War Between Democrats Over Gaza Pits Establishment vs. the Left

The Democratic Party has been riven by strife between warring factions: the Establishment, closely allied with the Israel Lobby; and the progressive wing associated (loosely or directly) with Democratic Socialists of America.  The Establishment has declared the left an existential threat. It’s created new lobbying groups like the Third Way (others are here and here), and corporate donors have showered funding on these new ventures.  The object is to defeat progressives either in primaries or the general election.

It’s reminiscent of the battle within Labour during the Corbyn years. The difference being that the Democratic socialist left is fielding scores of candidates nationwide and winning elections, which will result in power to enact its progressive agenda in Congress.

Some of the Party centrists have even taken the extreme step of supporting Republican candidates like Mike Rogers, who is running for a Michigan senate seat against Arab-American, Abdul el-Sayed.  Democrats are willing to make alliances with right-wing Republicans in order to prevent progressives from winning seats in Congress.  Nothing like this has ever happened on this scale within the Party: Democrats waging war on each other.

Actually, it’s the “moderates” who are at war against the insurgents.   The former have held power for so long that any threat, especially a serious one like this, demands full mobilization.  One of the Party’s most-noted campaign consultants has called for a “schism,” likening the battle to a religious crusade. The former mayor of Chicago, a declared 2028 presidential candidate, accused the left of attempting a Party “takeover.”  A former head of the Demcoratic Party labeled leftists as the enemy within, and urged them to leave and start their own. It ain’t gonna happen. The left will not go quietly. Either the centrists accomodate or they will be swept away.

El-Sayed, scourge of the Party elite

The poster child for these hostilities is Michigan Senate candidate, El-Sayed. Though he’s not a DSA member and not running explicitly as a democratic socialist, his platform is very much in tune with its agenda to:

…Get money out of politics, put money in your pocket, and pass Medicare for All. He is fighting for an economy and healthcare system that work for everyone, affordable housing for all…He’s committed to accessible education and…foreign policy rooted in diplomacy and justice.

The most controversial of his views concerns Israel’s genocide in Gaza.  In parallel with the Party’s grassroots, he has denounced Israel’s war on Gaza as a genocide, and called for ending US aid to Israel. A recent poll shows that a plurality of Democrats (47%) agree with him.

But the Party mandarins, held captive by Aipac and its hundreds of millions in campaign cash, are treating his candidacy as a three-alarm fire. They call him anti-Semitic. They falsely link him to the Muslim Brotherhood.  They accuse him of supporting Hamas.  All lies.  But they are so desperate, they’ll resort to blatant falsehoods if it will offer any advantage.  It won’t.  It is the Party elite that is out of sync.  It is the dinosaur facing extinction.

Some portions of the Jewish community too are outraged by el-Sayed’s outspoken views on Israel.  The state’s Jewish attorney general has warned that she and other Jews could leave the Party if it doesn’t change course and reject progressive candidates like el-Sayed. Given that 80% of Jews vote Democratic, that seems little more than an empty threat.

America’s most powerful lobby, Aipac spent $32-million to defeat el-Sayed in the senate primary.  Its loss hasn’t deterred it from doubling down for the general election. Though his Republican opponent, Mike Rogers, has rejected direct Aipac donations, he’s welcomed the Lobby group’s related dark money PACs, which plan to spend even more in support of his opponent.

The Party’s future lies with progressives who are largely young and new to political activism.  They reflect the prevailing mood of the American public. A Brandeis University study found that 74% of college students say that Israel is commiting genocide in Gaza. 77% held a favorable view of Palestinians. There was a 25% gap with those who held favorable views (52%) of Israelis. Young people demand change, including more robust opposition to Trump’s disastrous policies.  The elites on the other hand, reflect the interests of their corporate donors, having long lost touch with the grassroots.

The leadership must come to terms with its grassroots, 48% of whom would never vote for a candidate who took Aipac funding. A separate July poll found that 52% of Democrats believe Israel is committing genocide. 58% say the US is “too supportive of Israel.” 71% support restricting or opposing military aid. A 2025 poll found that 40% of American Jews believe Israel is committing genocide. For the first time in the history of polling more Americans sympathize with Palestinians (41%) than Israelis (36%). These are shocking polling numbers which reveal how low Israel has sunk among Democrats in particular.  A political reckoning is upon us.  The Party elites must lead or get out of the way. If they don’t they will be swept away.

