Supporting Palestinian Rights Used To Be Considered Far Left. Now It’s Mainstream.

For 75 years, advocates fighting for justice and dignity for Palestinians were relegated to a position on the lonely fringe of American politics and world affairs. No more. 

For nearly five months, in cities across the United States and the globe, hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets to call for Palestinian freedom. Politicians have been hounded during public appearances, while dining in restaurants, and at their homes by protestors calling for end to the Israeli-led genocide that has killed nearly 30,000 Palestinians and displaced around 80% of Gaza’s population. Major labor unions like the AFL-CIO, United Auto Workers and Service Employees International Union have called for a ceasefire. 

Israel’s assault on Gaza has moved the issue of Palestinian liberation squarely into the middle of mainstream political discourse. You would be hard pressed to find a major world city that has not seen historically large pro-Palestinian demonstrations in recent months. Palestine protests have obstructed traffic on San Francisco’s Bay Bridge, blocked roadways into Washington, D.C. during the morning commute and shut down Grand Central Station in New York.

Nevertheless, evidence is mounting fast that President Joe Biden and most members of Congress are imperiling their political futures with their unconditional support for Israel. That’s why we and other progressive leaders are sending an urgent message to the U.S. government: change your position on Gaza and act now to implement a cease-fire.

Gallup shows that 2023 is the first year on record that Democrats sympathize more with Palestinians than Israelis — as recently as 2016, the same poll showed Democrats sympathizing with Israelis over Palestinians by 30 points. Voters continue to support the U.S. calling for a permanent ceasefire and de-escalation of violence in Gaza. This includes 77% of Democrats, 69% of Independents, and 56% of Republicans.

In Michigan’s Democratic primary on Tuesday, the Listen to Michigan campaign, led by Arab-American organizers in Dearborn, encouraged voters to mark ​“uncommitted” in the presidential nomination race to show their outrage at the Biden administration’s unflinching support for the Israeli government amid the bombardment. The effort was able to capture over 13% of the vote, with over 100,000 voters sending a message to the president that his policies on Israel may cost him the state in November. 

Globally Biden’s limitless support for Israel is isolating and embarrassing the United States. In the UK, even conservative politicians like Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary David Cameron have both called for a ​“sustainable cease-fire.” The UK’s current position is a far cry from the cover that former Prime Minister Tony Blair provided former U.S. President George W. Bush when, in 2003, the United States made the case to the international community to invade Iraq. The French foreign minister has also called for an immediate cease-fire, as has the foreign secretary of Germany, which has long been one of Israel’s strongest backers in Europe. The needle has shifted.