Socialists in elected office are standing up for Palestinian rights and demanding a cease-fire in Gaza. A handful of billionaires, rejecting this progressive and popular agenda, are trying hard to take down these antiwar lawmakers. As well, many conservative and centrist Democratic candidates are launching primary challenges against them, hoping to be the recipients of big campaign cash from the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and similar pro-Israel groups. AIPAC and its allies — like-minded organizations and big donors — told the New York Times that they are going to spend big, probably far more than in previous election cycles, to defeat anyone standing up for Palestine. Many of their targets are members of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) or close allies of the organization.

It’s essential that we defend those elected officials who are providing principled leadership to the Left in the midst of Israel’s brutal assault on the Gaza Strip, which has so far killed more than nineteen thousand Palestinians. Israeli president Benjamin Netanyahu’s allies have plenty of money, but politically, they’re flailing as international support for Israel’s war gradually declines in the face of its indiscriminate bombing of civilians. The call for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza is broadly popular, as are the economic justice issues these officeholders champion, so these should be winnable fights if the Left can stay organized. A 61 percent majority of likely US voters believes the United States should support a cease-fire, while only 28 percent oppose such a move — even though only sixty-two members of Congress have publicly called for one so far.

Michigan representative Rashida Tlaib may be number one on AIPAC’s enemies list. The DSA-endorsed congresswoman, who is the only Palestinian American to serve in the US House of Representatives, has faced censure from her colleagues for her Palestinian advocacy. Two Detroit Senate candidates say that AIPAC offered them $20 million to abandon their Senate races and run against her. Both refused, in pretty indignant terms, and despite the hefty political bounty on her head, Tlaib still doesn’t have a serious primary opponent. AIPAC has for now resorted to running attack ads against her through its dark money arm, equating her advocacy for a cease-fire in Gaza — and her participation in antiwar protests — with enabling terrorists.