Piker as Party bête noire

One of the leading figures on the Democratic left is the podcaster-influencer, Hasan Piker.  Over the past few years, he has broadcast his radical, populist views to his 3-million subscribers on Twitch.  Progressive Democratic candidates have embraced him. He’s made multiple campaign appearances for them.  He’s endorsed El-Sayed, and the admiration has been mutual.

But he has become the bete noire of the Israel lobby. He’s sent Aipac into paroxysms of hysteria.  In the latest development, they’ve latched on to a recent interview in which Piker noted (correctly) that American Jewish Zionists endanger all Jews, because their support for Israel implicares them in its genocide. He said:

 “…The idea that Jews are monolithic. . . is a very dangerous mode of propaganda. People don’t f— with Israel any longer, and if Jews in America keep putting this idea out there that they are singularly invested in Israel, eventually someone is going to come around and take action, not against the state of Israel, mind you, but against American Jews.”

There has been a drumbeat of recrimination targeting El Sayed, as scores of Establishment Democratic officials, from liberals like Sen. Jon Ossof to trogdolytes like James Carville, sound off. They rush to their social media platforms to tell the world of their shock at Piker’s purported hate speech. Opponents have tagged Piker as El Sayed”s “running mate, as if the latter voiced Piker’s words himself.

Not surprisingly, ten Congressional Democrats who denounced Piker received a total of $12-million from Aipac. Clearly, it has mobilized its political allies to defeat anyone willing to say what the mass of Democrats believe: that Israel is committing genocide and US military aid must stop.  Piker serves as a foil. He is not the target. They could care less about him.  It’s el-Sayed who is the real target.  They will use any angle, any chink in his armor to savage him.

Piker also reserved some of his ire for Aipac in stoking this controversy:

…The last 48 hr media frenzy is exactly why people don’t trust institutions from corporate media to our bought & sold political class. most of these orgs, and plenty in the media will operate like lapdogs for aipac with no care or consideration for nuance, the truth or how the majority feels about anything.”

Hollywood backlash

The Israel Lobby has enormous influence too in Hollywood. Larry Ellison, the billionaire founder of Oracle, is attempting to merge his company, Paramount with Warner Brothers in a $110-billion deal.  It would create a massive media monopoly. Ellison is also an outspoken supporter of Israel.  The company’s CEO too has boasted of the “really profoundly scary” surveillance technology it has provided Israel since 10/7.

Prominent film actor, Mark Ruffalo, who opposes the Ellison merger, linked Israeli genocide, Oracle’s sales of represive trechnology to Israel, and profits being employed to fund the merger. He offered this scathing rebuke:

These ‘really profoundly scary technologies’ will most likely be merged into one of the largest media conglomerates in the world and one day used on you,” Ruffalo wrote. “Look how [Catz] revels in what we now have come to see as a genocide, which was built on an apartheid system of oppression powered by Oracle.”

The response from Hollywood producers and studio executives was fast and furious. Paramount accused Ruffalo of anti-Semitism, even though he hadn’t referred to Jews in his statement.  Jane Fonda and other actors joined in defending Ruffalo.  This was once again a battle between the Hollywood Old Guard protecting their privilege and the young insurgents advocating for peace and justice over profit.

Violence begets violence

The murder of 100,000 Palestinians arouses fierce hostility among the survivor victims and global public opinion.  Violence begets violence, as Martin Luther King Jr famously said. It is a natural human response in such circumstances to seek retribution.

Zionist Jews have become accessories to Israeli genocide.  If you are a Zionist, you must answer for its crimes. There are no innocent bystanders. Israel’s supporters share responsibility for its crimes.  They cannot escape it.  They have created an unholy alliance, which conflates Jews with Zionism.  There is a price to be paid.  That’s why there have been violent (and non-violent) assaults against Zionist institutions and individuals.  But in the eyes of many Zionist Jews, even non-violent protest poses a physical threat. Legitimate speech has been criminalized both in America and the UK.

American Jews are increasingly recognizing this jeopardy. They are also disgusted by Israel genocide, and 75 years of apartheid and occupation. These are not Jewish values. There is nothing Jewish about genocide.

Zionism has forced Jews to make a choice. As a result, many have become anti-Zionist. This viewpoint once considered marginal in Israel- related discourse, is now mainstream. A Jewish federation poll found that 15% of American Jews identified as anti-Zionist while only 37% identified as Zionist. These results mark a radical departure for American Jews, who have been taught from birth that Israel is their Jewish homeland. Now it has become a Jewish nightmare and certainly no longer a home, if it ever was.