Democrats Israel betrayal: How the party flipped on its staunchest ally
The arrest of the student who organized anti-Israel demonstrations at Columbia University has provoked an escalating row about free speech.Columbia has been the epicenter of the harassment and intimidation of Jewish students on campuses around America, as part of a globally orchestrated campaign against Israel’s war in Gaza following the Hamas-led Oct.7, 2023, massacres.The Columbia ringleader, Mahmoud Khalil, a 30-year-old Syrian of Palestinian-Arab descent, was arrested over the weekend by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and faces having his green card revoked.
A judge Monday temporarily blocked any attempt to deport him.The Department of Homeland Security said Khalil had “led activities aligned to Hamas.”Yet Senate Judiciary Democrats tweeted: “Free Mahmoud Khalil.”Other Democratic lawmakers, along with civil-rights activists and advocacy groups, have protested that Khalil is being targeted merely for expressing support for the Palestinians.Such indifference to the outrageous lawbreaking, harassment and intimidation that has consumed universities, which have echoed for months chants for Israel’s destruction and the murder of Jews, throws into even sharper relief the shocking revelation that support for Israel in America has fallen to below 50% for the first time.The latest Gallup polling revealed only 46% of Americans say their sympathies lie more with Israel than the Palestinians, while 33%.Thirty-three percent sympathize more with the Palestinians, up by 6 percentage points from last year.How could this have happened? American support for Israel has long been as reliable as the sun rising in the morning.
Israel is not only regarded as America’s indispensable bulwark in the Middle East; Americans’ support for it has been more full-throated and emotional than among many Jewish communities around the world.The huge drop in support overall has been caused by Democrat supporters, who have registered a stunning 59% support for the Palestinians v...