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YOUNG VOTERS DON'T REALLY CARE ABOUT GAZA, BUT SOME YOUNG ACTIVISTS DO.

Anti-Israel activists are desperate to show that the failures of 2024 where because the party did not cave into them and eject the Jewish community. To that end they've paid for "push" style polls that artificially try to show young voters prioritize Palestinians over Israel.  The Institute for Middle East Understanding, a long time critic of Israel paid for polls to try to claim that Democrats don't support Israel and voters didn't show up because of it.  This is akin to asking the tobacco industry to study attitudes on smoking.

What do young voters really think? Tufts-CIRCLE, a well known academic organization with decades of experience tracking young voters did a post election poll of young (18-29) voters and non-voters' priorities.

The top priorities for young voters and non-voters was the economy (61%/75%), jobs (22%/40%) and healthcare (34%/26%).  Foreign Policy (Middle East/Ukraine) was 8th on the list with less than 16% of young voters prioritizing.  For non-voters it was even lower with 9% of young voters claiming it a top issue.

 

To be clear, younger voters are less sympathetic to Israel than Palestinians for a variety of reasons, including demographics and being less trustful of religion than their predecessors.

As the next section will show, they tend to sympathize (sometimes to point of erratically, with Palestinians. One Harvard poll showed young voters at one point favoring Hamas over Israel and a Yale Poll showed support for protestors, but this is not the top issue.  Not even close.

There is a generation of young activists who support Palestinians. We may lose some young activists from our volunteer base, but this is clearly not the top issue for voters and other mainstream post-election polls also reflected these attitudes.

DEMOCRATS SYMPATHIZE WITH PALESTINIANS OVER ISRAEL BUT ONLY MARGINALLY SUPPORT LIMITING WEAPONS

Another area of misrepresentation is the extent to which Democrats want to punish Israel for its conduct during the Israel-Gaza war.  Here too, anti-Israel critics are desparate to show that Democrats want to throw out its Jewish supporters, despite the fact that 81% of Jewish women voted Democrat in 2024, a higher percentage than any group by Black women (88%). Medi Hassan's Zeteo funded a push poll and critics frequently cite a recent Gallup poll showing that only 8% of Democrats support Israel's operations in Gaza.

While this may be alarming, it's not what it seems.  The August 2025 Harvard CAPS poll show some differing numbers that, while not favorable, are not as one-sided. 69% of Democrats don't approve of Israel's conduct in Gaza and 79% don't approve of Hamas.  Further, while Democrats believe a famine is going on, they equally blame Hamas and Israel 50/50.  They also overwhelmingly support Israel over Iran 73%-27% 

While Democrats do tend toward wanting to limit offiensve weapons the numbers are not deep (56%), except for with younger voters and defensive weapons are even closer. Even with this, 67% of Democrats side with Israel over Hamas and Democrats overwhelmingly support the release of the hostages without conditions (76%). 54% of Democrats want a deal with Hamas and 46% want them to leave as a condition. 

Independent voters, critical to win elections trend towards Israel as well.

As you can see, there are concerns in the Democratic party about Israel's conduct, but it does not rise to the level of total rejection and they want to see accountability for Hamas as well. In fact, given the choice Democrats and independents support Israel over Hamas' continued operation in Gaza. In line with our values as Jews and Democrats, we can and should believe in accountability, but that does not mean, as IMEU and others want, that we should eject Israel in entirety or reject its existence.  As Democrats we also oppose Trump, are immensely proud of the United States despite its current leadership.

We all are in horror at the events that unfolded in Washington DC last week as yet another anti-Israel, antisemitic extremist shot and killed two young people, believing they were Jewish (both were Israel Embassy staff, one was not Jewish).  This is not the first time that Jews and Non-Jews have been targeted by anti-Israel activists. 138 of the October 7 hostages held foreign passports and dozens of them were not Jewish. Eight Muslim Arabs and an uknown number were Israeli Druze.  The Druze town of Majdal Shams lost 12 children in a rocket attack.  From 2018 to 2025, there have been multiple incidents of Synagogues being vandalized and members threatened.

The bottom line is that words matter.  The UN frequently has to retract or correct inaccurate claim it makes or remained silent when UN officials made provocative misstatements that inflamed sentiment toward the Jewish community.  Just as "Defund the Police" may be a convenient slogan that means police accountability and investing in mental health response to some, to others it means reducing law enforcement dollars during a critical crisis in public safety. Similarly, "Free Palestine" is an oversimplistic phrase that to many anti-Israel activists means taking back all of modern day Israel from the 7 million Jewish citizens living there.

