How the Party Turned Against Its Ally

The detention of the student responsible for organizing anti-Israel protests at Columbia University has ignited a heated debate surrounding free speech rights.

Columbia University has emerged as a focal point for the harassment and intimidation experienced by Jewish students across U.S. campuses, part of a broader, coordinated campaign against Israel in response to the Hamas-led atrocities on October 7, 2023.

The organizer of the Columbia protests, Mahmoud Khalil, a 30-year-old Syrian of Palestinian descent, was apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement over the weekend and now faces potential revocation of his green card.

A judge on Monday issued a temporary injunction against any deportation actions.

The Department of Homeland Security asserts that Khalil had “led activities aligned to Hamas.”

However, Senate Judiciary Democrats have responded with a tweet reading: “Free Mahmoud Khalil.”

Additional Democratic legislators, along with civil rights advocates and organizations, argue that Khalil is being persecuted solely for his pro-Palestinian sentiments.

This apparent disregard for the egregious illegal behaviors, harassment, and intimidation that have permeated universities—echoing chants calling for Israel’s destruction and the murder of Jews—makes it even more concerning that support for Israel among Americans has diminished to below 50% for the first time.

Recent Gallup polling shows that only 46% of Americans express more sympathy for Israel than for the Palestinians, compared to 33% who lean toward the Palestinians—a 6-point increase from the previous year.

How could this shift occur?

American backing for Israel has traditionally been as dependable as the dawn.

Israel is seen not only as America’s essential ally in the Middle East but has also received stronger emotional support from Americans than from many Jewish communities worldwide.

This significant decline in support is primarily attributed to Democratic constituents, who now show a remarkable 59% preference for the Palestinians as opposed to just 21% for Israel.

In stark contrast, Republican support for Israel stands at 75% compared to only 10% for the Palestinians.

In essence, Israel has transformed into a partisan issue.

But what has led to Democrats’ turn away from the Jewish state?

The Woke Victim Narrative

Gallup indicates that the Israel-Hamas conflict, along with polarized opinions on President Trump, may be at play.

However, these factors are unlikely to be the main contributors, as these trends have been evolving for years.

The core reason appears to be that Democrats have distanced themselves from Israel due to a broader leftward shift against the nation.

This transformation is largely fueled by a long-standing Palestinian propaganda campaign prevalent in universities and various cultural institutions, shaping generations with a distorted and harmful narrative that has rarely faced significant opposition.

Additionally, the Palestinian cause has become interwoven with the “intersectionality” agenda promoting various “victim” groups connected by race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, and other facets of identity politics.

Such campaigns, characterized by grievance and resentment, challenge the legitimacy of the Western nation-state, which they claim was established on foundational sins of colonialism and racism, casting its inhabitants in light of white privilege.

Israel, as the nation-state of the Jewish people and viewed as a bastion of American power occupied by white Jews—despite most Israeli Jews being of brown or black descent and 20% of the population being Israeli Arabs—is faced with multifaceted condemnation.

Fringe Ideas Enter Mainstream

The liberal-progressive community’s acceptance of radical agendas has shifted perceptions so that viewpoints once marginalized are now seen as centrist, while previously centrist views have been categorized as right-wing or even far-right.

Consequently, attitudes within the Democratic Party that would have once been considered extreme are now accepted as mainstream.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has frequently condemned Israel, accusing it of genocide.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal labeled Israel a “racist state” and was hesitant to definitively denounce the horrific actions of Hamas terrorists during the October 7 assaults in a CNN interview.

When two Jewish Republicans introduced a resolution condemning antisemitism, both Jayapal and Ocasio-Cortez were among the 13 Democrats who voted against it.

Another 92 party members chose to vote “present,” reluctant to either support or oppose the resolution publicly.

Their primary contention focused on the resolution’s claim that “anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism.”

Both the Obama and Biden administrations contributed to perpetuating misleading narratives blaming Israel for hindering peace while overlooking, mitigating, or even funding Palestinian terrorism and incitement against Jews.

For decades, the mainstream media has consistently propagated Palestinian narratives.

The Palestinian cause has become a cornerstone for liberal progressives seeking moral empowerment.

Regrettably, this cause rests on the vilification of Israel.

A Resurgence of Antisemitism

This poisonous narrative has permeated academic institutions.

With liberal progressives predominant within these institutions, they have either ignored or actively facilitated the hate-filled protests and demonstrations that have transformed many campuses into centers of antisemitism.

Instead of defending Jewish students facing this environment of hostility, Democrats have often bolstered it.

In response to frequent and sometimes violent “occupations” of U.S. campuses calling for the destruction of Israel, President Joe Biden stated that the protesters “have a point,” while Vice President Kamala Harris responded to one man accusing Israel of genocide with, “Listen, what he’s talking about, it’s real.”

Trump has pledged to deport foreign students and imprison “agitators” involved in “illegal protests.”

Recently, the administration announced the withdrawal of $400 million in federal grants to Columbia University, accusing it of inadequately addressing antisemitism on campus.

This move is certainly a welcome action.

However, generations have endured indoctrination through propaganda painting Israel in a negative light while glorifying the Palestinian cause.

Moreover, intimidation and violence have become increasingly tolerated across various issues, including movements like Black Lives Matter and Antifa, as well as matters relating to Gaza.

These ideologies are fundamentally anti-Western and anti-American.

In my latest book, “The Builder’s Stone: How Jews and Christians Built the West — and Why Only They Can Save It,” I argue that Jewish values are central to the foundation of Western and American culture.

Core democratic principles—limited government and the rule of law established through the consent of the governed—have their origins in the Hebrew Bible.

These principles guided America’s Founding Fathers as they outlined the tenets of the U.S. Constitution and formed the American nation.

The American nation and its underlying values have faced persistent assault from liberal universalists, spearheaded by the Democratic Party.

Look closely at anyone opposing Israel, and it’s likely you’ll find someone harboring negative views toward the West and denigrating its institutions.

Similarly, many who dispute the West’s legitimacy are often critical of Israel.

The conflict with Israel symbolizes a broader struggle against the West; and opposing the West equates to opposing the Jewish people.

Melanie Phillips is the author of “The Builder’s Stone: How Jews and Christians Built the West — and Why Only They Can Save It,” now available.