As we get closer to the November elections, Democrats are still in disarray over their support for Israel, our ally in the Middle East. FEC records also show that leftist donors are funding Democrats running for House seats this cycle, including in close races.
Specifically at issue is Alisa Doctoroff of the UJA-Federation of New York, who has donated to far-left groups like the New Israel Fund (NIF), as well as vulnerable Democratic incumbents. They include Reps. Don Davis of North Carolina's 1st Congressional District, Gabe Vasquez of New Mexico's 2nd Congressional District, Susan Wild of Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District, Matt Cartwright of Pennsylvania's 8th Congressional District, and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington's 3rd Congressional District.
All members received $3,300 from Doctoroff, except for Gluesenkamp Perez, who received $6,600.
These races are all largely regarded as "Toss-Ups," though Decision Desk HQ regards Gluesenkamp Perez's seat to be "Lean Republican."
Some of those Democrats have been among those voting against pro-Israel bills.
On June 4, Vasquez and Wild were among 155 Democrats who voted against sanctioning the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act, after the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced arrest warrants for Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The House took several pro-Israel votes to do something about Iran in April, not long after Iran attacked our ally in the Middle East. One was the Standing Against Houthi Aggression Act, which 135 House Democrats voted against, including Wild.
Doctoroff has also funded House Democratic candidates, including Kirsten Engel in Arizona's 6th Congressional District, Lanon Baccam in Iowa's 3rd Congressional District, Curtis Hertel in Michigan's 7th Congressional District, Mondaire Jones in New York's 17th Congressional District, and Josh Riley in New York's 19th Congressional District. All candidates received donations of $6,600.
She also donated $3,300 each to other House Democratic candidates in four U.S. House races out of California, including Adam Gray in the 13th Congressional District, Rudy Salas in the 22nd Congressional District, Will Rollins in the 41st Congressional District, and Derek Tran in the 45th Congressional District.
Reporting in early 2015 by Ronn Torossian of JewishPress.com dug into Doctoroff's background, including her support for the NIF:
Research reveals that Doctoroff, is a donor to New Israel Fund (NIF) as revealed in their annual report. NIF is an extreme left-wing organization, committed to working against the interests of Israel all over the world. From funding Anti-Israel reports at the United Nations, to their recent financial support for terrorists and their families who killed Jews in Jerusalem while praying, NIF is extreme, and far from mainstream. NIF clearly still on their website identifies with BDS. As seen by clicking here, one can learn that “NIF will thus not exclude support for organizations that discourage the purchase of goods or use of services from settlements.” That is called a boycott of Israel – for an organization which receives personal financial support from UJA’s President.
In addition to donating to an organization which supports BDS, Doctoroff noted on a recent trip to Israel, “one of the most impactful experiences on her Encounter trip was her home-stay with a Palestinian family.” She and the family’s son talked late into the night, poring over maps and talking about non-violent activism.
The President of one of the largest Jewish organizations in the world is gushing over Palestinians who are breaking the law – and harming Israeli soldiers. This “non-violent” Palestinian activism harms the State of Israel.
...
...Ms. Doctoroff is also a board member of the Social Venture Fund for Jewish-Arab equality & shared society, whom in a recent annual report discussed the need for “job placement and integration of Arab teachers into Jewish schools.” There are surely many issues for Israeli and American Jews to tackle, but the President of the largest Jewish organization in North America must have more important concerns than Arab teachers in Jewish schools. Tellingly, she has not been an advocate for Jewish teachers in Arab schools to end the rampant Anti-Israel sentiment amongst Israeli Arabs, or eliminating the books and courses that teach anti-Semitism to Palestinian children.
A simple search of the NIF website shows that the organization still includes pro-BDS movement language, even more recently than in 2015. An August 4, 2022, piece from its CEO, Daniel Sokatch, addresses "Why Anti-BDS Bills Are Bad for Democracy, Both in Israel and the United States."
Sokatch claims, with original emphasis, "While neither I nor NIF support the BDS movement (in fact, our raison d’être is to raise and invest millions of dollars each year in Israel in order to build progressive civil society there), too often the debate around BDS in American politics serves as something of a red herring," though his piece still includes anti-Israel language.
For instance, there's a claim that "the bigger problem for Israel and those of us who care about it [is] Israel’s continued military occupation of the West Bank, its more than half-century of control over the lives of the millions of Palestinians who live there, and its unceasing settlement expansion in that occupied territory."
Sokatch, with original emphasis, also cites previous comments of his claiming, "Israel doesn’t have a BDS problem, it has an occupation and a settlement problem."
Even more recently, NIF called on Congress to disinvite Netanyahu, who addressed a joint session on July 24. Many House Democrats boycotted the speech, and President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were absent, despite it being Harris' role to preside.
As the July 12 post mentioned [emphasis original]:
Following Talia [Sasson] and her co-authors’ lead, the New Israel Fund invited Americans to ask Congressional leaders to listen to the voices of these patriotic Israelis and cancel the Netanyahu address. NIF will deliver this letter with all of the signatures to the top four leaders in Congress. Click here to add your name to the letter before it is too late.
A protest is also being organized in Washington, DC, near the Capitol Building at noon on July 24, 2024. Follow UnXeptable on Facebook for more information on this protest.
It's worth reminding that many of the anti-Israel, pro-Hamas protests in Washington, DC, that day involved burning American flags and desecrating American statues and monuments.
Speaking further about Harris, although Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) was largely expected to be her running mate and even walked back pro-Israel positions, she ultimately went with Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN).
There has been speculation and concern that skipping over Shapiro, who is Jewish, speaks to antisemitism in the Democratic Party as well as a need to cater to the anti-Israel, far-left, pro-Hamas part of the base. So-called progressives had expressed their concerns with a Shapiro pick.
House Democrats were among those pushing Harris to go with Walz instead, including Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
NIF also signed onto a statement on July 22 indicating that "Prime Minister Netanyahu is Not Welcome Here."
"We are living in an unprecedented time – a time in which the most radical settler elements of Israeli society sit at its helm, empowered by Prime Minister Netanyahu to eviscerate its democratic foundations. And such a time demands an unprecedented response," the statement began in part.
The statement also went on to reference Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's (D-NY) remarks from March, when he gave remarks from the Senate floor calling for Netanyahu to be replaced. Such remarks were strongly condemned, including in Israel:
We agree with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer when he said that Netanyahu is an obstacle to peace, and that he “has lost his way by allowing his political survival to take precedence over the best interests of Israel.” This is a leader who is putting himself first; not his country. For the vast majority of American Jews, and anyone who wants to see a democratic future for Israel, it is our obligation to voice protest against Netanyahu in DC this week, and to show up to demonstrate our support for Israelis and Palestinians.
An NRCC spokesperson provided a statement to Townhall on the findings, highlighting how antisemitism affects the top of the ticket, as well as down-ballot races.
"It doesn’t matter if it’s the top of the ticket or the House members in the Democrat Party, Democrats always do the bidding of their antisemitic pro-terror donors," the spokesperson said.