Jewish Lawmakers Shut Out—Fury Erupts

A person wearing a tallit in a synagogue during prayer

Washington State Democrats have adopted a party platform that partly blames the Israeli government for rising antisemitism, and Jewish lawmakers say the party did it while speaking “for us” without even asking them.

Story Snapshot

Washington State Democratic Party claims Israeli government actions help cause a “dramatic resurgence” of antisemitism.
Jewish caucus leaders say they were shut out of the process and condemn the party for speaking “for us” without including Jewish voices.
Critics argue Democrats are deflecting blame away from Hamas, Islamist extremists, and their own far-left radicals.
The fight in Washington State reflects a broader crisis inside the Democratic Party over Israel, Jew-hatred, and extremist politics.

Democrats’ Platform Pins Jew-Hatred Partly on Israel

The Washington State Democratic Party’s 2026 platform includes a section on antisemitism that has stunned many observers. In that section, party leaders claim there has been a “dramatic resurgence in antisemitism in recent years on all sides of the political spectrum, due in part to actions taken by the Israeli government.” This is not a stray quote from a fringe activist. It is written into the official party platform, adopted at the state convention and presented as the party’s formal position.

By linking rising antisemitism to Israel’s government, the platform moves beyond criticism of Israeli policy and into causation. It suggests that what Jerusalem does is partly responsible for Jew-hatred in Washington and beyond, even though antisemitism is a hatred of Jews as a people, not a foreign policy dispute. National data from the Anti-Defamation League shows antisemitic incidents hit record highs after the October 7 Hamas attacks, with most involving Israel-related themes, but it does not claim Israeli policy “causes” this hatred.

Jewish Lawmakers Say Party Spoke “For Us” Without Them

Jewish Democratic leaders in Washington State say they were not consulted before this anti-Israel language was added. State Senator Jesse Salomon, co-chair of the Jewish Caucus in the state legislature, told reporters the party spoke “for us” without including Jewish voices in the drafting process. He says Jewish lawmakers only saw the language when it was already locked in, too late to change it. That has left Jewish Democrats feeling sidelined inside their own party at a time of growing threats.

Jewish leaders describe the move as exclusionary and even narcissistic. They argue that if the party wants to address antisemitism, it should start by listening to Jews, not by blaming the Jewish state without evidence. Some report that the progressive wing has blocked legislation meant to protect Jews while pushing harsh anti-Israel rhetoric. This deepens the sense that party leaders are more interested in appeasing radical activists than safeguarding a minority that faces real danger in schools, workplaces, and public life.

Critics Say Democrats Ignore Hamas, Islamists, and the Far Left

Conservative and centrist critics argue the Washington platform turns reality upside down. They point out that the recent surge in antisemitism followed the October 7 Hamas massacre, waves of pro-Hamas rallies, and online campaigns that glorify terror against Jews. Townhall reporter Amy Curtis notes that Washington Democrats “figured out who is to blame” for Jew-hatred, and it is not Hamas or Islamist extremists. Instead, the platform points a finger at Israel. To many Americans, that looks like deflection, not honest analysis.

Washington State Democrats just adopted a platform that literally blames Israel for the rise in antisemitism — without consulting the party's own Jewish Caucus.

'They spoke for us without including us.' — State Sen. Jesse Salomon, Jewish Caucus co-chairhttps://t.co/A8P29in4MI

— Israeli-American Civic Action Network (@ICANAction) July 1, 2026

National reporting shows antisemitism growing on both extremes of the political spectrum, with far-left anti-Zionism and far-right conspiracy theories feeding the same ancient hatred. Yet the Washington platform offers no data, case studies, or expert research tying specific Israeli decisions to specific antisemitic crimes or threats. It admits antisemitism exists “on all sides of the political spectrum” but singles out Israel as a partial cause without explaining why extremists, terrorists, and radical activists are not named as causes too.

A Party at War With Itself Over Israel and Antisemitism

This state-level fight sits inside a larger civil war inside the Democratic Party. At the national level, official Democratic platforms still affirm Israel’s right to exist and speak against antisemitism, trying to hold together older pro-Israel voters and younger progressive activists. But Jewish Democrats at national gatherings warn that the party is drifting toward accommodating extreme anti-Israel sentiment, including people who question Israel’s existence as a Jewish state. Washington’s platform language is one more sign of that drift.

Research on antisemitism in American politics finds a “horseshoe” pattern, where high levels of Jew-hatred show up on both the far right and the far left. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has reported that Jews are the target of most religion-based hate crimes, even though they are a small share of the population. The Anti-Defamation League’s latest audit shows over half of recent antisemitic incidents involved Israel or Zionism, often at or around anti-Israel protests that crossed the line into open Jew-hatred. That means political rhetoric has real-world consequences.

What This Means for Conservatives and the Country

For conservative readers, the Washington story is a warning about where the Democratic coalition is heading. A major state party now writes into its platform that Israel, America’s closest ally in the Middle East, is partly to blame for Jew-hatred, while its own Jewish caucus says they were ignored. This happens as national Democrats struggle with a wave of democratic socialist candidates and activist groups that demand harsh action against Israel and label pro-Israel voices as villains.

Meanwhile, Republicans in Congress have advanced laws to define and fight antisemitism more clearly, tying civil rights protections to firm standards. In the Trump years, federal efforts against hate crimes and campus intimidation of Jews have stepped up, even as antisemitism keeps spreading online and in street protests. The contrast is sharp: one side is trying to make Jew-hatred unacceptable again, while the other cannot even agree not to blame the Jewish state for antisemitism without talking to Jewish leaders first.