Statement on North Carolina Democratic Party’s RESOLUTIONS & PLATFORM COMMITTEE: FINAL 2022 RESOLUTIONS REPORT

The Jewish Federation of Raleigh-Cary is appalled with the offensive anti-Israel and antisemitic language in the North Carolina Democratic Party’s RESOLUTIONS & PLATFORM COMMITTEE: FINAL 2022 RESOLUTIONS REPORT. We join the NC Jewish Clergy Association and the NC Democratic Jewish Caucus in calling on party chair Dr. Bobbie Richardson to repudiate these statements, as they do not reflect the policies of North Carolina’s top democrat leaders nor the views of the majority of North Carolinians.

In two resolutions, the NC Democratic Party uses blatant anti-Israel language, incorrectly presents a one-sided nature of the conflict, perpetuates stereotypes of Israelis and Jews, ignores Israel’s security needs, uses incorrect information, and implies that Israel should not exist as a Jewish state. This language is especially troubling as anti-Israel rhetoric is known to contribute to antisemitic incidents against American Jews, the recent increase of which in North Carolina is not referenced anywhere in the document.

Our Jewish Federation, which serves a Jewish community that represents the entire spectrum of opinions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, believes that it is possible to love Israel and its people while advocating for Palestinian rights and registering disagreement with Israeli government policies as needed. We do not believe that all criticism of Israel is inherently antisemitic; however, we cannot tolerate the language in these resolutions.

We call on the NC Democratic Party to remove these resolutions and never allow them to reach the Party Platform, in order to best reflect the policies stated by the top Democrat leaders of our state.

Governor Roy Cooper proclaimed that the State of Israel, “the only democracy in the Middle East, is the greatest friend and ally of the United States in the Middle East” and that our two countries have “a shared commitment to freedom, peace, security, and civil rights for all their people. (4/9/2018)

Rep. Kathy Manning (NC-06) states, “As Vice Chair of the influential Middle East, North Africa, and Global Counterterrorism Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, I am an advocate for maintaining a strong relationship between the United States and Israel. [. . .] In my role as Vice Chair, I champion policies that protect Israel’s security, strengthen the US-Israel relationship, maintain strict oversight of the Iran nuclear agreement, and promote security in the Middle East. I will continue to advocate for a two-state solution and against anti-Semitism of any form.”

The office of US Senate candidate Cheri Beasley states: “Cheri condemns the proposed NCDP [North Carolina Democratic Party] resolution[s] and remains deeply committed to supporting and protecting Israel. She will always stand up against hate, bigotry, and antisemitism.”

Our Jewish Federation is non-partisan, and we hope that all political parties can acknowledge and support the full humanity of all people in the disputed territories. We join with the NC Jewish Clergy Association, Voice4Israel and other NC community organizations which have called out the NC Democratic Party for its misguided resolutions concerning Israel.

Our Jewish Federation is coordinating with statewide and national partners on additional next steps for our community.

We call on Democrat members of our community to contact their local party representatives to say they object to the anti-Israel language in these resolutions. Residents of Wake County can find contact information for local precinct leaders here.

To read the resolutions, CLICK HERE.

To read the NC Jewish Clergy Association statement, CLICK HERE.