Click here to read the full article from Politico
By NICHOLAS WU and URSULA PERANO
11/29/2023 05:00 AM EST
About two weeks after Hamas attacked Israel, hundreds of former campaign aides to Bernie Sanders implored him in an open letter to back a cease-fire. He has yet to do so.
...
Meanwhile, the divisions in the party over the war have rattled Democrats at home, too.
In New York City, for example, the war is threatening to upend the goodwill that Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) has built up with local progressives. Goldman won a close race in his district spanning Lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn last year, prevailing over more liberal candidates in a crowded field.
He’s worked hard to build relationships with his critics from the primary. But now he’s facing blowback from local advocates for his positions on Israel and voting to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), a lead backer of the cease-fire resolution and the only Palestinian American in Congress.
“Calling for a cease-fire is the bare minimum and an essential step for Goldman to do if he hopes to rebuild trust with and truly represent his district. We urge him to do this,” said Alicia Singham Goodwin, political director of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice.
Goldman said in a Monday statement that “any call for ceasefire that does not address the permanent and unacceptable threat posed by Hamas in the region is in fact a call for unilateral disarmament by Israel. A resolution that would allow for the end of hostilities must not only include the release of all illegally-abducted Israeli hostages but also the full military and political surrender by Hamas and its removal from Gaza.”
There’s also a nascent effort to primary Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) by progressives who say he’s too focused on Israel and too unequivocal in his support for its government — though they don’t have a candidate yet.