Progressive activists are planning to debate a resolution at this weekend's California Democratic Party convention that accuses the Israeli government of fueling the rise of anti-Semitic hate crimes in the United States and demands that elected officials spend an equal amount of time visiting Palestine if they participate in educational trips sponsored by Jewish organizations to Israel.
The drafted resolution was first reported on by Fox News, which described the resolution as linking "Israel indirectly to the Oct. 2018 massacre of 11 congregants at a Pittsburgh synagogue."
Fox News spoke with David Mandel, a progressive activist and attorney, who wrote and circulated the resolution ahead of this weekend's convention.
"The Israeli government and its supporters here seem to be embracing the right-wing and not caring what they say about anything else—Islamophobia, dog whistles for anti-Semitism," Mandel told Fox News. He additionally added that he believes the leadership of the Israeli government has indirectly led to an increase in violence and anti-Semitic attacks.
"Commending the House for resolving to fight all racism and bigotry and for resisting the false conflation of support for Palestinian rights with antisemitism," reads the title of the resolution written by Mandel, who maintains dual citizenship with Israel and lived in the country for nearly a decade.
In describing the October shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, the resolution states the shooting was, "the culmination of an alarming re-emergence of virulent antisemitism that is a core element of historical and currently resurgent white supremacism in the United States and around the world."
The "Israeli government, along with some of its U.S. backers, welcomed support from Christian fundamentalist and ultra-right groups in the United States and abroad, dangerously ignoring their deeply rooted antisemitism while aligning with their virulent Islamophobia," the resolution continues.
The resolution will go before the state party's Resolution Committee, which will decide whether to adopt, debate, or table the resolution. Mandel suggested most of the delegates attending the convention will agree with the text of the resolution but said a "more conservative establishment" of party activists may prevent the resolution from passing.
This does not appear to be Mandel's first attempt at introducing state party resolutions criticizing the Israeli government. In 2017, Mandel authored and helped pass a resolution that accused the Israeli government of adopting "anti-Democratic measures" and the Trump administration of creating "havoc and further instability" by moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem.
A separate resolution, again drafted by Mandel, implores elected officials and state party officials to spend time visiting Palestinian territory if they participate in sponsored trips to Israel. Mandel described trips sponsored by American or Jewish affiliated organizations that bring members of Congress and other political leaders to Israel as "propaganda."
"The government of Israel and U.S. organizations that support it frequently invite members of Congress, state legislators and other public officials to tour Israel on subsidized trips that are clearly – and often admittedly — meant to cultivate sympathy for its policies, imparting only a partial view of the situation in Israel/Palestine," the resolution states.
The debate over the resolution comes amidst an internal debate within the Democrat Party about the party's support of Israel. New Democrat congressional members such as Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.) and Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) have come under fire for anti-Semitic remarks since they have been elected to Congress. In response, Congress passed a resolution condemning bigotry in all forms, with some Republicans criticizing the resolution as being "watered down" to avoid directly criticizing Rep. Omar.