We need to make clear how terms like "From the River to the Sea" or false claims of Israeli "Apartheid" or "genocide" and mischaracterizing Zionism generally to make it synonymous only with with Revisionist or Religious Zionism are not only offensive but, are aimed squarely at delegitimizing Jewish identity and the mainstream community that supports Israel but is not responsible for the actions of the Israel government (We also must be aware of the impact of our own words as well and not be afraid to speak to our own community to hold ourselves accountable).

That being said, we can not fight hateful disinformation without your activism. When you have stepped forward, we have been able to change outcomes and defeat these efforts. Thank you for being willing to step forward and be heard.

California Jewish Democrats signed onto a joint statement with over 20 other groups, including the Shalom Hartman Institute, the Jewish Council of Public Affairs (JCRCs) and Jewish Labor committee rejecting the Kahanist policies of Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit ("Jewish Power") party.

Similarly, four California Jewish Democratic Clubs - Democrats for Israel Los Angeles, Jewish Democratic Coalition of the Bay Area, Contra Costa Jewish Democrats and Solano Jewish Democrats passed resolutions condemning Ben Gvir's support for settler violence in the West Bank, opposing religious extremism in all forms, emphasizing the importance of rule of law and calling for accountability for all those who seek to subvert the rule of law or harm others, in accordance with due process and applicable laws. 

In March 2023, California Jewish Democrats stood with the people of Israel for their right to protest against anti-democratic proposals by Prime Minister Netanyahu which would undercut the rule of law and bypass judicial processes. Unfortunately, we are now facing the similar threats to rule of law and judicial independence here in the United States.

Just over a month into office there have been over fifty lawsuits against the Trump Administration for circumventing the law, from the  firings of tens of thousands of government employees and watchdogs, to the unconstitutional impoundment of government funds and the attempts at summary deportation of thousands of immigrants, including those here with legal documentation, without due process of law.

As Jewish Democrats we believe that the civil rights of Jewish students in educational settings must be protected to the same extent as those of any other students. Antisemitism in such settings must be addressed with the same degree of urgency as hate speech directed at any other minority population. Codes of conduct must be applied equally to all members of school and university communities, in a viewpoint-neutral fashion. In the past 17 months, in too many schools and on too many campuses, this has not been the case. 

At the same time, upholding those civil rights, combating antisemitism and ensuring that that material support of terrorism is not tolerated, must always take place within the rule of law including established protections for speech and due process under law. The First, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment are not disposable, even if we find the person asserting those rights to have values that are abhorrent to us and to most Americans.

This is not about any one person or specific individual, but rather about ensuring the government follows its own laws. The Jewish community should not be the platform upon which our Constitution can be disregarded. 

Over the weekend, the California Democratic Party completed the election of 1,120 delegates through its ADEM elections. The results show Democratic activists soundly rebuking attempts by a fringe groups to target the Jewish community, reduce party participation and force the party to change its support for Israel to support a unilateral arms embargo and weaken the party's support for a Two-State Solution.  

Thanks to your help, Labor and the Jewish community mobilized - we fought back and won.

Tens of thousands of California Democrats voted across 80 Assembly Districts to elect 7 self identified females and 7 other than self-identified females in each district. Calfornia Jewish Democrats-backed candidates, made up of allied progressives and moderates, won at least 298 of the 310 seats in the 30 districts we got involved in (and allied efforts picked up over 100 additional delegate spots) and over 45 of our members were elected adding to the 200 or more who are already on the Democratic Party State Committee. Those who backed the antisemitic and antidemocratic platform failed to take even a majority of seats in all districts but 7.

Congratulations to the winners! California Jewish Democrats were proud to support.  A special thank you to the local Jewish Democratic clubs that got involved in Marin, Sacramento, the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego as well as the California Legislative Jewish Caucus, local elected leaders and activists.  These candidates could not have done it without their help as well as your support and vigilance.

Democrats for Israel California changes name to California Jewish Democrats

We want to share some updates regarding our California Democratic Party’s chartered organization for outreach to the Jewish community.  As far back as November 2023, the Democrats for Israel California Board made a recommendation to change our name to California Jewish Democrats.  Based on a vote of the membership in December 2024, the recommendation was ratified with 67% of the vote – a first step towards changing our name.  The name change will be formally adopted at the California Democratic Party Convention this coming May.

