Pro-'Israel' group tries to persuade Democrats to support genocide
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The DMFI is sending memos to campaigns and Congress saying that "support for pro-Israel policies is not damaging", citing polling that suggests voters do not see the war on Gaza as a high priority.
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Activists supporting Palestinians in Gaza demonstrate before a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 19, 2024. (AP)
Pro-"Israel" group Democratic Majority For Israel (DMFI) is trying to convince US Democrats that supporting "Israel" won't lead to a disaster in the upcoming November elections, amid uproar by Democrats against President Joe Biden for his handling of the war on Gaza, as revealed by Axios.
A copy first shared with Axios showed that DMFI is sending memos to campaigns and Congress saying that "support for pro-Israel policies is not damaging", citing a poll that suggests voters do not see the war on Gaza as a high priority, and that it carries little impact on the presidential race. Individuals polled also believe that pro-"Israel" Democrats are usually stronger than their pro-Palestinian colleagues.
DMFI president Mark Mellman stated, "People sometimes mistake volume for percentage, and the fact that some people are very loud doesn't make them the majority. ... It doesn't even make them a substantial minority."
DMFI even tried to undermine Michigan's uncommitted movement against Biden by citing a New York Times poll that indicates that Michigan is Biden's strongest swing state.
One House Democrat told Axios that progressives standing up over Gaza "get so much attention, but it's a small group."
Read next: AIPAC on a quest to oust progressives due to Gaza stance: WaPo
Biden 'alienating reliable Democratic voters'
Layla Elabed, a leader in the Uncommitted National Movement, told Axios in a statement, "If people don't think that will have a negative electoral effect on Biden in a tight election, they either have their heads in the sand or are deliberately misleading people".
Justice Democrats spokesperson Usamah Andrabi says the President is "alienating reliable Democratic voters" and DMFI is "leading him on a path to losing to Donald Trump" - his current and main opponent in the upcoming presidential elections.
Liberal group J Street's spokesperson Tali deGroot said in a statement that "re-electing President Biden has to be the top priority" and that "the risk of a second Trump presidency to our country and our democracy is too serious to disregard the very real concerns many voters have about the situation in Gaza."
"It's in everyone's interests — including Israel's interests — to end this war, free the hostages, stop the humanitarian catastrophe, and chart a course for a peaceful future free of terror and injustice", she added.
US Congressional staff are still furious about a letter by "Israel's" Ambassador to the US, Michael Herzog, accusing Democratic lawmakers of aiding the Palestinian Resistance group Hamas of misrepresenting Israeli policy and trying to influence Biden.
The letter came in response to a letter back on May 3 from Democrats to Biden, warning him that "Israel" is breaching US law that prevents sending weapons to parties blocking American aid.
Herzog claimed that US lawmakers were not doing their jobs appropriately.
