The victory of Graham Platner in last week’s Democratic Senate primary has added yet another candidate with a sharply anti-Israel stance to the list of contenders heading into November’s midterm elections.
Platner, who has a Nazi tattoo and has publicly referred to Israel’s military operations in Gaza as a “genocide,” is not an isolated case. Across the country, a rising number of Democratic primary candidates holding strongly anti-Israel positions are winning their races — and political observers are now asking whether views once seen as politically toxic have become increasingly mainstream within parts of the party.
Shmuel Rosner, a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute, told The Media Line that “it is becoming less and less of a liability for people to express views [about Israel or the Jews] that were once considered harmful for a political candidate.”
Just under a decade ago, such candidates were rare. The group that became known as the Squad — made up of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, and Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan — were frequently criticized for remarks that opponents characterized as antisemitic or hostile toward Israel. At the time, they were widely regarded as outliers.
By last November, however, Zohran Mamdani had been elected mayor of New York City — the American city with the largest Jewish population. Mamdani has accused Israel of genocide in Gaza and of operating an apartheid system.
Now, even more candidates with comparable views are winning Democratic primaries for seats in Congress and the Senate. Prof. Eytan Gilboa of Bar-Ilan University and Reichman University warned that if enough of these candidates win in November, the consequences for both U.S.-Israel relations and the future direction of the Democratic Party could be profound.
“This would be the first time in American history that we would have an anti-Israel Democratic president elected,” Gilboa told The Media Line. “And in general, if Congress is very anti-Israel, this would mean a disaster for Israel and American Jewry. I think we should really be very concerned.”
Gilboa pointed out that progressive Democratic candidates are increasingly being pushed to state clearly whether they believe Israel’s actions in Gaza amount to genocide. He recalled an incident in January when California State Senator Scott Wiener initially refused during a debate to use the word genocide and was met with loud booing and heckling. He later reversed course and said he did consider it a genocide following significant backlash.
Another candidate Gilboa highlighted is Chris Rabb, who won his Philadelphia primary and is expected to join the Squad. Rabb made his opposition to Israel and to AIPAC — the American Israel Public Affairs Committee — central themes of his congressional campaign.
In Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed, a Muslim and self-described progressive Democrat, is also running, with that state’s primary set for August. El-Sayed has repeatedly accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and has stated that he considers both Israel and Hamas to be “evil.”
Gilboa said American Jews who lean Democratic now face a difficult choice: vote for a candidate they view as anti-Israel, cast a ballot for a Republican who may not align with their other values, or stay home on Election Day.
Recent polling data reflects a broader shift in how Americans view Israel. According to the latest Pew Research Center survey, 60% of U.S. adults now hold an unfavorable opinion of Israel — up from 53% in 2025 and 42% in 2022. The same Pew report found that 59% of Americans have little or no confidence in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to act responsibly in world affairs.
Gilboa noted that while roughly two-thirds of Americans once viewed Israel favorably, that trend has now largely flipped. He added that “people especially don’t like Netanyahu and equate Netanyahu with Israel and with the Israeli people and with the Israeli state, and criticism went from criticizing certain Israeli policies to rejecting Israel’s right to exist.”
Rosner echoed that concern, pointing to a historical comparison: when President Gerald Ford moved in the 1970s to reassess U.S. relations with Israel, 80 senators signed a letter urging him to reconsider.
“I don’t see 80 senators doing similar things today for Israel or in support of an Israeli position and resisting the president,” Rosner said. “I think Israel is now much more dependent on the goodwill of the commander in chief.”
Gilboa also raised alarms about how many American Jews are responding to the trend. He cited polling showing that roughly 30% of American Jews voted for Mamdani, whom Gilboa regards as both anti-Israel and antisemitic.
“American Jews are not even understanding that antisemitism in the United States has very little to do with Israel and much to do with being a Jew in America,” Gilboa said. “They think that if Israel disappears, then their situation is going to be improved. And that’s complete nonsense.”
Rosner urged caution against drawing overly dire conclusions, but said action is needed. He argued that Israel must work to rebuild goodwill among both the American public and political leaders.
“If there’s a way for Israel to improve its image with the American public and with the American political elite, I think it is essential that Israel do such a thing sooner rather than later,” Rosner told The Media Line.
He also said Israel needs to prepare for a future in which it cannot count on American backing to the same degree it once did — though he does not believe U.S. support will disappear entirely.
Rosner further noted that Israel will hold its own elections before the U.S. midterms, and suggested that a change in government and the departure of Netanyahu could help improve the country’s image internationally.
“We could say it is a different era for Israel, and everything you thought about Israel in the last four years, let’s forget about it and start from scratch,” Rosner said. “I’m not sure this is going to work, but at least it will provide Israel with an opportunity for a restart.”
Whether that reset happens remains uncertain. But with a growing number of candidates running on platforms sharply critical of Israel, this November’s midterm elections may serve as one of the clearest signals yet of how dramatically the American political landscape has shifted.
