WASHINGTON (CN) – Democrats could end up mired in a long, contentious internal battle over U.S. support of Israel as President Donald Trump throws his support behind the country’s control of a disputed territory and continues to suggest Democrats are against Jewish people.
Fielding questions from reporters about several Democratic lawmakers and 2020 presidential hopefuls who have opted to skip the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference in Washington, D.C., next week, Trump said from the south lawn of the White House Friday: “The Democrats have very much proven to be anti-Israel. There’s no question about that. And it’s a disgrace. I mean, I don’t know what happened to them but they are totally anti-Israel.”
“Frankly, I think they’re anti-Jewish,” he added.
The president’s commentary comes at a significant moment for both U.S. and Israeli politics.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is up for re-election next month and Trump’s abrupt decision Thursday to publicly reverse longstanding U.S. policy by tweeting support of sovereign Israeli control of disputed territory in Golan Heights shows the administration will continue to firmly throw its weight behind Netanyahu.
But the maneuver also forces Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill to firm up their own positions on Israel, which could pit them against one another. Or it could force them to form a unified front within their party, no small task given the steady number of internal divisions that are stacking up.
Most recently, Democratic presidential contenders for 2020 like Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Kamala Harris of California, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Bernie Sanders of Vermont announced they will forgo attending this year’s AIPAC conference.
Other candidates like former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke, Indiana Mayor Peter Buttigieg, Washington Governor Jay Inslee and Starbucks CEO Howard Schulz have also opted out.
In a statement Thursday, Sanders spokesman Josh Orton said the Jewish senator wouldn’t attend because he was concerned “about the platform AIPAC is providing for leaders who have expressed bigotry and oppose a two-state solution.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer will attend the conference next week, however, as will several other Democratic lawmakers like New York Congressmen Eliot Engel and Hakeem Jeffries. All are scheduled to deliver remarks.
Engel doubled down on his position Thursday. The lawmaker introduced new legislation proposing sanctions on any foreign government that supports Hamas, a Palestinian fundamentalist network which has long warred with Israel over territory in the region.
Engel’s bill is aligned with another piece of legislation drafted by two prominent Jewish Democrats, Representatives Jerry Nadler of New York and Brad Schneider of Illinois.
The congressmen unveiled a resolution condemning Global, Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which, according to its website, “works to end international support for Israel’s oppression of Palestinians and to pressure Israel to comply with international law.”
The lawmakers’ resolution – which could face a vote next week and is already enjoying Republican support- stands in direct opposition to supporters of the BDS movement in the Democratic caucus: Representatives Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.
Though Tlaib could not be reached for comment Friday morning, her spokesperson said Thursday that the first Palestinian-American woman ever elected to Congress would oppose Nadler’s resolution because it threatens free speech.
Omar has lent support to the BDS campaign in the past, and in recent weeks has become a catalyst for debate over U.S. support of Israel, and Democratic support of Israel in particular.
On March 7, after Omar made a statement suggesting politicians only support Israel so they can drum up donations from pro-Israel advocates, the House passed a resolution condemning hate and intolerance, including speech that may be seen as anti-Semitic or discriminatory toward Muslims.