The Democrats Have Surrendered The Pro Palestinian Vote

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The seismic shift in Democratic voter attitudes toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has created a growing chasm between party leadership and its base. Once solidly pro-Israel by a 3-to-1 margin, today's Democratic voters now favor Palestinians by 49% to 38% - a historic reversal that party leaders seem determined to ignore.

This podcast examines how three critical Democratic constituencies are driving this transformation. Palestinian Americans have endured years of dismissal despite American citizens being killed abroad. Their pleas for recognition birthed the Uncommitted Movement - not from political calculation, but from genuine pain and moral urgency. Meanwhile, younger voters view Palestine through the lens of broader justice movements, questioning why America funds military occupation while Flint still lacks clean water. And Black Americans, the party's most loyal voting bloc, recognize uncomfortable parallels between West Bank settlements and America's own history of segregation and racial violence.

The contrast couldn't be sharper: while Democratic leadership clings to outdated pro-Israel positioning, even traditional conservatives like Joe Scarborough now openly criticize Netanyahu's policies. This isn't merely about foreign policy - it's about who gets heard within the Democratic coalition and whether party leaders can evolve with their base. The message from grassroots Democrats is clear: we haven't surrendered our values or our demand for a humane foreign policy. The question remains whether party leadership will listen before it's too late.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:22):
Welcome to the Democrats Surrendered, the
podcast that calls out politicalcowardice, misplaced priorities
.
From the perspective of aMidwestern Democrat, I'm Edward
Williams.
Today's episode is not justabout politics.
It's about principle.
It's about how the DemocraticParty surrendered the

(00:45):
pro-Palestinian vote.
This isn't about crafting theperfect soundbite or fine-tuning
focus group messaging.
It's about human dignity.
It's about who gets heard andwho doesn't.
Let's dive in.
The Democratic Party is facing amoment of reckoning, while

(01:07):
party leadership, like PresidentJoe Biden, senate Majority
Leader Chuck Schumer and HouseMinority Leader Hakeem Jeffries,
remain firmly pro-Israel.
The base tells a very differentstory.
The base has changedDramatically.

(01:28):
What was once a 3-1 pro-Israelparty back in 2013 is now, in
2025, majority pro-Palestinian.
Let's break down the numbers.
Back in 2013, gallup pollsshowed that about 60% of

(01:49):
Democrats sympathized withIsrael, while only 20% expressed
support for Palestinians.
By 2023, that gap had closed.
Support was nearly even.
And by 2024 and 2025, bothGallup and Pew found something

(02:11):
historic 49% of Democrats nowsympathize with the Palestinians
, while only 38% side withIsrael, while only 38% side with
Israel.
This isn't a passing moment,it's not a French view.
It's a generational,demographic and moral

(02:35):
transformation.
And yet Democratic leadershipcontinues to campaign like it's
2008, scolding and alienatingvoters who sympathize with the
plight of the Palestinians.
That's just not outdated.
It's politicallyself-destructive.

(02:57):
Let's talk about someone who hasadapted with the times Joe
Scarborough.
He's a proud pro-Israel formercongressman and TV host, but,
unlike many in Congress,scarborough isn't afraid to
criticize Benjamin Netanyahu.
In April 2024, he called outNetanyahu and Israeli extremists

(03:23):
for rejecting a two-statesolution, warning that without
Palestinian statehood, we'regoing to see war for another 60,
70, 80 years.
He went further, comparingIsrael's blockade of Gaza to
Stalin's deliberate starvationof Ukraine, accusing Netanyahu

(03:47):
of inflicting intentional hunger.
He also condemned the idea thatIsrael's security must come at
the cost of Palestinian rights,calling it a false choice.
So when even Joe Scarboroughcan speak plainly about

(04:07):
injustice, why can'tcongressional Democrats?
The base is watching andthey're asking more questions.
Let's talk about three powerfulvoices at the heart of this
democratic shift PalestinianAmericans, younger voters and

(04:28):
the black community.
Palestinian Americans have beenspeaking up for years, warning
us, pleading for justice.
Consider the killing ofAmerican journalist Shireen Abu
Akleh in 2022, shot whilewearing a clearly marked press

(04:48):
vest.
Or the death of 78-year-oldAmerican citizen Omar Assad, who
was detained, blindfolded andleft to die from cardiac arrest
by the IDF.
And yet Palestinian Americans'calls were met with silence.

