THE YEAR THE DEMOCRATS TURNED AGAINST ISRAEL

Mark this as the year the Democratic Party turned decisively anti-Israel.

The party’s ever-more-dominant liberal base has turned increasingly against the Jewish state — while Bernie Sanders is using his movement to push for Israel-bashing language in the platform.

And Israel’s remaining Democratic friends are afraid to speak up.

As recently as 2001, this group favored Israel by 48 percent to 10 percent. Today, 40 percent say they’re pro-Palestinian to just 33 percent favoring Israel. In just the past two years, support for the Palestinians has nearly doubled.

But the trend’s been building for years. The initial 2012 Democratic platform, recall, dropped long-standing language declaring Jerusalem Israel’s capital.

When embarrassed party officials tried to reinstate that clause on the convention floor, they were met with raucous boos from the delegates. They gaveled the measure through as passed — even though it clearly hadn’t.

Now Sanders — who has regularly denounced Israeli policies — has used three of his five picks for the 2016 platform committee to name outspokenly harsh critics of Israel.

Their proposed Middle East platform plank will surely be hostile to Israel. Will Hillary Clinton push back?

Maybe not: She wants to avoid any public convention fights. Indeed, her own committee pick, Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.), says he sees room in the platform for more avowedly pro-Palestinian language on “their hope for justice.”

But even if Hillary does choose to stand up for her own professed commitment to Israel, will the convention delegates follow?

New York’s Sen. Chuck Schumer is an avowed friend of Israel — yet he’s clearly unwilling to buck his party’s tide. Otherwise, he’d have actually fought to stop President Obama’s lunatic Iran deal, rather than declaring his opposition . . . and then going mute.

All this, even as the Pew poll shows support for Israel growing among every other ideological group — not just conservative Republicans, where pro-Israel sentiment is overwhelming, but also moderate/liberal GOPers and conservative/moderate Democrats.

It’s beyond depressing to see liberal Democrats breaking ranks with the rest of America — and pressing to destroy a seven-decade bipartisan pro-Israel consensus.

Source: http://nypost.com/2016/05/28/the-year-the-democrats-turned-against-israel/