MINNEAPOLIS — Democratic National Committee members on Tuesday clashed over how to address Israel’s actions in the war in Gaza, prompting the party chair to withdraw a resolution on the matter and move to instead address concerns brought by a younger faction agitating for the organization to take a stronger stance.
The move came after a DNC panel passed a resolution from chair Ken Martin that called for a ceasefire and the free flow of aid to Gaza — and then then blocked a second resolution that called for an arms embargo and suspension of military aid to Israel.
As party leaders announced the rival resolution had failed, one man stood up and, referencing strong rank and file support for a harsher stand on Israel, called out loudly: “93% of Democrats — you gotta be f—ing kidding me.”
Martin, seeing a narrative playing out that the party was divided on the issue, announced he would pull his resolution and instead further study the issue to include the voices of younger voters who were pushing for a harder line on Israel.
Martin said he decided to withdraw his resolution to “allow us to move forward in a conversation on this as a party, we need to keep working through this,” he said. While calling the situation in Gaza “urgent,” he said: “We have to find a path forward as a party and we have to stay unified.”
Allison Minnerly, a 26-year-old Democratic National Committee member from Florida who had pushed for Democrats to advocate for an arms embargo and suspension of military aid to Israel, said Martin had not reached out to her before Tuesday, when he jumped from his chair and pulled Minnerly aside in a private chat after her resolution failed.
Minnerly said since her stance on the war and her proposed amendment became public, she has been swamped with shows of support from around the nation.
“The majority of our party is looking for answers and leadership on this issue and they’re going to continue sending emails like the almost 200,000 that were sent just this week,” Minnerly told reporters. “I will not be surprised if the activism and organizing continues.”
Minnerly said she hoped Martin would include her in the future conversations to help shape the DNC’s ultimate posture on the issue.
“There needs to be urgency. When we reach a point of 90-10 issue within the party, the voters are more than ready to have this decided and resolved,” she said, referencing a July Gallup poll. “It’s just a matter of when is the party going to start listening.”
