Democrats Escalate Infighting Over Support For Israel

The infighting within the Democrat Party over the Israel-Hamas war has escalated, with Democrats even going so far as to issue veiled threats — including the suggestion from an anti-Israel congressman that “we can handle it like gentlemen, or we can get into something else.”

The conflict began after nine Democrats voted against a resolution supporting Israel after the horrific October 7 terrorist attacks that left more than 1,400 Israelis and 30 Americans dead. The resolution, which was introduced by House Foreign Affairs Chairman Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), was titled “Standing with Israel as it defends itself against the barbaric war launched by Hamas and other terrorists.” The measure passed 412-10.

Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN), one of the nine Democrats who voted against the resolution, spoke with CNN’s Manu Raju about the issue — slamming one of his colleagues, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) over a social media post criticizing those who opposed the resolution.

“I think he’s not acting in the role as a member of Congress. I think he’s shown himself to be very emotional. Like most cowardly people, when you confront them, they’re afraid. I’m unafraid of the guy and if he wants to call us despicable, I’m saying he’s a coward and he’s a punk,” he said.

Carson went on to issue a veiled threat to his Democrat colleague over the issue.

“He should remember why the people sent him here,” he added. “And if he wants to play some kind of tough guy or gangster, we can handle it like gentlemen, or we can get into something else.”

The social media post that Carson was referencing targeted the nine Democrats who voted against the measure, which included members of the far-left “Squad” and six others who voted “present.”

In the post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Gottheimer pointed out that “15 of my Democratic colleagues voted AGAINST standing with our ally Israel and condemning Hamas terrorists” — citing the horrific actions of the terrorists during the attack and stating that the Democrat holdouts are “despicable and do not speak for our party.”

Gottheimer responded to Carson’s attacks in a statement, which was read on air by Raju during the CNN program “Inside Politics.”

“I’ll sit down with Mr. Carson anytime to talk about how we can bring the hostages home, including all Americans, provide immediate humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians being used as human shields, and crush Hamas and all terrorists seeking to do us harm,” the Democrat congressman wrote.

Raju went on to note that, according to a “Democratic leadership source,” Gottheimer and Carson are likely to meet in the near future.

One Republican voted against the resolution — Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who explained his decision in a post on X.

In his explanation, Massie affirmed that he does “condemn the barbaric attack on Israel” and supports “Israel’s right to defend itself.” However, he took issue with several statements included in the resolution.

Massie explained that the sanctions in the measure are “a prelude to war and hurt the citizens of the country more than the government” that is being sanctioned. He went on to argue that sanctions will ultimately be used to “prosecute American citizens” who trade with the country being sanctioned.

He also took issue with the measure for asserting “the necessity of foreign aid commitments” — pointing out that the U.S. “is going bankrupt and we can’t afford to borrow money to send overseas.”

“It contains an open-ended promise of military support that is so broad that it could be interpreted to commit US soldiers to the conflict. US troops should not be engaged in this conflict,” Massie added.

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