Democratic donors warn Biden about Israel-Gaza policy
A group of more than a hundred Democratic donors and activists Monday sent a letter to President Biden’s campaign warning that progressive anger over Israel’s war in Gaza “increases the chances of a Trump victory.”
The signed letter is the latest sign of Democratic discontent over Mr. Biden’s alignment with the Israeli government in carrying out the war that began when Hamas militants killed 1,200 people in Israel on Oct. 7.
Since then, more than 30,000 Palestinians have died at the hands of Israel, according to Gaza health authorities. Anger over the plight of Palestinians has roiled Democratic politics, with Biden followed by protesters outside many of his public events calling for a ceasefire in the conflict and an end to US military aid to Israel.
The letter’s signatories include a handful of donors who have given six-figure sums to Mr. Biden’s 2020 and 2024 presidential campaigns, although a vast majority of donors who signed the letter have given smaller amounts to candidates and has achieved more progressive goals than Mr. Biden, according to Federal Election Commission reports.
Among the persons mentioned are Paul Egerman, a financial co-chairman for Senator Elizabeth Warren’s 2020 presidential campaign; David and Elizabeth Steinglass, who together donated $1.4 million to Democratic candidates and charities in 2020, including $100,000 to Mr. Biden’s campaign committees; Caroline Gabel, an environmentalist who has given $315,000 to Democrats and $51,000 to Mr. Biden’s campaign committees this election cycle; And George Kruppwho gave $1.2 million to Democrats in 2020 and has donated more than $600,000 to them during the 2024 election cycle.
Mr. Steinglass declined to comment. Mr. Egerman and Ms. Gabel did not respond to messages. Mr. Krupp said in an interview arranged by Mr. Biden’s campaign that while he was angry about Mr. Biden’s stance on Israel, he still planned to co-host a fundraiser for the president in Boston in September to organise.
“I would like to see the president take a tougher stance on humanitarian aid,” Mr. Krupp said. “If he can prevent continued civilian casualties, that would also be a wish of mine.”
Mr. Krupp said he was personally unsure about the letter’s conclusion that the war in Gaza is hurting Mr. Biden politically. The letter deplores Mr. Biden’s support for Israel’s war efforts and its Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Unfortunately, President Biden has seemingly provided unconditional support for the Israeli operation,” it said. “The Biden administration has supplied armaments, including 2,000-pound bombs that have been used to level entire civilian neighborhoods, causing huge numbers of casualties, with a high percentage of women and children. President Biden has asked Netanyahu to minimize civilian casualties but has not threatened consequences as Netanyahu continues to ignore him.”
The letter goes on to argue that the war is alienating progressive voters from Mr. Biden and fellow Democrats and warns that if the war does not end, it could result in the president losing the November election to former President Donald J. Trump .
“As donors and activists, we have spent significant time and money helping increase turnout among likely Biden voters, especially among young voters and voters of color,” the letter said. “Many of these voters are now wondering whether the Democratic Party shares their values. If they stay home or vote for a third-party candidate, there is a very real danger that President Biden will be defeated in November. The re-election of Donald Trump would be a disaster for our country and a greater disaster for Israel/Palestine, and we fear that the Gaza war increases the likelihood of that. Due to the disillusionment of a crucial part of the Democratic coalition, the war in Gaza increases the chances of a Trump victory.”
About 10 percent of Democratic primary voters voted “uncommitted” in states where that was an option. The “uncommitted” movement has become a proxy for Democrats disillusioned with Mr. Biden’s policies toward Israel, after it started with a group of Arab-American activists in Michigan trying to put public pressure on Mr. Biden to end US support for the war against Israel. attempt.
On Tuesday, the Michigan activists who started the “unoccupied” effort in their state announced they would try to organize a national effort to organize anti-war delegates for the Democratic National Convention in August.
The Biden campaign shrugged off the letter on Tuesday.
“The president shares the goal of an end to violence and a just, lasting peace in the Middle East,” said campaign spokeswoman Lauren Hitt. “He is working tirelessly toward that goal.”
Among those who distributed the letter and recruited signatories was Liam Connell, a wealthy retiree in the Chicago suburbs. Mr. Connell said he did not want to comment on the letter, which was sent to Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Biden’s campaign manager.
“The letter speaks for itself, and I don’t want to be a spokesperson and do editorial work,” Mr. Connell said. “I have asked others to do the same. The letter was intended as a private communication and was not intended to be released to the press or placed in the public domain.”
Mr. Biden’s campaign has so far raised significantly more money than Mr. Trump’s. Independent groups have pledged more than $1 billion to help elect Mr. Biden and allied Democrats this fall — a sum that dwarfs public pledges from Republicans backing Mr. Trump.
Taylor Robinson And Kitty Bennett contributed to this report.