Washington, D.C. (September
5, 2012) -- The
Republican Jewish Coalition notes with grave concern that delegates to
the Democratic National Convention voiced significant opposition to
efforts to amend the party platform so as to reinstate pro-Israel
language from previous years.
Rank and file Democrats
expressed strong opposition to a resolution to reinstate pro-Israel
language that had been removed from the 2012 platform, forcing
convention chairman Antonio Villaraigosa to call the voice vote
three
times. Each time the "No's" were noticeably stronger; in fact, CNN
reporter Dana Bush was quoted as saying, "It seemed pretty to clear to
me that the 'No's' had it." (
1)
There were loud boos
from the convention floor when the chairman overruled the delegates and
announced that the resolution passed.
See video of the vote and response here.
RJC Executive Director
Matt Brooks said, "This is a very sad day. To hear delegates on the
floor of the Democratic convention strongly voice their opposition to
recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, then boo when the
chairman passes the resolution to adopt that language, is a shock.
Brooks continued, "This
unfortunate incident highlights the split among rank and file Democrats
when it comes to the critical issue of Israel, something we've seen for
some time. Gallup polling has shown that Republicans have been
consistently more likely to support Israel than Democrats for over a
decade. (
2) It is painful to see that demonstrated so
clearly in this national forum."
Notes:
(2) According to a
Gallup poll released on March 2, 2012, "Republicans continue to be far
more likely than independents or Democrats to sympathize with the
Israelis." In that poll, Republican support for Israel was 78
percent
while Democrat support was at 53 percent, a 25-point difference. The
graph at the link shows the deep split in Republican/Democrat support
for Israel over time.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/153092/americans-continue-tilt-pro-israel.aspx