Conventional Wisdom

On the evidence of last week’s convention in Chicago, the Democrats are a party reborn. Just weeks after jettisoning Joe Biden as their 2024 candidate, and borne aloft on a combination of relief, surging fundraising, and impressive political discipline, the convention feted Kamala Harris as an undisputed champion — despite her primary-less ascent.

Evident also at the Democratic National Convention was the internal battle over the party’s soul when it comes to Israel, with the party’s mainstream walking a fine line on support for Israel and struggling to suppress the surging anti-Israel sentiment at the margins.

With the clock running down to the elections, and Republicans scrambling to find their footing, those internal disputes matter more than ever.

Where does the DNC leave the presidential race, and the future of Israel support in the Democratic Party?

The Harris Candidacy

Binyamin Rose

We’re There to Engage Rabbi

A.D. Motzen

Everything Has Changed

Stu Loeser

The Joy. The Hope. And the Hype

Binyamin Rose

IF television ratings are predictive, Kamala Harris will be the next president of the United States.

Each morning during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, the DNC committee issued news releases with glowing Nielsen ratings showing how more Americans tuned in to the Democratic convention than did the Republican convention last month in Milwaukee.

The Democratic edge peaked at 40 percent on the second night, when Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, spoke. However, Harris’s acceptance speech at the convention finale drew 28.9 million viewers compared to Trump’s 28.4 million, which is less than a hundredth of a percent and probably a better indication of how close this race will be.

It’s not surprising the DNC would push such a superficial statistic, considering the four-day convention in Chicago was long on show biz and short on content. The theme of the convention was joy. The Harris-Walz ticket projects joy and positive energy — green, of course — compared to the Trump-Vance combo that smacks of negativity and laments America’s decline.