N.C. Dems pass series of anti-Israel resolutions, including arms embargo
"Unhelpful, one-sided" resolutions part of a recent pattern of state party's hostility to Israel, Jewish clergy group calls embargo call "morally unsound"
Anti-Israel protesters attack pro-Israel counter-protesters in Raleigh, North Carolina, May 13, 2023. Photo courtesy Amy Rosenthal
On June 28, a Saturday, the State Executive Committee of the North Carolina Democratic Party passed six anti-Israel resolutions, including one which calls for an arms embargo of Israel, further dividing the party that has dealt with sharp divisions over the Middle East in recent years, and drawing a sharp rebuke from many Jewish leaders in the state. Many are concerned that these resolutions will be included in the state Democratic platform.
The meeting was hosted at the Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, and also available on Zoom.
The arms embargo resolution, which passed by a vote of 160 to 151, started by stating that groups like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and B’Tselem charge Israel with committing apartheid against the Palestinians, and that the International Court of Justice ruled that there is “credible evidence” that Israel “may be committing the crime of genocide in Gaza.”
The resolution calls for “an immediate embargo on all military aid, weapons shipments and military logistical support to Israel,” and the embargo be maintained until the three aforementioned human rights groups, which all have a long history of hostility toward Israel, “certify that Israel is no longer engaged in apartheid rule.”
On July 3, the North Carolina Jewish Clergy Association called on the party “to stop one-sided anti-Israel efforts.” They noted past efforts to get the state party to follow the national approach of a “balanced, well-vetted approach to America’s Middle East policy… which is lacking in those resolutions under consideration here at home in the NC Democratic Party.”
Instead, the state party “endorsed an unhelpful, one-sided resolution which is irrelevant to large swaths of North Carolina's Democratic Party, and disenfranchising to many others,” the association said. “While further dividing North Carolinians, this resolution will ultimately have no impact on the safety or wellbeing of Palestinians or help Israelis and Palestinians move towards peace.”
The association called the resolution “morally unsound,” and noted the lack of mention of the Israeli hostages taken by Hamas, or how Iran has threatened Israel with annihilation.
“We have been assured that this resolution does not reflect the stances of Democrats who have been elected to or are seeking office,” the association stated. We are deeply troubled that party leaders chose to approve this type of one sided resolution. It fails to incorporate the reality and nuance of a complex situation, which leads some to question whether this form of anti-Israel position masks antisemitic views.”
A June 30 statement by the Jewish Federation CEOs in Raleigh, Durham, Greensboro and Charlotte expressed “deep disappointment and concern regarding the passage of several anti-Israel resolutions” at the meeting.
The party, they said, “has not only adopted an extreme and misleading narrative, but has also furthered a climate of hostility toward the Jewish community in our state.” The language of the resolutions “echoes the most radical and inflammatory rhetoric found in international delegitimization campaigns. These claims ignore the complex and painful realities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and distort the nature of Israel’s defensive response to the horrific Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, which resulted in the murder, rape, and abduction of over 1,200 Israelis — civilians, including women, children, and the elderly.”
The resolutions “alienate tens of thousands of North Carolina Jews who support Israel’s right to exist in peace and security — even as they advocate for Palestinian rights and the eventual establishment of two states for two peoples.”
While there was a vote on the arms embargo resolution, the other anti-Israel resolutions were adopted without discussion or vote.
One of them was a “Resolution for Democratic Unity,” which tried an even-handed approach, but in doing so, equated Israel and Hamas. It declares the Hamas attack of Oct. 7 as “unjustifiable,” but uses the same word to describe Israel’s response, noting civilian casualties in Gaza, along with “forced displacement” and “famine conditions.”
The resolution calls for an immediate ceasefire, along with the immediate release of “all Israeli hostages taken by Hamas” and “Palestinian hostages taken by Israel,” referring to Palestinians who were jailed over the years for taking part in terror attacks against Israelis.
The resolution also “condemns any and all acts of terrorism perpetrated (by) Israel or Hamas.”
