(RNS) — The executive committee of North Carolina’s Democratic Party passed a strongly worded resolution Saturday (June 28), calling for an end to military aid, weapons shipments and logistical support to Israel, angering many North Carolina Jews.
The resolution is believed to be among the first state affiliates of the Democratic Party to pass similar measures seeking to restrict weapons to Israel. Wisconsin and Washington state Democratic parties passed similar measures. The vote in North Carolina passed by a slim margin, 161-151.
The resolution refers to what human rights groups have called an “apartheid” (or state-sponsored segregation) against Palestinians and credible evidence of a genocide in Gaza, as documented by the International Court of Justice. Israel denies those accusations.
It also cites polling showing that 62% of young Democrats support an arms embargo against Israel. The resolution suggests military funding to Israel would be better used to address the needs of Americans in the United States.
Rabbis across the state said they felt the resolution, which has been years in the making, is one-sided. It makes no mention of the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that killed about 1,200 people or the 251 hostages taken to Gaza or the violence directed toward pro-Israel Jews in the United States since the war began. On Monday, Colorado prosecutors said an 82-year-old Jewish woman died from wounds sustained in a firebombing attack against Jewish protesters in Boulder, Colorado, earlier this month.
“For many in the Jewish community, this framing is not only inaccurate, but also deeply painful because it overlooks the trauma of Oct. 7, because it overlooks the ongoing threats to Israeli and Jewish civilians here in the United States, because it disregards so much of the emotional historical connection that many Jews feel towards Israel even as they support Palestinian rights and mourn the loss of life in Gaza,” said Rabbi Asher Knight of Temple Beth El in Charlotte, North Carolina’s largest synagogue.
Passersby pause for a moment at a makeshift memorial for victims of an attack outside of the Boulder County, Colo., courthouse as a light rain falls June 3, 2025, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Rabbis also said they had not yet had a chance to figure out a concerted response, since the resolution was adopted by the Democratic Party’s executive committee on Shabbat, and most were unaware of it until Sunday.
The resolution comes at a time when the Democratic Party’s stance on Israel is evolving, with younger generations increasingly critical of Israel and its prolonged war in Gaza, which has killed upwards of 56,000 Palestinians and leveled the coastal strip. Just last week, a vocal critic of Israel and supporter of Palestinian rights won New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary.
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Many Democrats feel the United States is complicit in Israel’s war. The country has long been the leading recipient of U.S. military aid, which, since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, has amounted to about $18 billion dollars, according to October 2024 data.
“This resolution is the foundation of a movement within the Party,” said Reem Subei, chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party’s Arab Caucus and vice chair of the Progressive Caucus, in a statement. “We’re building something durable, rooted in compassion for all people and a refusal to be silent in the face of injustice. We aspire toward a future where taxpayer dollars are invested in the needs of our own communities: healthcare, education, infrastructure, and safety here in North Carolina.”
Rabbi Fred Guttman, a retired rabbi of Temple Emanuel in Greensboro, North Carolina, who served on the executive committee of the state’s Democratic Party until May, said the committee has long held anti-Israel views. When it tried to adopt a similar resolution a few years ago, Jews on the committee responded by forming a Jewish caucus. As soon as they did, Muslim and Arab caucuses were also formed.
“This resolution does nothing to help elect Democrats in our state,” Guttman said. “It’s just a way to try to bash Israel for propaganda purposes and to do so in a very extreme and one-sided way.”
Some NC Jews added that the resolution’s demands seemed unrealistic. It calls for the embargo to continue “until Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and B’tselem certify that Israel is no longer engaged in apartheid rule.”
“That’s unusual and arguably a pretty unserious threshold that feels very performative rather than actually constructive,” said Knight.
The chairperson of the state Democratic Party’s Jewish Caucus declined to be interviewed Monday.
“It’s a premature resolution,” said Rabbi Lucy Dinner, retired rabbi of Raleigh’s Temple Beth Or. “It is indicative of what we’ve seen from the Democratic Party over the last several years, and it is not a surprise.”
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