This forthcoming name change will not change our commitment of support to Israel as a Jewish Democratic State.  Support for Israel as a Jewish, democratic state is enshrined in our bylaws as one of the purposes of the organization.

We decided to change the name for a number of reasons: 

Underscoring our multi-issue focus: A major issue for us has been perceptions that we are a one-issue club focused solely on Israel, making it difficult to address other issues of importance such as combating antisemitism not related to Israel, opposing "Liberated" ethnic studies programs that violate state antisemitism guardrails, and activism around other issues of importance to the Jewish community (including hunger, housing, climate change, reproductive rights) – values and priorities that make us Democrats and were the genesis of our charted club.  

Positioning for greater expansion: Following the models of partisan-Pro Israel/Jewish groups nationally and in other states such as Jewish Democratic Council of America and the North Carolina, New Jersey, Florida and Pennsylvania Jewish Caucuses and Democratic mobilization groups, we feel this change positions us better to increase outreach into areas where there is a great interest in our mission of getting the mainstream Jewish community to the table of Democratic politics through county-chartered Democratic clubs.  

Alignment with our chartered clubs: Of our 7 currently chartered clubs, five are identified as Jewish Democratic clubs, with Los Angeles and Orange County named  “Democrats for Israel (the similar names also caused some confusion by volunteers and supporters).

As we go through this process, know that our commitment to Israel's security and safety stands strong.  We appreciate your continued support and involvement – with our vibrant statewide council of clubs and the greater Jewish community.  Now, more than ever. Thank you.  

For the second time, the House GOP has tried to use Israel as a political football, playing partisanship with Israel's security.  Republicans have sought to delay any funding for Ukraine or to address border security, and as an attempt to undermine a bipartisan deal, proposed a stand alone Israel funding bill.

House GOP have sought to add poison pills to other bills, pulling out humanitarian provisions from a bill that sought to limit Hamas aid (HR 340).  They also tried to tie Ukraine and Israel funding to cutting IRS funding, which would only help tax cheats.

These cynical ploys are bad for Israel, bad for our national security and bad for our country.

Israel at War: Statement on Hamas attack on Israel

Like the many organizations in the Jewish and non-Jewish world across our nation, Democrats for Israel

California and its many affiliates across the state of California condemn the Friday night attack by the Iranian-backed terrorist Hamas regime in Gaza on Israel.

The brutality of Hamas terrorists is being documented in real time. Women and children beaten and then taken hostage. Kibbutz residents who have worked for peace with the Palestinians for their entire lives butchered by the terrorists. Thousands of rockets launched at random at Israeli cities, villages and kibbutz have killed Israeli children, women and men and injured hundreds more, while Hamas terrorists on the ground have killed hundreds more.

DFI-CA joins its affiliated clubs in condemning this senseless and unprovoked attack on Israel and its citizens, and calls on all members of the Democratic Party and all Americans to rally in support of Israel, as President Biden and his administration has done.

There will be time for investigations about how just such an attack by Hamas was planned and implemented, catching the Israeli Security apparatus by surprise, just as there will be plenty of time for political and military analysts to determine just how much the unrest in the West Bank contributed to this situation. But for now, it is time for Americans to rally behind Israel, the only democracy in the region, in opposition to the terrorism of Hamas and Hamas allies Iran and Hezbollah

Governor Newsom issued a letter to educators urging them to avoid the "bias, bigotry or discrimination" that is present in some "Liberated Ethnic Studies" programs.  The letter comes after requests from Jewish lawmakers, JPAC (supported by DFI-CA and several affiliated clubs) and the Santa Ana school district adopting a related vendor that advocated for courses that portray the Jews as white colonizers, ignoring the large Mizrahi and Sephardic Jewish communities and violating the state's education antisemitism "guardrails" in the ethnic studies guidelines.

Earlier in the week State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond held a meeting and panel with prominent Jewish leaders to further enforce these guidelines called "Education to End Hate: Countering Antisemitism."  

Thank you to our state Democratic officials leadership for being responsive.

Thank you to House Democratic Leadership who released the statement below repudiating Rep. Jayapal's statement that "Israel is a racist state."  There can be policy disagreements between governments and even members of the Knesset both in and out of the governing coalition, but to broadly tarnish an entire nation this way was unacceptable, even at Jayapal later tried to walk it back and apologize.  Thank you to our House Leadership for standing firm with Israel as a country.