Jewish Dems sought "safe space" at the Democrats' convention

They met in secret to get it.

Before the beginning of the Democratic National Convention, I believed that pro-Palestinian protesters wouldn’t cause significant disruption. I reasoned that these “protesters are basically just going through the motions. They feel obliged to protest, but don’t want to harm the Democrats.”

Even so, I was a little surprised by how lame the protests turned out to be. Dana Milbank of the Washington Post quipped that he couldn’t even find “a Chicago seven” outside the convention hall.

The pro-Palestinians understand that under Kamala Harris, the Democrats are the pro-Palestinian party and, by the same token, the anti-Israel party. As Abbas Alawieh, co-founder of the pro-Palestinian “Uncommitted National Movement, put it, “We love this party.”

To ensure that pro-Palestinian love for the Democrats translated into passivity in Chicago, Kamala Harris accommodated them. Reportedly, she pledged to meet with leaders of the pro-Uncommitted National Movement to consider an arms embargo against Israel. She also met in secret with Abdullah Hammoud, the mayor of Dearborn, Michigan, which has the largest Arab American population of any city in the United States. We can only guess what pledges Harris made to him.

At the convention itself, several speakers demanded an end to the war in Gaza. In addition, the Democrats “provided space” for a panel that criticized Israel and also for a vigil for Palestinians killed in Gaza. I’ve seen no report of a vigil for Israelis and Americans butchered by Hamas.

In fact, the convention was far from hospitable for Jews. A DNC event on rising anti-Semitism against Orthodox Jews in America was disrupted by anti-Israel activists. “Brick by brick, wall by wall, Zionism will fall,” they chanted.

To the disgust of Abe Foxman, a Holocaust survivor and former head of the anti-Defamation League, Jews had to meet in secret at the DNC to avoid disruption by anti-Semites. One Jewish progressive leader said:

We really needed to create a space where Jews at the convention could be safe and proud in who they are, that they had the language that they needed and the confidence to know that they were not alone in talking about what it means to be a proud Zionist, a proud progressive and a proud Democrat.

It’s appalling that Jews needed a “safe space” at the Democratic National Convention. Foxman lamented, “after 50 years of fighting anti-Semitism in America, I would not have imagined a time when Jews would have to meet in secret locations at the DNC.”

That time is here. Do American Jews know what time it is?

Liberal Jews tried to comfort themselves by noting that Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, is Jewish. The notion that the “First Gentleman” would be able to influence Harris administration policy in the Middle East is pure fantasy. (Nor should a president’s spouse have any say about this.)

Emhoff says he’s focusing on Jewish safety at America’s colleges and universities. There’s no reason to believe he could have an impact on that. However, it’s a useful way of trying to appease liberal Jews while his hard-left wife and Israel haters at the State Department stick it to the Jewish state.

Whatever Emhoff might believe about Israel and its security needs (and who knows what he believes), don’t expect him to come within a mile of Middle East policy.

And don’t expect the support for Democrats by non-Orthodox Jews to diminish this year. Expect, instead, that non-Orthodox Jews will remain steadfastly loyal to the party at whose national convention they must meet in secret.