Get an introductory Jacobin subscription for just $20

The Left Needs Its Own Foreign Policy

By
Tim Hirschel-Burns

Outrage at US complicity in the war on Gaza has pushed many Americans to think about international politics for the first time. The Left should seize this moment to push its vision of how the global order should run.

An unmanned aerial vehicle strike by the Israeli army targets several buildings on Industrial Street in western Gaza City, on July 12, 2026.

A left foreign policy would mean that instead of supporting genocide in Gaza or waging war with Iran, the US could work with other states to combat climate change, address refugee crises, and confront the global rich. (Bilal Osama / Anadolu via Getty Images)

The Democratic Party establishment is taking a beating, and Gaza is a big part of the reason why. Two years before her primary victory over fifteen-term congressional incumbent Diana DeGette, Melat Kiros was fired for criticizing her law firm’s stance on Gaza. Columbia University is set to be represented in Congress by Darializa Avila Chevalier, who was arrested while participating in Columbia’s Gaza Solidarity Encampment. Poll-leading Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed has repeatedly slammed his primary opponent Haley Stevens for her ties to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

Recognition of foreign policy failure in Gaza goes well beyond the party’s leftmost flank. Among Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters, 80 percent now have an unfavorable view of Israel. Brian Schatz — set for a major role in Senate Democratic leadership — recently tweeted, “I do think it’s fair to want a whole new crop of foreign policy staffers in the next democratic administration.”

But what exactly is the new foreign policy agenda that they would carry forward? It’s far from clear. Kiros, Avila Chevalier, and El-Sayed’s websites offer little detail beyond cutting US support for Israel and avoiding foreign wars. Given that the domestic agenda of the “Democratic Tea Party” focuses on economic dignity, the lack of a corresponding international agenda is particularly striking.

This article is for subscribers only. Please login or subscribe to access our full archives and beautiful print and digital magazine starting at just $3 a month.