Adam Goldstein, a longtime Democratic fundraiser in North Carolina, told the advocacy group Voice4Israel North Carolina that "The resolution is biased and potentially antisemitic because it falsely equates Hamas’s abduction of Israeli civilians with Israel’s legal detention of individuals often charged with terrorism, using the term ‘hostages’ for both. This moral equivalence distorts key differences between a democratic state’s legal system and a terrorist organization’s criminal actions. Framing this under the banner of ‘democratic unity’ weaponizes activist language to delegitimize Israel and downplay the brutality of Hamas."
A resolution in “support for rights of Israelis and Palestinians” noted that “All inhabitants of Israel/Palestine have the inherent right to ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’," and the party supports those rights equally.
Another resolution with no practical effect calls for “democratic elections with full suffrage in Israel,” stating that Israel must allow electoral participation by anyone who lives under Israeli sovereignty, was born in such an area, is subject to Israeli laws and pays taxes to the Israeli government, and is of legal age.
That is already the case for Arab citizens of Israel. Palestinians in East Jerusalem often refuse to participate in Israeli elections because that would be a sign of acceptance of Israel’s presence, and the vast majority of Palestinians in Judea and Samaria are under the rule of the Palestinian Authority, which has not held elections in two decades.
That lack of elections was noted in a resolution calling for “new elections in Palestinian territories,” which acknowledged that PA President Mahmoud Abbas has been postponing national votes. The unspoken reason is that if elections had been held, Hamas would have won, ousting Abbas and turning Judea and Samaria into another Gaza. When Hamas won its election in Gaza and took over, it executed PA rivals.
Nevertheless, the state party called for “new Palestinian presidential and legislative elections along with neutral observers to verify that such elections remain free, fair, democratic, peaceful, and credible.”
A resolution in support “of Palestinian Civilians and Human Rights Groups” said the party “must be involved in fighting antisemitism without simultaneously suppressing the rights of individuals and organizations who engage in nonviolent protest, activism in support of Palestinian rights, or criticism of the Israeli government and its actions.”
The resolution calls for a surge of humanitarian aid to Gaza and an immediate ceasefire, conditioning future arms sales and security assistance “to both Israel and Palestine” on the end of human rights violations, and for public officials “to learn about the issues facing Palestinians firsthand through travel, meetings with advocates for longterm peace, and all other methods.” No mention was made of exploring issues Israel faces.
Dominating the agenda
By comparison, during the meeting there were five resolutions honoring individuals, nine on party matters, two on general governance, and one each on labor and economy, and rights and justice. There were eight on international issues, and only one — on supporting Ukraine and strengthening NATO — mentioned an entity other than Israel and the Palestinians.
There was also a generic resolution from the fourth Congressional district simply titled “Genocide is Bad,” the entire text of which is “Resolved, The North Carolina Democratic Party opposes support, supply, or diplomatic cover for genocide.”
Anti-Israel groups have offered similar innocuous resolutions that do not mention any specific conflict, though they clearly have Israel in mind. If a supporter of Israel expresses any concern about such resolutions, it is then taken by anti-Israel groups as an admission of Israeli guilt, as they had not been the ones to mention Israel.
In anticipation of the SEC meeting, on June 25, the North Carolina Democratic Party Jewish Caucus urged unity, as the “resolutions process priorities division over shared values.” In a statement, the caucus said it has spent months “engaging in good faith with party leaders to promote a balanced, inclusive approach to complex international issues,” but have been “met with resistance.”
The statement continued, “Rather than prioritizing critical topics like climate change, accessible healthcare, teacher pay, or North Carolina-specific issues, the Resolutions Committee elected to focus on only a select few issues, chief among them matters regarding Israel.”
Lisa Jewel, president of the Jewish Caucus, said the caucus has a wide range of views on Israel, but a united concern for “our safety here at home.”
She noted that much of the party’s anti-Israel rhetoric “seems to originate from the Interfaith Caucus” and she is “deeply disappointed that a vocal minority within our party continues to sow division.” She urged party leadership to “reaffirm party unity, refocus on electability, and reject virtue signaling distractions that divide us at the expense of progress.”
