00:00Welcome back. Abdul El-Sayed's victory in Michigan's Democratic Senate primary could encourage more Democratic candidates in the United States
00:09to criticize Israel, according to Wayne State University Associate Professor Saeed Khan.
00:14Khan says the results suggested there was growing space within the party for candidates willing to challenge its established stance
00:22on Israel.
00:25So, defeat in the primary, so AIPAC still has quite a bit of influence around the country.
00:30But it does seem, again, unprecedented to see this kind of vocal criticism of Israel, and perhaps more importantly, the
00:40fact that such criticism is not automatically met with defeat at the polling booth.
00:48The fact that Mamdani was successful, the fact that here we have El-Sayed as being successful, at least at
00:56the primary level, is an opening and an opportunity for others to speak out.
01:02El-Sayed defeated Hayley Stevens in Michigan's Democratic Senate primary, despite AIPAC and affiliated groups spending nearly $30 million to
01:11back her, their largest ever investment in a single race.
01:14His victory follows Zoran Manbani's 2025 election as New York City mayor, despite criticism over his opposition to Israel's military
01:23campaign in Gaza.
01:25Khan said these developments could force the Democratic establishment to reconsider whether its position reflects increasingly critical public attitudes towards
01:33Israel.
01:34Where the Democratic establishment is now facing an existential question that does the Democratic Party want to be a reflection
01:45of the American public writ large among the Democratic side of the American public writ large in its criticism of
01:54Israel, in its negative attitudes toward Israel,
01:57and then support candidates that reflect that, which of course would be a sign of a healthy democracy, or will
02:06there be opposition and will there be resistance among the Democratic establishment?
02:12Khan added that changing views of Israel were no longer confined to the progressive wing of the Democratic Party,
02:18as Israel's net approval rating among Americans had fallen sharply over the past eight years.
02:23I think we're finding that it is actually a categorical shift.
02:28Over the last eight years, according to CNN, the net attitude or approval rating for the state of Israel among
02:37Americans has shifted by 51, actually by 67 points.
02:44It used to be about a plus 51, a net positive attitude toward Israel.
02:50That has now dropped to a minus 16.
02:54Gen Z or Gen Z, as it would be called, is quite against Israel because of the policies of the
03:02Israeli government, both regarding Gaza and then, of course, also the Iran war.
03:07So as we're seeing this idea of unconditional support for Israel, which has been really a hallmark feature of American
03:15foreign policy,
03:15younger voters and younger Americans are starting to push back on this.
03:21Now, what happens?
03:22Now, let's move on.
03:24Well, let's move on.
03:24move on. Second step up,
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