(05:09):
But that silence cracked onOctober 7, 2023, and again in
February 2024, with the rise ofthe Uncommitted Movement.
That movement wasn't aboutdivision.
It was about dignity.
It was born from pain, frommoral urgency, from the

(05:32):
desperate need to be seen.
They asked for empathy, theyasked to be acknowledged.
And what did they get?
Silence, dismissal andcondescension.
The message was loud and clearShut up and vote.
Be seen, not heard.

(05:52):
In 2024, four more Americanswere shot in the West Bank
Tawfiq Abel Jabbar fromLouisiana, 17-year-old Mohamed
Kador from Florida, aysenur Aygi, a Turkish-American raised in
Seattle, and Daniel Santiago, ateacher from New Jersey, who

(06:17):
survived his injuries.
And what did the DemocraticParty say?
Almost nothing, noaccountability, not even a
condolence call to the families.
To Palestinian Americans, themessage was devastating you do
not matter.

(06:39):
Now let's turn to Millennialsand Gen Z.
For them, this conflict isn'tabstract.
It's deeply personal.
It's a justice issue, and theysee it with moral clarity.
They relate the Palestinianstruggle to movements they've

(07:00):
grown up with, like Black LivesMatter, indigenous Rights,
climate Justice.
They're not just getting theirinformation from legacy media.
They're watching unfilteredfootage on TikTok, instagram and
X.
They're listening to theirpeers, organizers, student

(07:21):
groups and Jewish allies.
They're asking difficult butnecessary questions.
Why are we funding a militaryoccupation abroad while people
in Flint and Jackson still don'thave clean water?
This isn't a passing trend.
This is a generationalrealignment rooted in human

(07:44):
rights, not political optics.
Now let's focus on theDemocratic Party's most loyal
voting bloc Black Americans.
For many decades, many BlackAmericans have stood with
Palestine, not out of hostility,but from shared recognition,

(08:06):
shared trauma, shared oppressionand shared resistance.
The phrase from Ferguson toPalestine wasn't a slogan.
It was solidarity in action.
In 2014, during the Fergusonprotests, palestinians sent

(08:33):
advice on how to treat tear gas.
That built a bond, and thatbond is stronger than ever.
The parallels between the WestBank and Jim Crow America are
stark.
Whether it's armed settlersbreaking into Palestinian homes,
that's like the Ku Klux Klanraids.
Soldiers shielding armedsettlers while doing it.
That's like when the policeguarded white supremacists.

(08:55):
Palestinian villages gettingtorched that's like Tulsa's
Black Wall Street.
A segregated legal system.
That's like separate but equal.
Even the sterile roads wherePalestinians are banned from
walking on that echoes the ghostof segregated buses and lunch

(09:17):
counters.
These are not hidden atrocities.
They're documented, they'refilmed and they're broadcasted
by the IDF themselves.
Prominent black voices likeAngela Davis, cornel West and
Malcolm X have called it what itis Apartheid, colonialism,

(09:41):
injustice.
Across the country, blackvoters are saying we see the
pattern, we reject it.
We stand with Palestine.
The Democratic base has shiftedand with that shift comes new
expectations.
Vote blue, no matter who justdoesn't cut it anymore,

(10:04):
especially when voters feelignored or betrayed.
That era is over.
Moving forward, party leadershipmust choose honest dialogue
over top-down scolding, because,whether they're ready or not,
the base is.
Let's be clear the Democraticleadership may be clinging to

(10:28):
outdated narratives, recitingtalking points from another era,
but the people, we haven'tsurrendered.
We haven't surrendered ourvoices, we haven't surrendered
our values and we haven'tsurrendered.
We haven't surrendered ourvoices, we haven't surrendered
our values and we haven'tsurrendered our hope for a just
and humane foreign policy.
If the Democratic Party wantsto remain relevant, if it hopes

(10:50):
to lead, it must evolve with itspeople, because we are not
going back.
The party may have surrenderedto a pro-Palestinian vote, but
the people, the people haven'tsurrendered their demand for
justice.
Thank you for listening to theDemocrat Surrendered.
I'm Edward Williams.

(11:11):
If this episode resonated withyou, share it, especially with
someone whose vote has beentaken for granted.
Subscribe for future episodes,and let's keep building a
movement that demands more thanlip service.
Until next time.
Remember the parties may havesurrendered, but we haven't have

(11:54):
it you.