Democrats Poised for Heated Debate on Israel, Free Trade at Final Platform Meeting
Democrats Poised for Heated Debate on Israel, Free Trade at Final Platform Meeting
NOAH FITZGEREL
ABC News
More battles between Clinton and Sanders supporters are likely. The Sanders campaign has already celebrated several victories in the platform draft, including language it claims reflects the campaign’s positions on Social Security, super PACs, and breaking up the big banks, according to an email the Sanders campaign sent to supporters last week. Despite these victories, Sanders appointees on the Platform Drafting Committee do not believe that the fight is over.
One area for debate will be the party’s position on Israel. Committee member and Sanders appointee James Zogby tells ABC News that “there will be a re-do of inserting the word ‘occupation’ and ‘settlements’ into the platform” at the final meeting this week. These words would be added to the party’s plank on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Zogby had introduced a proposal to include language calling for “an end to occupation and illegal settlements” in the platform during the drafting process, but the proposal was not accepted.
The Sanders campaign has made public its intention to change the platform’s language on the TPP before it is finalized at Philadelphia’s convention. In an email to supporters last week, Sanders wrote that “we must defeat the disastrous Trans-Pacific Partnership," adding that "our job is to do everything we can to rally support for an amendment to the platform in strong opposition to the TPP.” The campaign promised action at the national convention if efforts to change the platform’s language at Friday’s meeting are unsuccessful. Sanders wrote “if we fail there we are going to take this fight to the floor of the Democratic Party convention in Philadelphia next month.”
The Sanders campaign is rallying opposition to the TPP in these last few days before the meeting. In an opinion piece published in the Philadelphia Inquirer on July 3, Sanders doubled down on his opposition to both the TPP and to the platform draft’s current equivocation on the matter, writing “the Democratic Party must go on record in opposition to holding a vote on this disastrous, unfettered free-trade agreement during the lame-duck session of Congress and beyond.”
The party does not have a great track record on Israel platform votes.
If Sanders delegates do not prevail on TPP language, I expect this will come up at Mr. Sander's rally before the convention and on the convention floor.
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