Growing rifts among Democratic National Committee staffers over the Israel-Hamas war are threatening President Biden's 2024 presidential reelection campaign, according to a report. The DNC is expected to play an important part in the president's fundraising and campaign strategy, but forces within are creating a divide between those who stand staunchly by the Jewish state and those calling for a "cease-fire" or for Israel to stand down.
Many feel that the president should condemn Israel's military incursion into Gaza to attack Hamas, neglecting to mention that Hamas started this thing when they launched a horrific surprise terror attack on October 7 that left over 1,400 Israelis dead.
Some staffers at the DNC feel despondent about the scale and death toll from Israel's response, and one staffer said they are considering resigning, citing Biden's resolute support for Israel.
A high-ranking DNC official who asked not to be identified told Axios: "The president centered his 2020 campaign on a 'Battle for the Soul of the Nation,' but it seems as though the administration is currently in a battle for its own soul."
"I don't know how you can see supporting the large-scale killing of Palestinian civilians as anything but immoral," the official added.
Others, however, think that Biden has shown leadership:
DNC chair Jaime Harrison told Axios in a statement that Biden "continues to display unparalleled leadership and moral clarity" — and that "Israel has a right to defend itself from terrorism and the continued threat posed by Hamas."
Harrison noted that Biden — who has called for a "humanitarian pause" in the fighting in Gaza, but not a ceasefire — has been "a strong advocate for both humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza as well as protecting civilian lives."
The head of the DNC might think Biden is doing a good job, but on Friday over 50 employees signed an open letter to their leadership calling on them to urge Biden to seek a cease-fire. They chose to remain anonymous, interestingly. The divide appears to be at least somewhat generational:
“As strategic partners to the administration… we feel it is the DNC’s moral obligation to urge President Biden to publicly call for a ceasefire,” the employees, who make up more than 15% of the party’s fundraisers and campaign organizers, wrote.
“I think a lot of us feel it’s increasingly hard to focus on our work,” said one of the signers.
The divide is mainly between young pro-Palestine progressives and older Dems who sympathize with Israel, the staffers said — echoing the internal clashes over the Vietnam War that derailed President Lyndon B. Johnson’s re-election in 1968.
The DNC is not the only area within the administration where troubles are brewing over Israel—there's been turmoil in the State Department, too, as our Becky Noble reported:
There are reports of increased frustration among State Department staff over the Biden administration's U.S. policy on Israel. They also feel as though Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his senior advisors are putting more emphasis on Israel and the fight with Hamas and not enough focus on aid to innocent Palestinians living in Gaza. Dissent among State Department staff comes in the wake of the resignation of Joshua Paul, director of congressional and public affairs for the State Department's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs. Paul cited the reason for his resignation as the U.S. sending arms and ammunition to Israel and what he perceived as “blind support for one side." But it appears now that Paul's exit may be just the beginning.
While all this division is surely giving Biden headaches (if he's paying attention), he can only blame it on himself. Surround yourself with leftists, and this is what you get.
The GOP may have its own divisions, but they're not over Israel: