How Democrats Lost Jewish Voters in Three Years: The Squad, October 7th, and a Historic Political Realignment

For 80 years, Jewish Americans voted Democrat with near-religious devotion. Franklin Roosevelt captured 90% of the Jewish vote in 1944. For generations, supporting Democrats was as fundamental to Jewish political identity as supporting Israel itself.

Then something broke.

In just three years—from 2022 to 2025—Democratic support for Israel among all voters collapsed by 30 percentage points. Jewish voters are fleeing the party their grandparents would have died for. Orthodox Jews now vote Republican at rates approaching 74%, rivaling African American support for Democrats.

This isn't a typical political shift. This is one of the most dramatic realignments in modern American history, and it happened at lightning speed. The question isn't whether it's happening—it's how the Democratic Party threw away an 80-year alliance in less time than it takes to complete a presidential term.

The Unbreakable Alliance That Shattered

The Jewish-Democratic partnership seemed permanent. In 1960, John F. Kennedy stood before the Zionist Organization of America and made his position crystal clear: America would stand with Israel, no qualifications, no exceptions.

For decades, both parties competed to prove who was more pro-Israel. Support for the Jewish state wasn't partisan—it was bipartisan consensus. Rita Hauser, Nixon's New York campaign director in 1972, described Israel as "primordial" to Jewish voters—meaning it wasn't just important, it was foundational to Jewish political identity.

Fast forward to 2024. Only 34% of Jewish voters now report exclusively voting Democrat. That means two-thirds of Jewish voters are either voting Republican or splitting their tickets. Donald Trump received his highest share of the Jewish vote of any Republican candidate since Ronald Reagan.

What happened? When did the party that stood with Israel for eight decades become the party that questions Israel's right to exist?

2019: The Squad Arrives and Changes Everything

You can mark the inflection point: 2019, when four freshman congresswomen arrived in Washington calling themselves "The Squad."

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from New York. Ilhan Omar from Minnesota. Rashida Tlaib from Michigan. Ayanna Pressley from Massachusetts.

They weren't traditional Democrats. They were self-described democratic socialists, media-savvy, and they brought a completely different worldview on Israel—one that treated the Jewish state not as America's closest Middle Eastern ally, but as an oppressor that needed to be dismantled.

Rashida Tlaib became the face of anti-Israel sentiment in Congress. In May 2023, she hosted a Congressional event to mark the Palestinian "Nakba"—meaning "catastrophe"—referring to Israel's creation in 1948. Let that sink in: a sitting member of Congress hosted an event mourning the establishment of the Jewish state.

Tlaib didn't hide her views:

• She attended art shows featuring work calling for Israel's destruction
• She repeatedly used the phrase "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free"—code for eradicating Israel entirely
• Her campaign funneled over $435,000 to consultant firms run by anti-Israel activists with documented connections to groups tied to Hamas

Ilhan Omar followed the same playbook. In September 2022, she declared: "You cannot claim to hold progressive values yet back Israel's apartheid government."

Notice the strategy: Omar created a litmus test. If you support Israel, you're not really progressive. The Squad made being anti-Israel the cool, trendy position on the left. They framed it as standing up for oppressed people, tying it to Black Lives Matter, social justice, and every progressive cause.

And Democratic leadership? Nancy Pelosi called them "our sisters." Instead of condemning their rhetoric, party leaders embraced them.

October 7th, 2023: The Day Everything Changed

Then came the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust.

On October 7th, 2023, Hamas terrorists invaded Israel. They murdered approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians. They raped women. They beheaded babies. They took over 240 hostages, including American citizens.

How did the Squad respond?

Rashida Tlaib blamed Israel, suggesting there could only be peace after "lifting the blockade, ending the occupation, and dismantling the apartheid system." She blamed Israel for Hamas murdering Israeli civilians.

Cori Bush wrote that the U.S. must "stop this violence and trauma by ending U.S. government support for Israeli military occupation and apartheid."

All of them immediately called for a ceasefire—before Israel even responded, while hostages were still being held. They wanted Israel to accept that Hamas had murdered over a thousand people and do nothing about it.

