A progressive group of young Jewish activists opposed to Israel’s treatment of Palestinians is expanding its organization in hopes of making a major impact on the Democratic race for the White House.
IfNotNow has launched a 501(c)(4) and is training organizers in the early primary state of New Hampshire, the group told POLITICO. Its goal is to raise $100,000 in its first fundraising quarter.
“Our focus is going to be trying to push the candidates past giving lip-service to a two-state solution,” said IfNotNow co-founder Emily Mayer, “without recognizing the underlying dynamics and explicit moves by the Israel government that are creating a one-state reality where Palestinians are denied basic rights.”
The organization is also taking a page out of the playbook of groups such as Black Lives Matter and the American Civil Liberties Union: It plans to “bird-dog” presidential candidates at public events to create viral moments and prod the Democratic Party leftward on the issue of Israel.
IfNotNow said the first 2020 contender it plans to question will be Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who is campaigning this weekend in New Hampshire. Sanders has called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government “racist.” In addition to pushing the candidates to adopt more progressive positions on Israel, the group said it is hoping to draw public attention to the Democratic Party’s changing attitudes on the topic and clarify candidates’ stances on particular issues.
Other activists have already had success influencing the 2020 news cycle by confronting candidates on the campaign trail and asking them candid questions: Former Vice President Joe Biden was caught on camera telling an ACLU volunteer he supported repealing the Hyde Amendment. His campaign later said he actually backed the ban on using federal dollars for abortion services, only to reverse his position again after being rebuked by abortion rights groups.
“The Democratic base is quite far politically in their views on the issue from where the Democratic establishment is,” said Mayer, who named Biden and Sen. Cory Booker as presidential candidates who are particularly out of sync with liberal voters.
IfNotNow believes that the time is ripe to put Israel at the center of the primary debate: Only 26 percent of Democrats view the government of Israel favorably, according to a 2019 survey by the Pew Research Center.
Until now, IfNotNow has focused on trying to change the way Jewish people and institutions, such as Jewish summer camps, discuss the issue of Israel. The group’s move into electoral politics has earned them praise from the first Palestinian-American woman elected to Congress.
“It is about time we realize the status quo is not working to bring peace to the region,” said Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.). “IfNotNow is one of the organizations that gives me hope that we are making progress towards a just and lasting peace.”
The organization may not stop at the 2020 race: IfNotNow’s local chapters are also in talks about potentially endorsing candidates in congressional races and doing field work for them. It does not expect to endorse a candidate in the presidential primary, however.
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