Washington Watch Articles From 2023
Israel/Palestine Is Fracturing the Democratic Party
The war over Gaza has had an explosive and surprising impact on the cohesion of the Democratic coalition. For decades now, the American body politic has been fractured mainly over critical social and cultural issues ranging from race and gender to guns and immigration—more often than not with Republicans on one side and Democrats on the other. Only in rare instances have foreign policy concerns entered the equation and never in the way that Israel/Palestine has in recent weeks.
Thirty Years and Still Fighting
When I attend next month’s meeting of the Democratic National Committee, it will mark my 30th year as a member of that body. As an Arab American and one of the longest serving DNC members, I have a story to tell.
Three Political Visits to Israel
During a 10-day stretch in April, there were three visits to Israel by prominent US political leaders. What made them noteworthy weren’t the visits themselves, but what they revealed about the evolving US-Israel relationship.
Twenty Years Ago: The Debate We Should Have Had on Iraq
Twenty years ago this month, the U.S. was rushing headlong into war with Iraq—a war that has proven to be one of the most fatal and consequential travesties in modern American history. What follows is the story of how one congressman and I tried and failed to get the Democratic Party on record opposing that war.