Democratic tensions over Israel threaten to boil over at Chicago convention

[Geee]

The Hill

The debate within the Democratic Party over Israel could come to a head this summer at its convention as it faces a significant intraparty divide on how to approach the ongoing conflict. 

Members of the party critical of U.S. support for Israel amid its war with Hamas have rallied around a movement to buck President Biden in the Democratic primaries and vote “uncommitted” as a protest vote against him. The movement has seen moderate success and attained some delegates to be sent to the convention, which will be held in Chicago in August.

 

Some Democrats are concerned that the divisions on display will just grow worse ahead of the quadrennial process of approving the party’s official platform this summer.

“I do think at the convention, for sure, I would be really surprised if there weren’t significant protests on this issue, and unfortunately, I don’t think there’s a lot that Biden can do between now and then to change that,” said Heather Gautney, a member of the 2020 Democratic platform drafting committee. 

Each party drafts its platform every four years ahead of their nominating conventions after an extensive process to set its policies on all the key issues facing the country. In 2020, then-candidate Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) agreed to form a series of task forces to bridge the divide between two factions of the Democratic Party following a serious primary battle between the two of them. :snip: