At the November 14 March for Israel in Washington, DC, a bipartisan group of lawmakers delivered rousing speeches that decried the October 7 Hamas attacks and defended Israel’s military response in Gaza. Israeli and US flags waved. Tens of thousands of people filled the National Mall with calls of “no ceasefire.”
On stage, Democrats Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries held hands with Republicans House Speaker Mike Johnson and Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa while chanting pro-Israel messages. It was a stunning image of unity during an era of rancorous political division.
Seeing Democrats and Republicans share the stage “was actually a throwback to when there wasn’t really daylight between the parties on Israel,” said David Weigel, national political reporter at Semafor.
“It had the appearance of unity at a moment when there is less unanimity around support for Israel politically than any time I can remember covering,” he said.
Indeed, that bipartisan display was illusory. Republicans in the House had just introduced a bill that tied Israel aid to defunding the Internal Revenue Service, a poison pill meant to paint Democrats as hostile to Israel (while also indicating GOP hostility to the other part of the bill, more military aid to Ukraine). Republicans have largely rubber-stamped Israel’s counteroffensive in Gaza and backed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Democrats have been deeply divided over calls by left-leaning lawmakers for President Joe Biden to pressure Israel to declare a ceasefire.
Weigel spoke with Today, Explained host Sean Rameswaram about how the politics around Israel and Palestine have shifted in the United States, and the implications ahead of the 2024 elections. Read on for an excerpt of the conversation, edited and condensed for length and clarity, and listen to the full conversation wherever you find podcasts.
Let’s talk about October 7. What is the initial…
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