Democrat-on-democrat Tension Builds In New York Over Israeli War Crimes Bill

ALBANY, New York — A state bill targeting pro-Israel charities in the New York that’s backed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is deepening the rift within the Democratic Party over the war in Gaza.

But the measure, aimed at charities that “reinforce and further Israeli war crimes,” isn’t going anywhere because pro-Israel lawmakers dominate leadership positions in the state Capitol.

“It’s a non-starter and the Speaker’s position has not changed,” Mike Whyland, a spokesperson for Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, wrote in an email to POLITICO.

His counterpart in the state Senate has also refused to consider the bill.

And yet on Wednesday hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters rallied in Albany for the bill that’s sponsored by Democratic-Socialist lawmakers Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani and Sen. Jabari Brisport, who represent sections of Queens and Brooklyn.

The measure would strip New York charities of their tax deductible status if they fund organizations that the lawmakers allege are engaged in violations of the Geneva Conventions.

The impasse over the bill is the latest indication of how the Israel-Gaza war continues to pit the left flank of the Democratic Party against establishment members.

“I think Jewish legislators are feeling that the whole world has turned against them to a large degree, as Jews, not as legislators,” said Assemblymember Amy Paulin, a Jewish Democrat from Westchester, a suburb north of New York City. “We don't feel it here. We don't feel it in the conference; we work together as colleagues. Those kinds of divisive issues rarely come up.”

Paulin was also asked whether she senses the opposition to Israel growing in the legislative body: “I don't know,” she replied. “Because we don't talk about it.”

Her comments stand in contrast with those of Mamdani and Brisport, who claim the measure would be supported by most New Yorkers and cite polls showing Democrats’ support for an immediate and permanent ceasefire. Brisport said in an interview that fellow Democrats have told him they agree with the bill, but are wary of crossing their party and drawing opposition.

“I will not share names, but I have had legislators tell me, ‘Obviously I support the cause, but I’m not going to [support the bill] at the moment.’”

Other state lawmakers have backed the bill, including six other Democratic-Socialist lawmakers and upper Manhattan progressive Sen. Robert Jackson. Last week, Ocasio-Cortez appeared side-by-side with Mamdani at a Bronx rally for the measure.

“It meant the world to me, because it showcased that though there may be attempts to characterize this as a marginal position, in fact, this is the majority position,” Mamdani said of AOC’s support. “It is just not reflected accurately in the halls of power.”

In the meantime the measure remains just as much of an impossibility in Albany as it was last year, when Heastie and Senate Majority Leader-Stewart Cousins said they were committed to killing it.

“It was just brought up for inflammatory reasons, and I don't think the sponsor ever thought it was gonna go anywhere anyway,” Assemblymember David Weprin — co-president of the National Association of Jewish Legislators — said of the Mamdani-Brisport bill.

“He's just bringing it up to cause tension,” Weprin added. “I'm hoping people don’t fall into that trap.”

Republican state lawmakers are eagerly using the measure as an example of how state Democratic leadership — despite refusing to entertain the bill — needs to do more to rein in the pro-Palestinian lawmakers.

Long Island state Sen. Jack Martins, who chairs the Senate Republicans’ Antisemitism Working Group, said he wants to see Democrats be more vocal in their opposition to proposals like the Mamdani-Brisport bill.

“I would hope that our colleagues on the other side would not allow the extreme left wing of their own party to control the agenda when it comes to attacking a community in our state,” Martins said.