Unity tested: Democrats face off over Israel and AIPAC dark money during DNC meeting

Democrats are united in their opposition to President Donald Trump and his unprecedented second-term agenda. But as the Democratic National Committee (DNC) huddles in New Orleans for their spring meeting, the party is once again coping with deep internal divisions over Israel’s military actions and a powerful pro-Israel lobbying group’s recent meddling in Democratic Party primaries.

The DNC’s Resolutions Committee debated and held test votes on Thursday on resolutions recognizing a Palestinian state, putting limits on military aid to Israel, and taking aim at what one resolution calls the “growing influence” of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which is best known by its acronym AIPAC, and other so-called dark money groups.

Two resolutions on placing conditions on military aid to Israel and recognizing a Palestinian state were referred to the DNC’s Middle East Working Group. The resolution calling out AIPAC was defeated after the Resolutions Committee passed a broader resolution targeting all dark money groups. The nonbinding resolutions were among more than 100 on a range of issues that are being considered.

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The resolutions were the latest face-off between DNC leaders who support Israel and a growing base of progressives who give Israel a thumbs down. One DNC committee member, speaking anonymously, called the resolutions “problematic” for the party.

The potential for divisive dialogue and verbal explosions over these issues comes eight months after similar showdowns at the DNC’s 2025 summer meeting in Minneapolis.

This year’s spring meeting also comes as a Pew Research national survey released this week showed that 80% of Democrats and independents who lean towards the party hold unfavorable views of Israel, up nearly 30 points since 2022. An NBC News poll conducted earlier this year indicated that 57% of Democrats held a negative view of Israel, up from 35% after Hamas killed roughly 1,200 people in a sneak attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

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But negative opinions have surged since Israel’s ensuing military campaign in Gaza over the past two and a half years has resulted in more than 72,000 people being killed, according to health officials in the Palestinian territory. And Israel joined the U.S. in attacking Iran in a nearly month-and-a-half long war which polls suggest is unpopular with most Americans.

“Israel’s behavior has turned Americans against it,” longtime DNC member James Zogby — the president of the Arab American Institute and a critic of Israel, said in a social media post this week. “It seems that Americans don’t like folks using our money & weapons to commit genocide & steal Palestinian land.”

The resolution criticizing AIPAC and other corporate-aligned spending in Democratic primaries was authored by Allison Minnerly, a DNC member from Florida who at last year’s summer meeting grabbed a spotlight as she unsuccessfully pushed for a resolution urging an arms embargo on Israel.

DEMOCRATS FACE-OFF OVER ISRAEL AT KEY PARTY MEETING

After Minnerly’s resolution was defeated, DNC Chair Ken Martin pulled his own resolution, which called for “unrestricted” aid to Gaza and a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian crisis. Martin then the Middle East Working Group, which will meet for a fourth time at the spring meeting.

Some Democrats blame the party’s support for Israel for their 2024 election setbacks, when they lost control of the White House and Senate and fell short in winning back the House majority.

Fox News reached out to the DNC and AIPAC for comment.