The Democrats Surrendered

The Democrats Have Surrendered The Pro Palestinian Vote

• Edward Williams

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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The contrast couldn't be sharper: while Democratic leadership clings to outdated pro-Israel positioning, even traditional conservatives like Joe Scarborough now openly criticize Netanyahu's policies.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.

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Democrats Surrendered, the podcast that calls out political cowardice, misplaced priorities. From the perspective of a Midwestern Democrat, I'm Edward Williams. Today's episode is not just about politics. It's about principle. It's about how the Democratic Party surrendered the pro-Palestinian vote. This isn't about crafting the perfect soundbite or fine-tuning focus group messaging. It's about human dignity. It's about who gets heard and who doesn't. Let's dive in.

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The Democratic Party is facing a moment of reckoning, while party leadership, like President Joe Biden, senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, remain firmly pro-Israel. The base tells a very different story. The base has changed Dramatically. What was once a 3-1 pro-Israel party back in 2013 is now, in 2025, majority pro-Palestinian. Let's break down the numbers. Back in 2013, gallup polls showed that about 60% of Democrats sympathized with Israel, while only 20% expressed support for Palestinians. By 2023, that gap had closed. Support was nearly even. And by 2024 and 2025, both Gallup and Pew found something historic 49% of Democrats now sympathize with the Palestinians, while only 38% side with Israel, 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 transformation. And yet Democratic leadership continues to campaign like it's 2008, scolding and alienating voters who sympathize with the plight of the Palestinians. That's just not outdated. It's politically self-destructive.

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Let's talk about someone who has adapted with the times Joe Scarborough. He's a proud pro-Israel former congressman and TV host, but, unlike many in Congress, scarborough isn't afraid to criticize Benjamin Netanyahu. In April 2024, he called out Netanyahu and Israeli extremists for rejecting a two-state solution, warning that without Palestinian statehood, we're going to see war for another 60, 70, 80 years. He went further, comparing Israel's blockade of Gaza to Stalin's deliberate starvation of Ukraine, accusing Netanyahu of inflicting intentional hunger. He also condemned the idea that Israel's security must come at the cost of Palestinian rights, calling it a false choice. So when even Joe Scarborough can speak plainly about injustice, why can't congressional Democrats? The base is watching and they're asking more questions.

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Let's talk about three powerful voices at the heart of this democratic shift Palestinian Americans, younger voters and the black community. Palestinian Americans have been speaking up for years, warning us, pleading for justice. Consider the killing of American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in 2022, shot while wearing a clearly marked press vest. Or the death of 78-year-old American citizen Omar Assad, who was detained, blindfolded and left to die from cardiac arrest by the IDF. And yet Palestinian Americans' calls were met with silence. But that silence cracked on October 7, 2023, and again in February 2024, with the rise of the Uncommitted Movement.

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That movement wasn't about division. It was about dignity. It was born from pain, from moral urgency, from the desperate need to be seen. They asked for empathy, they asked to be acknowledged. And what did they get? Silence, dismissal and condescension. The message was loud and clear Shut up and vote. Be seen, not heard. In 2024, four more Americans were shot in the West Bank Tawfiq Abel Jabbar from Louisiana, 17-year-old Mohamed Kador from Florida, aysenur Aygi, a Turkish-American raised in Seattle, and Daniel Santiago, a teacher from New Jersey, who survived his injuries. And what did the Democratic Party say? Almost nothing, no accountability, not even a condolence call to the families. To Palestinian Americans, the message was devastating you do not matter.

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Now let's turn to Millennials and Gen Z. For them, this conflict isn't abstract. It's deeply personal. It's a justice issue, and they see it with moral clarity. They relate the Palestinian struggle to movements they've grown up with, like Black Lives Matter, indigenous Rights, climate Justice. They're not just getting their information from legacy media. They're watching unfiltered footage on TikTok, instagram and X. They're listening to their peers, organizers, student groups and Jewish allies. They're asking difficult but necessary questions. Why are we funding a military occupation abroad while people in Flint and Jackson still don't have clean water? This isn't a passing trend. This is a generational realignment rooted in human rights, not political optics. Now let's focus on the Democratic Party's most loyal voting bloc Black Americans.

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For many decades, many Black Americans have stood with Palestine, not out of hostility, but from shared recognition, shared trauma, shared oppression and shared resistance. The phrase from Ferguson to Palestine wasn't a slogan. It was solidarity in action. In 2014, during the Ferguson protests, palestinians sent advice on how to treat tear gas. That built a bond, and that bond is stronger than ever.

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The parallels between the West Bank and Jim Crow America are stark. Whether it's armed settlers breaking into Palestinian homes, that's like the Ku Klux Klan raids. Soldiers shielding armed settlers while doing it. That's like when the police guarded white supremacists. Palestinian villages getting torched that's like Tulsa's Black Wall Street. A segregated legal system. That's like separate but equal. Even the sterile roads where Palestinians are banned from walking on that echoes the ghost of segregated buses and lunch counters. These are not hidden atrocities. They're documented, they're filmed and they're broadcasted by the IDF themselves.

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Prominent black voices like Angela Davis, cornel West and Malcolm X have called it what it is Apartheid, colonialism, injustice. Across the country, black voters are saying we see the pattern, we reject it. We stand with Palestine. The Democratic base has shifted and with that shift comes new expectations. Vote blue, no matter who just doesn't cut it anymore, especially when voters feel ignored or betrayed. That era is over.

Speaker 1:

Moving forward, party leadership must choose honest dialogue over top-down scolding, because, whether they're ready or not, the base is. Let's be clear the Democratic leadership may be clinging to outdated narratives, reciting talking points from another era, but the people, we haven't surrendered. We haven't surrendered our voices, we haven't surrendered our values and we haven't surrendered. We haven't surrendered our voices, we haven't surrendered our values and we haven't surrendered our hope for a just and humane foreign policy. If the Democratic Party wants to remain relevant, if it hopes to lead, it must evolve with its people, because we are not going back. The party may have surrendered to a pro-Palestinian vote, but the people, the people haven't surrendered their demand for justice. Thank you for listening to the Democrat Surrendered. I'm Edward Williams. If this episode resonated with you, share it, especially with someone whose vote has been taken for granted. Subscribe for future episodes, and let's keep building a movement that demands more than lip service. Until next time. Remember the parties may have surrendered, but we haven't have it you.