Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania has threatened to leave the Democratic Party if it continues down the path of becoming the “anti-Israel party,” a sign of the deepening rift as the party increasingly breaks with Israel and supports Palestinians in the Middle East conflict.
Mr. Fetterman said he has no plans to leave the party, for now, but he drew the line on letting Israel fend for itself without U.S. support.
“If they put that in our platform — no aid for Israel — and officially become the anti-Israel party, then yeah, that’s a red line for me,” he told NBC News on Thursday. One day earlier, nearly half of House Democrats voted to eliminate military aid to Israel.
“Democrats, we always should support Israel. That’s our special ally, you know? In the only democracy in the entire region, that’s Israel. So I’m always proud to stand with Israel,” Mr. Fetterman said.
The surge of Democratic support for the anti-Israel measure — which included longtime establishment figures such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California — triggered other repercussions.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee suspended contributions to more than two dozen House Democrats who voted to cut off U.S. military aid to Israel.
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Although the legislation failed — the only Republican to support it was the amendment’s author, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky — the level of Democratic support rattled AIPAC.
After the vote, AIPAC said in a statement that it was “disappointed by the 103 Democrats who voted with Massie to weaken America and our ally Israel.”
Contributions to some congressional Democrats who opposed the amendment are still active, including those to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York and House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar of California.
“AIPAC members are deeply appreciative of their representatives who stand on principle and are disappointed by those who don’t,” an AIPAC spokesperson said in a statement.
The Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip has helped create a massive divide in the Democratic Party between its liberal base and more traditional members. The fracture also produced fierce primary election challenges against pro-Israel incumbents and prompted a major internal struggle over future foreign policy.
“You look at the kinds of individuals that are winning our recent primaries,” Mr. Fetterman said. “It’s becoming more anti-Israel and hostile to people” who are pro-Israel.
A pro-Palestinian faction in the Democratic Party has rapidly grown from a liberal fringe into an influential force, fueled by shifting voter sympathies and primary victories by younger, far-left and socialist candidates.
Public opinion polling also reflects the shifting dynamics. Data from Gallup surveys showed that, for the first time in more than two decades, Americans sympathized more with Palestinians than Israelis.
Mr. Fetterman said it was time to choose sides.
He said he is ready to walk away “if the Democratic Party officially says, ’Israel is the problem, Israel doesn’t deserve to exist, and I’m never going to support aid, and I’m not going to call out Hamas and Hezbollah and Iran as terrorists, and they are the problem in the region.’”
Mr. Fetterman’s potential exit from the party would complicate Senate Democrats’ attempt to win control of the chamber in the November midterm elections. Democrats need a net gain of four seats to win a Senate majority.
“If we flip those four seats, then I would be 51, and … watch what I do,” he said Wednesday at The Hill Nation Summit.
Mr. Fetterman did not say whether, if he leaves, he would join the Republican Party, become an independent or continue to caucus with Democrats. He acknowledged, however, that Republicans have approached him about his leaving the Democratic Party.
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