(Politico)
NAHAL TOOSI and MARC CAPUTO 02/12/2019 03:13 PM
Democrats hoping for a united front against President Donald Trump in 2020 are trying to avoid splintering over an increasingly thorny topic: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
With an energized progressive base increasingly supportive of Palestinian rights, and a president who is stridently pro-Israel in his policy moves, Democrats are starting to grapple more than ever with the party’s once-reflexive support for Israel.
The 2020 Democratic presidential contenders are saying little publicly as they balance the competing interests. But in the meantime, pro-Israel Democrats are scrambling behind the scenes to shore up support, providing Holy Land trips to members of Congress and proposing policies they hope can bridge a growing party divide.
Against this backdrop, Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota — one of the first two Muslim women ever elected to Congress — apologized on Monday for what many regarded as anti-Semitic criticisms she leveled on Twitter. The controversy, coupled with the substance of the overall policy debate, has concerned Democratic consultants as much as it encourages Republicans who hope that Trump’s support of Israel will allow them to peel off Jewish voters, a key Democratic constituency.
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