It seems like each day brings fresh revelations of a Leftist politician being elevated despite their extreme anti-Israel – if not outright antisemitic – beliefs. From the election of Zohran Mamdani in New York; to the SS-tattooed, Hamas-supporting Senate candidate Graham Platner; to the Michigan Senate candidate sharing the campaign stump with a notorious antisemitic influencer; the Left is on a path toward embracing institutional hostility to Israel and the Jewish people.
These are not isolated incidents, but indicative of a trend that has spiked across the West in the years since the atrocities of October 7th. And disturbingly, this is taking place against a backdrop of rising antisemitic violence, with assaults against American Jews reportedly reaching a 46-year high. Nor are these marginal figures: Leftist leaders like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are participating in a systematic effort to whitewash the antisemitic backgrounds of candidates like Platner, attempting to persuade the voting public that statements praising Hamas are little more than intemperate foibles.
Given this background, it’s no coincidence that the foreign policy group being rebooted to prepare Leftist candidates ahead of the 2028 election will be led by a radical anti-Israel activist. Both the policy and political arms of the party can tell which way the wind is blowing, and instead of holding the line or trying to sway their colleagues, are going right along with it.
On the one hand, this is clear evidence of the ideological capture by radical progressives that has been underway for some time now. But surely establishment politicians like Senator Schumer and Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi wouldn’t have an incentive to go along with this?
Unfortunately, recent polls paint a disturbing picture of why this crop of invertebrate politicians are making common cause with anti-Israel zealots. An April Pew Research survey showed that 8 in 10 Democrats have an unfavorable view of Israel – from 69% in 2025 and 53% in 2022. These figures track with other reputable polls that show a rapid increase in anti-Israel sentiment in recent years on the Left, and among young adults across the ideological spectrum influenced by the anti-Israel slander peddled by powerful voices in the new media.
Of course, not all Left-leaning politicians are abandoning their party’s traditional stance of tolerance and support for the Jewish state: Notable exceptions bucking the current trend include Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Senator John Fetterman. This support is putting them in the crosshairs of the intellectual and political vanguard of their party.
The game being played here shares many similarities with the strategy of the British Labour Party, which has cultivated the increasingly influential Islamist vote by excusing (and even embracing) outright antisemitism. This policy of appeasement has emboldened radical Islamists and their ideological helpmeets to launch a campaign of harassment and violence that is sending British Jews into internal exile and creating a national security crisis for the entire UK. Thankfully, America is nowhere near this point thanks to our size, relative success in assimilating our heterogeneous population, and robust culture of individual liberty. But there can be little doubt that Leftist politicians are looking at the polls, analyzing demographics, and making a bet that its future lies in cultivating hostility toward Israel.
Americans need to be clear-eyed about what is going on here and the danger it poses to our national security and to our Jewish community. At a time when the US alliance with Israel is stronger and more consequential than ever before, electing politicians who want to abandon this invaluable partnership would be a generational disaster for our foreign policy. What’s more, making common cause with the enemies of Israel at home and abroad would embolden radical Islamists who seek the destruction of our way of life, and elevating antisemitic voices in politics and the media will telegraph that anti-Jew hatred is fine, so long as it is framed as “anti-Zionism.” But as I have said many times, anti-Zionism is antisemitism.
We cannot afford to play politics when it comes to an issue of such grave importance. Responsible leaders on both sides of the aisle must recognize this trend and make the case to the American people for the indispensability of our alliance with Israel as well as the vileness of antisemitism. Political leaders must be prepared to clean house and come out against the figures in their party pushing radical agendas, and to show zero tolerance for anyone who embraces or excuses antisemitism. Looking the other way simply is not an option if we want to preserve the characteristics that make this country great.
Mike Pompeo is the former Secretary of State and former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). He is currently Senior Counsel for Global Affairs at the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ).
Editor’s Note: The Primary Antisemitic Canard Of The Present Generation
Mike Pompeo, who is an outspoken Christian, has drawn ire from progressive activists and the media for using the Bible to defend the nation of Israel’s right to exist.
“[Israel] is not an occupying nation,” he underscored. “As an evangelical Christian, I am convinced by my reading of the Bible that 3,000 years on now, in spite of the denial of so many, [this land] is the rightful homeland of the Jewish people.”
In his speech to the Jerusalem Post conference, Pompeo urged that the “future of our nations demands a more forceful assertion of the truth,” specifically addressing the antisemitic lie that Israel is an “occupier.”
“The future of our nations demands a more forceful assertion of the truth. In Israel’s case, it specifically involves confronting a false narrative. That is the very beating heart of modern antisemitism. That beating heart is the lie. It is the lie that the State of Israel is an illegal occupier in the land of Israel,” Pompeo explained. “The lie of occupation provides Israel’s enemies a means to explain away all types of aggression and violence as merely resistance to the occupation. Just listen to what they have to say in the public rhetoric.”
“Given the negative connotation of the term occupier, antisemitic groups around the world use the word as often as possible in their messaging, as they carry out acts of cultural, political, and economic warfare upon Israel and its supporters,” he asserted. “This then leads to the term’s casual repetition by the media and its eventual use by policymakers as well. This presents a real risk. It is clear then that promoting the common misrepresentation of the Jewish state of Israel as an occupier in the land of Israel has become the primary antisemitic canard of the present generation.”
