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Is Anti-Semitism Now Part of the Democratic Coalition?

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Is Anti-Semitism Now Part of the Democratic Coalition?

And is that coalition falling apart?

Bernard Goldberg
Nov 13, 2023
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Is Anti-Semitism Now Part of the Democratic Coalition?

www.bernardgoldberg.com
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As if Joe Biden didn’t already have enough obstacles blocking his path to four more years in the White House, now he’s got one more to add to the list.

A list that includes … his age and questions about his physical and mental fitness for office … the mess on our southern border … crime — and progressive Democratic district attorneys who don’t especially like to prosecute criminals … and of course, there’s the economy — inflation alone could sink his chances of winning a second term.

But now, as I say, Mr. Biden has another problem — but this one isn’t coming from inside the Republican Party. This time, Joe Biden has a problem with Democrats.

Because of his support for Israel after the Hamas massacre on October 7, President Biden faces opposition from a whole array of voting blocs Democrats need if they want to win in 2024. Mr. Biden could lose the support of young voters, of Muslim voters (especially in a swing state like Michigan), of progressive voters in general, and of minority voters in particular.

A headline over a column from Dan Henninger in the Wall Street Journal says, “Democrats Have an Anti-Semitism Problem” — and the sub-headline goes on to say that, “The party never expected Jew-hatred to be a feature of its coalition. Now it is.”

Let’s get the obvious out of the way: One can be against Israel’s policies and for Palestinian statehood. But failing to condemn what happened on October 7 goes way beyond support for Palestinians. Chanting “F**K the Jews” and “Gas the Jews” is not pro-Palestinian; it’s anti-Jewish. And “From the river to the sea”—which we’ve been hearing a lot lately on and off college campuses — means Israel — a country that was established as a safe haven for Jewish people —has no right to exist. As Dan Henniger put it: “The party of Franklin D. Roosevelt has an anti-Semitism problem.”

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