Politics & Government
From 'Ironclad' Support To No Jewish State: New Hampshire Democrats Shift On Israel
In July 2023, U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas and other Democrats attacked efforts to rewrite history. Today, he votes "present" on an aid package.
“Israel is the legitimate homeland of the Jewish people, and efforts to delegitimize and demonize it are not only dangerous and antisemitic, but they also undermine America’s national security.”
That’s from a statement “Regarding the Ironclad U.S.-Israel Relationship” issued by U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas and a group of his fellow congressional Democrats in July of 2023. “Any efforts to rewrite history and question the Jewish State’s right to exist, or our historic bipartisan relationship, will never succeed in Congress,” Pappas and his colleagues added.
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Three years later, Pappas voted ‘present’ rather than oppose a ban on all U.S. aid to Israel.
Now, some of the Democrats who hope to replace Pappas (who is running for U.S. Senate) are say that Israel should not exist.
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This is beyond chanting “From the river to the sea,” which many Granite State Democrats have done at rallies and protests across the state. On WMUR this weekend, NH-01 Democratic candidate for Congress Rep. Heath Howard said there should not be a Jewish state.
“I’m promoting a secular state,” Howard said. “I think that we need to have a state that has separation between the religious aspect and the actual function of the government, and that is something that we’re not seeing in the state of Israel.”
Asked by NHJournal whether he was saying there should no longer be an Israel or any Jewish state, Howard answered, “I do not believe in theocracies.”
Interestingly, Israel is not a theocracy. Unlike Afghanistan and Iran, Israel is not governed by religious leaders, nor does it have a religious test to participate in government. Instead, Israel is a parliamentary democracy with secular courts and members of multiple religions and backgrounds (including Arabs) in its national legislature.
Howard’s latest comments build on an earlier WMUR appearance in which he declared, “I don’t think Israel has a right to exist.”
Pappas is facing a U.S. Senate primary challenge from Karishma Manzur, who has accused Israel of genocide and portrays American support for the Jewish state as the product of purchased political influence.
During a recent appearance on the NHJournal podcast, Manzur repeatedly — and incorrectly — described the American Israel Public Affairs Committee as a “foreign lobby.” And she attacked Pappas for “taking $3 million from AIPAC and other pro-Israel lobbies,” Manzur said. “In return, he has approved billions of dollars of weapons transfers to Israel to fuel a genocide.”
Rep. Judy Aron (R-Acworth), who is Jewish, calls the anti-Israel sentiment among Democrats “shameful.”
“It is clear that people like Rep. Heath Howard have no understanding of history — Israeli or otherwise, or how anti-American is platform really is. And they have zero concept of the freedoms that Israel affords to its citizens, or how Israelis live under the constant threat of annihilation.”
NHJournal reached out to several Jewish Democrats in elective office, but none of them responded to requests for comment. However, progressive Democrat Rep. Loren Selig (D-Durham) recently posted on social media, “I do not support the Netanyahu regime any more than the Trump one. However, calls for Israel to no longer exist are not okay with me, either.”
New Hampshire’s anti-Israel candidates are part of a growing national progressive movement challenging the premise of Jewish statehood.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, says Israel should not exist as a Jewish state.
Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed has adopted a similar approach.
When asked whether Israel has a right to exist, El-Sayed would only say that “Israel exists.” He has also repeatedly avoided taking a public position on the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who led a terror-sponsoring regime that killed thousands around the globe and pledged to wipe Israel off the mape.
And Darializa Avila Chevalier, a democratic socialist and Democratic congressional nominee in New York, calls Israel an apartheid state committing genocide and defended her presence at an Oct. 8, 2023, pro-Palestinian rally held one day after Hamas terrorists murdered approximately 1,200 people in Israel and took more than 250 hostages.
In the NH-01 Democratic primary, progressive Christian Urrutia is calling out Shaheen and Sullivan for their silence on the “Massie Amendment” — the vote to ban U.S. aid to Israel (and in which Pappas voted ‘present.’)
“How is it that Maura Sullivan and Stefany Shaheen will not answer a basic question on how they would have voted on a critical foreign policy issue?” Urrutia asked Monday.
“Maura Sullivan sought and secured DMFI’s endorsement, used it to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars from pro-Israel donors, and benefited from fundraisers hosted by other pro-Israel groups, like NORPAC. Now she refuses to say where she stands because a straight answer could alienate either powerful interests or Democratic voters.
“On the other hand, Stefany Shaheen continues to dodge clear positions on the toughest issues. They are asking voters for jobs that require difficult decisions. Voters deserve direct answers. I respect voters enough to provide one. I would have voted for the Massie amendment. I hope Sullivan and Shaheen will join me.”
