Ken Martin, president of the Democratic National Committee, is under fire for saying that “globalize the intifada” is something he would welcome into the Democratic Party, under his “big tent” policy.
While being interviewed on PBS NewsHour, Martin was asked about New York City mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, who would not condemn or rule out the use of the term “globalize the intifada.” Martin said:
“There’s no candidate in this party that I agree with 100 percent of the time… But at the end of the day, I always believe… that you win through addition. You win by bringing people into your coalition. We have conservative Democrats, we have centrist Democrats, we have labor-progressives like me, and we have this new brand of Democrat, which is the leftist. We are a big-tent party. Yes, it leads to dissent and debate… But we should celebrate that as a party and recognize… we’re better because of it.”
The intifada refers to a violent Palestinian uprising that, through terrorist attacks and violence, has claimed the lives of thousands of Israelis over the years. Many see the term “globalize the intifada,” chanted by anti-Israel protesters, as a call to globalize violence against Jews.
Speaking on the Bulwark podcast, Mamdani said about the term “globalize the intifada”:
“To me, ultimately, what I hear in so many is a desperate desire for equality and equal rights in standing up for Palestinian human rights. And I think what’s difficult also is that the very word has been used by the Holocaust Museum when translating the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising into Arabic. It’s a word that means struggle.”
Speaking later on The Brian Lehrer Show, Mamdani said about “globalizing the intifada”:
“That is not language that I use. The language that I use is that of clarity, and I do not believe it is the mayor’s position to be policing language.”
Evan Ross, a lifelong Jewish Democrat from Florida, responded to Martin, saying:
“I’ve been working to elect Democrats since I was 14 years old. If the tent you want to lead is one that welcomes bigots who support calls for global terrorism against Jews, I don’t want to be in that tent. I’d rather pitch my own.”
Zioness, a progressive Zionist movement, responded by saying:
“At a moment of visceral fear for Jewish Americans — who are among the most engaged progressive organizers, activists, and voters — it is unfathomable that the chair of a major American political party would celebrate and actively court candidates who champion slogans that call for murdering Jews in the streets.”
Adding:
“A ‘big tent’ must never be so broad that it provides shelter for open incitement to violence or the celebration of terrorism. That is not progressivism; it is moral bankruptcy.”
Progressives for Israel have made the following statement:
One Response
Horrible as his remarks are, it’s at least now in the open.
I have been screaming about the coming crisis in Amerca from BOTH right and left since soon after Oct 7, when the world turned against Israel, one country at a time. It was clear Jews around the world were facing the most sophisticated propaganda cpaign since Goebbels.
Instead of listening to my concerns – for Jews and Israel yes, but also for all of America – at grassroots Dem meetings where I had felt at home because djt was such a threat, I found myself feeling out of place. I was told this is not the time to bring up jihadist growth by infiltration. You are upsetting the people who are followers. Since then it’s gotten much worse. Jayapal sweetly says she’s building a new coalition of “resisters” around the country. Catnip to a progressive’s ears. Rachel Maddow welcomed her and gave her the microphone.
There are some Dems for Israel and Jews groups in the US. I have been fighting in different ways. Coalitions would be helpful.