AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n
Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n A draft resolution that calls Israel\u2019s actions in Gaza \u201cgenocide\u201d has sown division in the North Carolina Democratic Party, especially among some of its Jewish members, proving that disagreements over Israel continue to be a point of contention for the party.<\/p>\n Read more Julie Andrews, 90, Makes Rare Appearance at Event Combating Parkinson’s<\/a><\/p>\n The resolution, obtained by The News & Observer from the party\u2019s Jewish Caucus, also calls for the prosecution in the United States of individuals and entities involved in genocide, regardless of citizenship status, in alignment with a 2007 federal law<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Democratic Party votes on resolutions to establish the party\u2019s stances on political issues and confirm the party\u2019s platform. The North Carolina Democratic Party Jewish Caucus said the party\u2019s top committee would meet on May 30 for a vote on the resolution.<\/p>\n Amy DeLoach, the caucus\u2019s first vice president, said that she has already seen it cause \u201ctremendous division.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s mind-boggling to us that we\u2019re having to sit here and debate whether or not there\u2019s a genocide when it clearly doesn\u2019t meet the definition, which includes intent,\u201d DeLoach said.<\/p>\n The U.N. Human Rights Council declared that Israel committed genocide<\/a> in September 2025.<\/p>\n Hamas\u2019 attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 resulted in the death of 1,200 Israeli civilians and 240 hostages. As of late 2025, an estimated 1,600 Israelis have died, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs<\/a>. As of this May, nearly 73,000 Palestinians have been killed<\/a> in the war, including thousands of women and children, according to the U.N. Human Rights Office.<\/p>\n Tariq Shehadeh, who submitted the resolution, said it is the party\u2019s job to speak against all forms of oppression. Shehadeh\u2019s Palestinian background and focus on human rights encouraged him to author the resolution with the help of Mecklenburg County-based activist Nazim Uddin, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cEnabling and supporting genocide does not do the party any favors,\u201d said Shehadeh, who has leadership positions in both the party\u2019s Progressive and Arab Caucuses. \u201cThe Democratic Party should not be a party that seeks to be silent or support the oppression of people in North Carolina or around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Anderson Clayton, North Carolina\u2019s Democratic Party chair, did not respond for a request to comment.<\/p>\n DeLoach sits on the international subcommittee, the party\u2019s second highest-ranked committee in the state.<\/p>\n \u201cOur main job is to elect Democrats and we feel that it is extremely important to stay unified,\u201d DeLoach said. \u201cThere has been an outrageous amount of time and hours spent on managing this resolution and this time could have been spent on just electing Democrats.\u201d<\/p>\n The proposed resolution also insists that present and former military officials from countries who have been accused of committing genocide be vetted before entering any U.S. territory.<\/p>\n The Jewish Caucus\u2019 main concern, DeLoach said, is that the resolution could allow any person who served in Israel\u2019s military, the Israel Defense Forces, to be prosecuted. This is especially concerning, she said, because IDF service is mandatory for men and women, with some exemptions.<\/p>\n DeLoach said that the Democratic Party should focus on \u201cbread and butter\u201d issues because she believes that voters in North Carolina are more concerned with being able to support themselves and their families than with Israel.<\/p>\n Paul McAllister, chair of the party\u2019s Interfaith Caucus, said that the Jewish Caucus\u2019 efforts to publicize the resolution by sharing it with The N&O is an effort to gain leverage to kill the resolution. He said it is supposed to remain confidential.<\/p>\n \u201cThey want to defend something that is indefensible,\u201d said McAllister, who is among the state party\u2019s top leaders. \u201cWhat is indefensible is the conduct of war against an armless people, a great many of whom are women and children. What can<\/i> be defended is the need for Jews to feel protected … and the existence of the state of Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n One committee has already approved the resolution. Whether it will pass in the executive committee this week is up in the air, Shehadeh said.<\/p>\n Read more How Wake says heightened ICE operations lowered high school graduation numbers<\/a><\/p>\n Voting rules within the party determine how easily a resolution gets passed. Resolutions could pass on a simple majority or rules could change in various ways that would make it more difficult, like requiring a three-fourths majority.<\/p>\n Chris Cooper, a political scientist at Western Carolina University, said that the divisions among Democrats about Israel is \u201cnot a new wound\u201d and has only intensified in the last few years.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not the kind of issue where one side of this fracture has the vast majority of opinion, at least in the Democratic Party,\u201d Cooper said.<\/p>\n Last year, the state party\u2019s executive committee passed a resolution<\/a> \u2014 over the objections of the Jewish caucus \u2014 calling for an end to U.S. support for the Israeli military in its war against Hamas.<\/p>\n Divisions over Israel are notably generational, Cooper said, with most younger Democrats supporting the Palestinian cause. The state\u2019s Democratic Party has had a wave of young leaders in recent years. Clayton, the chair of the party, is 28 but was elected at 25 in 2023.<\/p>\n McAllister said that the generational divide is clear, but he\u2019s noticed older Democrats creeping towards pro-Palestinian support. Shehadeh said that if the resolution doesn\u2019t pass, the party could run the risk of alienating young Democratic voters.<\/p>\n DeLoach said that she worries that passing this resolution fuels harmful rhetoric that spurs antisemitism. When Israel is demonized by some Democrats \u2014 sometimes fairly, she added \u2014 it may cause Jewish people to leave the party, and take their donations with them, she said. DeLoach has witnessed several of her Jewish friends leave the Democratic Party over disputes about Israel.<\/p>\n Jewish people \u201chave been there for other minorities that have faced challenges. You can depend on Jews to be there in a crisis, and we feel abandoned right now,\u201d DeLoach said.<\/p>\n Stef Mendell, a Jewish retiree from Raleigh, left the Democratic Party last year and registered as unaffiliated. The lifelong Democrat and former city council member said that she wishes she didn\u2019t feel obligated to leave. But previous party discussions condemning Israel pushed her away.<\/p>\n Now, Mendell only donates to Democratic candidates who support Israel and no longer donates to the Democratic Party itself.<\/p>\n Jewish voters unhappy with the Democratic Party in North Carolina could jeopardize the party\u2019s success in the midterms in November. But Cooper said it\u2019s unlikely that Jewish voters leaving the party would vote Republican.<\/p>\n McAllister worries that many Democrats, Jewish or not, may gravitate towards the Republican Party if Democrats don\u2019t make their stance on Israel clear.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you have a divided message, then what are the voters hearing? They\u2019re hearing so many different messages, they don\u2019t know what to believe,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople will pursue order over chaos every time.\u201d<\/p>\n Disputes over U.S. relations with Israel have caused disputes among Democrats in North Carolina in recent months. During primary elections this March, Rep. Valerie Foushee, a Democrat from Hillsborough, faced a tough battle against an anti-establishment opponent, Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam<\/a>. Foushee, who won the election by less than 1,200 votes, faced criticism from progressives for accepting campaign funding from AIPAC, a pro-Israel public affairs committee, during her previous congressional campaign.<\/p>\n There\u2019s been no shortage of controversy for the party on a national scale either. In August, Ken Martin, the Democratic National Committee chair, withdrew a successful resolution<\/a> that he proposed that called for a two-state resolution, the release of Israeli hostages and an immediate ceasefire.<\/p>\n After much debate about dueling approaches to Israel, including an arms embargo and recognizing Palestinian statehood, Martin called on a task force to further debate the issue.<\/p>\n