A rift over Israel threatens the left’s fragile gains

Six days after Hamas launched attacks on Israel that killed over 1,300 people, the country’s critics inside the Democratic Party are back on their heels.

Politicians known for almost never “punching left” made clear they needed to do so this time or lose all future credibility. In Manhattan, a rally endorsed by the local Democratic Socialists of America that featured hateful displays was sharply condemned by two of the group’s most closely associated members in Congress — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Jamaal Bowman, who’d let his own membership lapse over a prior dispute over Israel.

In Michigan, Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s Democratic colleagues attacked her statement that Israel’s “apartheid” system created “conditions that can lead to resistance.” In California, DSA-backed politicians who’d denounced Hamas were called anti-semites by Democratic opponents for not quitting the socialist organization.