Tlaib and Bush spoke at pro-Hamas rallies outside the Capitol. The same rallies where protesters chanted "we are Hamas" and threatened Jewish students.

When reports emerged about Hamas using rape as a weapon of war, AOC and Cori Bush attacked AIPAC—the pro-Israel lobbying group—instead of condemning the rapes. They refused to stand with victims. They stood with terrorists.

Campus Chaos: When Universities Became Hostile to Jews

What happened on college campuses in spring 2024 exposed just how deep this goes.

Columbia University became ground zero. Pro-Hamas encampments took over campus. A local rabbi urged Jewish students to return home for their own safety. Classes went virtual because the university couldn't protect Jewish students from harassment and violence.

A Jewish professor had his key card deactivated—Columbia wouldn't let him on campus because they said they couldn't guarantee his safety. A Jewish professor was banned from his own campus because pro-Hamas protesters made it too dangerous.

At Yale, students formed human chains to block Jewish students from entering the university. One Jewish student was stabbed in the eye with a flagpole by anti-Israel radicals.

At Columbia, protesters told Jewish students: "Remember the 7th of October. That will happen not one more time, not five more times, but 10,000 more times." They were threatening to murder Jewish students while celebrating October 7th.

This wasn't just a few crazy students. A major report found CCP-linked influence behind the anti-Israel protests—organized, funded, and designed to destabilize America.

And where were Democrats? Harvard's own task force found that faculty were afraid to vote for hiring Zionists or Israeli candidates. Instructors canceled classes so students could attend pro-Palestinian protests, then held office hours at the encampments.

The institutions had been captured.

The Numbers Don't Lie: Democrats Turn Against Israel

Here's what happened to Democratic support for Israel:

Among all Democrats:

• 2022: 63% viewed Israel favorably
• 2025: 33% viewed Israel favorably
• A 30-point collapse in three years

The partisan gap between Republicans and Democrats on Israel reached over 50 percentage points—the widest gap ever recorded.

More disturbing statistics:

• 84% of Americans favored an immediate ceasefire (meaning they wanted Israel to stop defending itself before defeating Hamas)
• 45% of voters believed Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians
• Over three-quarters of Democratic voters think Israelis are committing genocide in Gaza

Nearly half of Americans have been convinced that Israel—a democracy defending itself against terrorists who murdered 1,200 people—is committing genocide. The propaganda worked.

Jewish Voters Respond: The Great Exodus

Jewish voters saw what was happening, and they started leaving.

Democrats are now the least trusted by Jewish voters on security, Israel, and anti-Semitism, holding only a 16-point trust advantage. On these issues—the ones most central to Jewish survival—Democrats are barely ahead.

Orthodox Jews voted 74% for Trump in 2024. These are the most religiously observant Jews, the ones most connected to Israel and Jewish identity. They voted Republican at rates approaching African Americans voting Democrat.

Even among non-Orthodox Jews, the shift was dramatic. Trump won among Jewish voters who identify most strongly with Israel. One poll found Kamala Harris leading Trump among Jewish voters by just 53-46%—the narrowest margin since Michael Dukakis in 1988.

Why? Because Jewish voters realized the Democratic Party doesn't stand with them anymore.

The Squad Faces Consequences: Two Members Lose

When individual Squad members faced voters, those voters said enough is enough.

June 2024: Jamal Bowman loses his primary to George Latimer by 17 points. Bowman had claimed AIPAC had "full control of Congress," used anti-Semitic tropes throughout his campaign, and called reports of Hamas raping Israeli women "propaganda and lies."

In his concession speech, Bowman said voters had been brainwashed by "Jewish money." Even in defeat, he blamed the Jews.

August 2024: Cori Bush loses her primary to Wesley Bell, 51-45%. Bush had been just as anti-Israel as Bowman—calling for ceasefires, accusing Israel of genocide, standing with pro-Hamas protesters.

Progressives screamed about AIPAC spending millions to defeat these candidates. What they won't admit: Bowman received substantial funding too, almost all from outside his district, while most of Latimer's money came from within the district.

