The state executive committee of the North Carolina Democratic Party on Saturday voted in favor of a resolution calling “for an embargo on military aid and weapons transfers to Israel,” saying that “military resources” made available to Israel “have been used to commit the crime of genocide.”
Leading up to the vote, the group's Democratic Majority For Israel condemned the resolution that was under consideration.
DFMI board Chair Kathy Manning, a former member of Congress from the Triad, said in a statement that North Carolina Jewish Democrats have tried to work with state Democratic Party leaders in an attempt “to unify and collaborate.”
But she said state party Chair Anderson Clayton and first Vice Chair Jonah Garson “have continued to tolerate extreme anti-Israel rhetoric and antisemitism from within the party.”
Clayton reportedly abstained from voting on the resolution.
SUPPORT LOCAL NEWS
No matter what happens in Congress, WFAE remains committed to our mission: to serve our community with fact-based, nonpartisan journalism. But our ability to do that depends on the strength of the financial response from the communities we serve. Please support our journalism by contributing today.
Party leaders were holding their summer meeting at Asheville-Buncombe Technical College.
The vote highlights how the nearly two-year-old war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza has divided the Democratic Party. Jewish voters have long been a reliable voting bloc inside the party.
Two years ago, North Carolina Jewish Democrats struggled to be recognized as their own caucus inside the state party, leading to finger-pointing and accusations of antisemitism. The caucus was later recognized.
Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic assemblyman running for mayor of New York, was criticized by Jewish organizations this week after he appeared to be OK with the slogan “globalize the intifada.”
In Asheville, the vote happened late Saturday afternoon, toward the end of the meeting. Roughly 300 people voted by hand.
The resolution was supported by the state’s 2nd and 6th Democratic Congressional District parties. The 2nd District encompasses most of Raleigh. The 6th District covers part of Greensboro and Salisbury.
The resolution stated that Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, B’Tselem and other groups have said Israel is “committing apartheid against Palestinians.” It also said that the International Court of Justice at the Hague said there is “credible evidence” that Israel “may be committing the crime of genocide in Gaza.”
The party’s resolution then said, “the military resources that have been made available to Israel through annual and emergency military aid have been used to commit the crime of genocide and other war crimes.”
It then said that “the North Carolina Democratic Party supports an immediate embargo on all military aid, weapons shipments and military logistical support to Israel.”