The Interfaith Caucus is chaired by Rev. Paul McAllister, a director of North Carolina-based Voices for Justice in Palestine, which said, six days after the Oct. 7 massacre, that it was “a response to the grievous history of Israeli oppression of the Palestinian people that has gone on for 75 years.” The group noted, “This is not to justify it, but to understand it,” and called Israel’s response “a crime against humanity” and denounced “The United States’ greenlighting of Israel’s genocidal violence.”
After Oct. 7, McAllister said it was “retaliation from Gaza linked to the presence of a growing number of Jewish visitors at al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.” He claimed to have “borne to witness” expensive Jewish construction projects designed to reclaim the space where the al-Aqsa mosque is, evidenced by “visits during recent Jewish high holy days.”
In recent years, Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount number about 50,000 per year, where they face numerous restrictions and can be arrested if they seem to be praying. A typical Friday during Ramadan generally sees 100,000 Muslims visiting the Temple Mount.
McAllister also publicly backed Rev. Stephen Sizer, who in 2022 was banned from the ministry for 12 years by the Church of England for spreading “virulently antisemitic” material.
The Democratic Majority for Israel, chaired by former U.S. Representative Kathy Manning from North Carolina, said the day before the SEC meeting that it “unequivocally stands with” the Jewish Caucus, saying “Time and time again, the Jewish Caucus of North Carolina has attempted to unify and collaborate with the leadership of the North Carolina Democratic Party, which seems unwilling or unable to reciprocate. Instead, Party Chair Anderson Clayton and First Vice Chair Jonah Garson have continued to tolerate extreme anti-Israel rhetoric and antisemitism from within the party on social media, in executive committee meetings, and even in the exclusion of Jewish members from Interfaith Caucus meetings.”
Before the SEC meeting, Clayton reportedly refused to respond to dialogue requests from the Jewish caucus and DMFI.
In December, Clayton was interviewed by anti-Israel media personality Mehdi Hasan, and asserted that the Democrats lost the presidential election because they were seen as too pro-Israel. A Blueprint survey reported in the Algemeiner showed that the Israel-Palestine issue “barely registered” as a voting motivation, and for those who were concerned about it, more felt that Kamala Harris was too pro-Palestinian.
During the December interview, Clayton praised the Uncommitted Movement for pushing the Democratic Party to endorse an arms embargo.
Regarding the arms embargo resolution, McAllister said “Contrary to the misleading manner in which some may try to vilify the embargo resolution, it is a courageous affirmation of the will of an overwhelming majority of North Carolinians who are decidedly opposed to human starvation and slaughter.”
Congratulatory messages
The Wake County Democratic Party reposted a “massive thank you and congratulations” on Instagram for making the N.C. Democrats “the first state party in the country to call for an immediate arms embargo on Israel.” The Palestinian flag festooned post is no longer on the Wake feed, but the original post is still on the mindfulexplorer Instagram account of writer and strategist Kristina Beverlin, who in a recent post compared Israel to the Nazis.
Also listed on that post is “Vote for Peace USA,” which seems to blame the “pro-Israel lobby” for passage of President Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill by targeting Democrat lawmakers who oppose it. Asking if the “pro-Israel lobby just cost Americans food assistance and healthcare,” the post said AIPAC “advocates for your tax dollars going to Israel’s endless land grabs while electing people who will vote against the working class.”
A social media message thanking the SEC members “for voting with principle, clarity and courage” was posted by a coalition of eight groups, including the party’s Arab, African American, Muslim, LGBTQ+ and Interfaith Caucuses, the Progressive Democrats of Mecklenburg County, Jewish Democrats of the North Carolina Democratic Party and the North Carolina Association of Teen Democrats.
The statement said that the arms embargo resolution shows “the North Carolina Democratic Party will not be complicit in war crimes,” and that taxpayer dollars should be spent at home, not abroad. “You affirmed that Palestinian lives matter, too.”
The Progressive Democrats of Mecklenburg County is led by Nazim Uddin, who is also on the board of Voices for Justice in Palestine. In 2022, he said the North Carolina Jewish Clergy Association’s opposition to a resolution marking May 15 as “Nakba Remembrance Day to recognize Palestinian trauma of 1947-48” was “absolutely despicable,” and said that position reveals them to be “a racist anti-Palestinian hate group.”
