Khalil Quoted in NPR Article on Young Progressive Democrats Leaving the Party Over Israel

November 16, 2023

NPR

Osamah F. Khalil

History Department

International Relations Undergraduate Program

Middle Eastern Studies Program

Conflict

International Affairs

Middle East & North Africa

Political Parties

United States

NPR

Osamah F. Khalil

The U.S. has supported Israel from its founding in 1948, with involvement growing in the 1960s and '70s. American leaders of both parties have maintained that special relationship, with proponents arguing that it's strategically important to have a strong democratic ally in the Middle East.

Despite the special relationship, there have still been reasons over the years why some Democrats have questioned the bond, including the friction between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-President Barack Obama. And since the Hamas attack last month, the divide has grown.

Osamah Khalil, professor of history, argues that many young progressives do understand the situation, and they see Israel's longstanding treatment of Palestinians—for example, heavy restrictions on Gaza residents' movements—as a form of systemic oppression. He adds that it's a lens through which progressives already see many domestic issues.

"Young Americans are able to put the situation of the Palestinians into a broader perspective and see these parallels—whether it is other settler colonial examples or when they look at the treatment of Indigenous people, when they look at treatment of minorities," he says.

Read more in the NPR article, "Young progressive Democrats are splitting from the party on Israel."