The voters—including many Democrats—were sending a message: We are done with anti-Semitism.

The Ideology Behind the Shift: Intersectionality's Poison

This didn't happen by accident. The progressive left adopted an ideology called intersectionality—the idea that all oppression is connected.

In this worldview, if you fight racism, you must also fight colonialism, capitalism, transphobia, and Islamophobia. Everything's linked. And in this framework, Israel is automatically cast as the oppressor.

Why? Because Israelis are seen as white Europeans who colonized brown Palestinians. It doesn't matter that half of Israeli Jews are from the Middle East and North Africa. It doesn't matter that Jews are indigenous to that land. It doesn't matter that Israel is the only democracy in the region.

In progressive ideology, Israel is a settler colonial state that must be dismantled.

As one former DEI administrator explained: "DEI is built on the unshakable belief that the world is divided into two groups—the oppressors and the oppressed." In that framework, Jews are oppressors and Israel is genocidal.

This is what's taught on college campuses. This is what drives the Squad. This is why progressives can't condemn Hamas—because Hamas represents the oppressed fighting back against oppressors.

It's garbage. It's ahistorical, morally bankrupt, and leads directly to anti-Semitism. But it's become the dominant ideology on the left.

Who's Behind This Shift?

Let's connect the dots:

1. The Squad and Progressive Democrats in Congress made anti-Israel positions mainstream. They created litmus tests where supporting Israel disqualifies you from being a "real progressive."

2. College Campuses turned universities into indoctrination centers. Harvard's report found that anti-Zionism crossed into stereotyped notions that Israel is just a settler colony with no real connection to the land.

3. Foreign Influence: Reports show CCP-linked funding of anti-Israel protests. China and other adversaries fund these movements because they know it destabilizes America and weakens our closest Middle East ally.

4. Progressive Activist Base: Organizations like IfNotNow, Jewish Voice for Peace, and Students for Justice in Palestine have pushed the Democratic Party left on Israel for years.

5. Generational Shift: Young Democrats overwhelmingly oppose Israel. A Harvard-Harris survey found 40% of young people say they support Hamas over Israel. Forty percent supporting a terrorist organization over a democracy.

This is generational, and it's getting worse.

Where This Goes From Here

The trends are clear and accelerating:

Since 2022, support for Israel has dropped across the board, with Democrats showing the steepest decline:

• Republicans: 69% to 63% (6-point drop)
• Independents: 56% to 50% (6-point drop)
• Democrats: 51% to 41% (10-point freefall)

Jewish voters are responding by leaving the Democratic Party. Even among Reform and non-denominational Jews—the most liberal denominations—the majority no longer votes exclusively Democratic.

The Squad may have lost two members, but the ideology they represent has won. The progressive base is more anti-Israel than ever. The next generation of Democrats will be even more hostile to the Jewish state.

What This Means for America's Future

Here's the frightening reality: If Israel is only a key political issue for just 3% of Jewish voters, then the future of American support for Israel is a matter of grave concern.

Were it not for the evangelical community, American politicians would have little political incentive to support Israel.

That's where we're headed—a future where one party is solidly pro-Israel and the other is increasingly hostile. Jewish voters are already becoming a reliable Republican constituency because Democrats abandoned them.

The realignment isn't complete yet, but it's happening, and it's one of the most consequential political shifts of our generation.

The Bottom Line

The Democratic Party spent 80 years building trust with Jewish Americans. They threw it away in three years for the approval of college protesters and Squad members who defend terrorists.

The numbers tell the story:

• Democratic favorability for Israel: down 30 points in three years
• Jewish voters leaving the party their grandparents would have died for
• The progressive base cheering it on

The stakes are bigger than any election. This is about whether America will stand with democracies against terrorism, or whether we abandon our allies the second it becomes politically inconvenient.

The left chose poorly, and they're going to pay the price for generations to come.

John O'Connor hosts O'Connor's Right Stand, delivering deep-dive conservative analysis every Tuesday and Thursday, and O'Connor's Quick Strike for rapid-fire news coverage Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Find show notes and sources at OConnorsRightStand.com

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