank Violence Prevention Bill and the E1 Sanctions Bill may enter the voting process. In the run-up to the mid-November 2026 elections, the Israeli issue will continue to fertilize in the Democratic Party ' s initial elections and become a major watershed in the polarization of candidate positions. During the presidential election cycle of 2028, Israeli policy is expected to be one of the central issues in the internal debate in the Democratic Party - – It is not only about diplomatic positions, but also about the party’s ability to regain its increasingly pluralistic electoral base.