Politics
‘Civil War’ Erupts Within Democrat Party As 33 Reps. Join GOP On New Measure
Democrats erupted into another bitter internal fight Thursday after 33 House members broke with party leadership and joined Republicans to pass a bill targeting colleges that participate in boycotts of Israel.
The measure cleared the House in a 237-169 vote, with all but two Republicans backing it and 33 Democrats crossing party lines to support the GOP-led bill.
The legislation would bar federal funding from colleges that participate in a non-expressive commercial boycott of Israel. It would also require universities receiving federal dollars to affirm that students are not being unreasonably blocked from studying abroad in Israel.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and top Democratic leaders opposed the bill, joining 167 Democrats who voted against it.
Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, were the only Republicans to vote no.
The split exposed yet another fault line inside the Democratic Party as the left’s increasingly hostile posture toward Israel continues to collide with more moderate members worried about antisemitism and the treatment of Jewish students.
Republicans have argued the legislation is needed to protect students from discrimination and intimidation on college campuses, while Democrats opposed to the measure claim it infringes on First Amendment rights.
US House passes legislation that blocks federal aid for colleges and universities if they engage in discriminatory commercial or academic boycotts against Israel in 237-169 vote.
33 House Democrats voted in favor, 2 House Republicans voted against. pic.twitter.com/a5cSCKCTRI
— Politics & Poll Tracker 📡 (@PollTracker2024) September 3, 2026
The fight comes as the Democratic Party faces mounting pressure from its far-left flank, including activists and groups such as the Democratic Socialists of America that have repeatedly targeted Democrats viewed as insufficiently hostile toward Israel.
The tensions have already spilled well beyond Congress.
California Democrat Scott Wiener recently said anti-Israel protesters referred to his “Israeli handlers” while confronting him at a pro-transgender rights march, language widely recognized as an antisemitic trope.
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Thursday’s House vote showed those same fractures playing out on Capitol Hill.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., co-led the legislation even as his own party’s top leaders opposed it.
Gottheimer said of the legislation in a statement, “The goal of the BDS movement is the destruction of the democratic State of Israel, America’s critical ally in the global fight against terror. BDS has no place on college campuses or anywhere in our country. At a time when our Jewish students are facing death threats, being physically assaulted, and blocked from going to class simply for who they are, we must do everything possible to ensure they can learn safely, speak freely, and get the education they deserve.”
Progressive Democrats pushed back, arguing that even speech they consider offensive is constitutionally protected.
Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said he opposes the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement but still believes the bill goes too far.
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“The First Amendment right to free speech does not apply only to agreeable speech. No matter how much I may disagree with BDS, and find it strategically stupid and morally repugnant, I will always fight to protect Americans’ right to speech with which I disagree,” Nadler said in a statement.
Republicans countered that the issue is not simply about political speech, but about whether federally funded institutions are allowing Jewish students to be marginalized or denied equal treatment.
House Rules Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., accused colleges embracing anti-Israel policies of creating hostile environments for Jewish students.
“They are discriminating against people of the Jewish faith,” Foxx said. “Now is not the time for talk. It is the time for action.”
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., one of Congress’ most outspoken anti-Israel voices, blasted the measure during debate and argued that Jewish students themselves are often involved in campus BDS campaigns.
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“This is an attack on free speech and academic freedom, all in the name of defending a genocidal apartheid state,” Tlaib said. “A vote for this bill is a betrayal of those promising young students…because they want to save lives, no matter their faith or ethnicity.”
The vote leaves Democrats once again fighting among themselves over Israel, with party leaders trying to hold together a coalition that includes both pro-Israel moderates and a far-left bloc that has made anti-Israel activism a defining issue.
With the midterms approaching, Republicans now have another example of Democratic disunity to point to as 33 members abandoned party leadership and helped push the bill across the finish line.
