Three pro-Israel Democrats have been given key roles on a powerful congressional body overseeing US foreign policy in a move running sharply counter to popular sentiment within the party and likely to anger leftwing activists.
The appointments to the US House of Representatives foreign affairs committee follow a succession of wins in party primaries for progressive candidates who put criticism of Israel and its actions in Gaza at the core of their campaign messages.
In an apparent effort to stem the anti-Israeli tide, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a representative from Florida, and the Missouri representative Wesley Bell will join the committee, while Jared Moskowitz, also from Florida, becomes the Democrats’ ranking member on the subcommittee for the Middle East and North Africa.
All three recently defeated primary challengers who targeted them for their pro-Israel positions.
Mark Pocan, a progressive Democrat from Wisconsin who has vocally criticised the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or Aipac, also joins the committee.
Moskowitz, who last week defeated an anti-Zionist democratic socialist challenger, Oliver Larkin, vowed to use his new position to advance support for Israel.
“At a moment of enormous change across the region, I’ll work to strengthen America’s relationships with Israel and our Gulf allies, expand regional peace, advance American diplomacy, and ensure our foreign policy is grounded in strength, security, and reality. I’m ready to get to work,” he posted on social media.
He predicted his position would become vital if the Democrats retake the House in November’s midterm elections, as many polls indicate.
“If Democrats take control of the House, I’ll be in a position to help steer US policy on Israel and the Middle East,” Moskowitz told Axios.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair) expressed “deep concern” with the appointments of three Democrats whom it described as being among “the Israeli government’s most committed and consistent enablers”.
Their elevation was an “insult to American voters and a desperate attempt to shield the Israeli government from accountability”, said Edward Ahmed Mitchell, the group’s national deputy director. “These decisions must not stand.”
In this month’s primary campaign, Moskowitz accused Larkin, his opponent, of antisemitism and refused to debate him. One rabbi reportedly urged Republican congregants to register as Democrats in order to vote for Moskowitz.
Wasserman Schultz won her primary after her congressional district was heavily redrawn, beating her main challenger, 27-year-old Elijah Manley, who also criticised her support for Israel and acceptance of financial donations from Aipac.
Bell won a rematch poll against the former Democratic representative Cori Bush, who he defeated in a 2024 primary. Bush was a vocal critic of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.
Polls consistently show a loss of support for Israel among a US electorate that once staunchly backed it. The drop in support is particularly pronounced among younger voters, with older Republicans and white evangelicals being the only groups showing majorities holding favorable views of Israel, according to a Pew Poll in April.
A leftwing Democrat, Angie Nixon – a vocal critic of Israel – last week won a special election to become the party’s Senate candidate in Florida in November.