While two other anti-Israel resolutions passed in 2022, that one was seen as too inflammatory and was pulled.
On Oct. 9, 2023, two days after the Hamas invasion of Israel, Uddin shared a post stating “don’t fight antisemitism, pardon it!”
Voice4Israel said it has been provided with screenshots from the private SEC social media group, where Uddin said before the June 28 meeting "If the Jewish Caucus’s position is that Jewish safety can only come from continued massacring of Palestinian women and children with U.S. tax dollars and US made weapons, then please make that argument clear so that SEC members understand what they are voting for."
The arms embargo resolution “is the foundation of a movement within the Party. We’re building something durable, rooted in compassion for all people and a refusal to be silent in the face of injustice,” said Reem Subei, chair of the Arab Caucus and vice chair of the Progressive Caucus. “We aspire toward a future where taxpayer dollars are invested in the needs of our own communities: healthcare, education, infrastructure, and safety here in North Carolina.”
“The bottom line is that starving people are being executed while trying to access feeding stations, and our tax dollars are paying for that. This resolution includes a common-sense solution that reflects our values as Democrats. Until Israel starts complying with international law with respect to human rights, we should not be supporting their efforts,” said Kevyn Creech, Wake Dems chair emerita and SEC member.
“Palestinian women are giving cesarean births in tents, often without anesthesia, while children are buried beneath the rubble. Israel’s blockade of medical supplies and aid to these mothers and children is against my Jewish values. Passing this resolution is a moral line in the sand to be able to say Not In My Name,” said Leslie Carey, chair of the Jewish Democrats of the NCDP, established in 2023 as part of the Interfaith Caucus.
Voice4Israel notes that soon after the SEC meeting, the state party apparently removed all references to the meeting, including the text of the resolutions, from its website. Even the events calendar on the party website does not list the meeting. The information, though, was archived on the Wayback Machine online.
V4I also commented that the party has not issued any press release on the meeting, and its weekly update on July 2 did not mention it, prompting some to wonder why the information is being removed.
Governor Josh Stein, a Democrat who is Jewish, has not commented about the resolutions, and Clayton has not posted about the meeting on her X account.
The North Carolina Republican Party posted a Free Beacon article about the Democrats’ arms embargo resolution, entitled “A Constituency of Anti-Semitism.”
The Republican Jewish Coalition said “shame on the North Carolina Democratic Party. Will any North Carolina Democrat condemn this vile anti-Israel resolution?”
Caucus controversy
The Jewish Caucus itself was a subject of controversy in the North Carolina Democratic Party, as a vote to recognize it failed in November 2023. Clayton was among those who voted against recognition.
Ryan Jenkins, president of the party’s Progressive Caucus, said at the time that many progressives demanded that the Jewish caucus be excluded. The Jews “have done nothing but whine and play the victim and attack people and we are sick of it,” he said.
He added that “if the Democratic Party caves to it, that’s the end of the Democratic Party. We’re not Democrats, we’re the Jewish Caucus. We’re a Zionist group. Because they control everything.”
A point of contention, according to Jenkins, was that Matt Sadinsky, who had led the group as it sought recognition, had apparently called Uddin a Nazi and an Iranian spy. He later resigned, citing “personal opponents and disinformation.”
Jenkins chalked the controversy up to “a very small group of rich white people who have never been held accountable for anything, who have never faced consequences for anything, throwing a temper tantrum because they are facing consequences for once,” and labeling any opposition as antisemitic.
A few days after Jenkins’ comments were reported, he issued an apology to anyone who “misinterpreted” them “as playing to antisemitic tropes about secret cabals and other racist nonsense. Seeing it in print, I realize that I chose my words poorly and should have been more exact.”
Upon a revote in early December 2023, the Jewish Caucus was officially recognized, with eight members of the executive committee not voting approval — but Clayton did change her vote to yes, and after the “important vote,” she praised the party’s unity, saying the party “stands against Islamophobia, antisemitism and any form of hatred against marginalized communities.”