Zohran Mamdani’s rise as the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor is sending shockwaves through the political establishment, but what’s truly unsettling is the seismic shift in his party’s stance on Israel.
CNN’s Harry Enten laid out the numbers behind this transformation, and the results are nothing short of alarming for anyone who considers himself an ally of Israel.
“Andrew Cuomo, during the primary, attacked Mamdani as being insufficiently pro-Israel. I’m not quite sure the former governor understood how much the politics have changed around this issue among Democrats,” Enten remarked. The numbers tell a disturbing story: in 2017, Democrats sympathized with Israelis over Palestinians by 13 points.
Fast forward to today, and that margin has flipped dramatically. “Now Democrats sympathize more with the Palestinians by 43 points. Oh my God, that is a change in the margin of 56 points over the course of just eight years,” Enten said, astonished.
This isn’t just a minor adjustment in party sentiment; it’s a wholesale reversal. “All of a sudden, it’s the pro-Palestinian position that actually reigns supreme in Democratic politics, not the Israeli position,” Enten explained. The implication is that attacks on Mamdani for his stance on Israel simply don’t land with Democratic voters anymore. “They are now on the side of the Palestinians, not the Israelis.”
Anchor Kate Bolduan pointed out that Mamdani is “an outspoken critic of Israel,” but the criticism he faces now is for not being “outspoken enough against antisemitism.” The fact that he was even a contender as a major party nominee in New York City — a city with a deep and storied Jewish community — is alarming.
Enten drilled down further to expose just how deep this shift runs among younger Democrats. “Take a look here. Who, age 18 to 49, Democrats sympathize more with, the Israelis or the Palestinians? Again, in 2017, younger Democrats sympathized more with the Israelis by 14 points. Look at this shift now. Palestinians. They sympathize more with the Palestinians by 57 points. That is an over 70-point shift in the margin in just a matter of eight years,” he said.
The numbers are staggering. “I rarely ever see shifts like this, Kate, in which you see one side of the equation leading by 14 points eight years ago, and then all of a sudden, the other side of the equation leading by 57 points,” Enten admitted. This isn’t just a generational change; it’s a warning sign for anyone concerned about the future of the U.S.-Israel relationship. And it should be an eye-opener for American Jews who still vote Democrat because the party is becoming increasingly beholden to its antisemitic wing.
As the Democratic Party’s base grows younger and more radical, the pro-Palestinian position is no longer fringe — it’s mainstream. “The bottom line is, the politics around the Israelis and the Palestinians have shifted tremendously among Democrats, and they’ve shifted specifically tremendously among Democrats who are under the age of 50. Younger Democrats, who are Mamdani’s base, and also the base of Democratic socialists, like himself, like Bernie Sanders, like AOC, they have just shifted more so than I think that anyone could possibly have imagined, say eight years ago,” Enten concluded.
🚨NEW: CNN's Harry Enten *GOBSMACKED* by how pro-Palestinian Dems have become🚨
— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) July 2, 2025
"In 2017, the Democratic Party was a pro-Israeli party. Look at this: They sympathized with the Israelis by 13 points more than with the Palestinians."
"But look at the sea change! Now Democrats… pic.twitter.com/nUlDFpZUpc
For longtime supporters of Israel and those concerned about rising antisemitism, these numbers should be a wake-up call. The Democratic Party is not a friend to Israel.
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