 | |
| Founded | January 29, 2019; 6 years ago (2019-01-29) |
|---|---|
| Legal status | 501(c)(4) organization |
| Brian Romick | |
Chair | Rep.Kathy Manning |
| Website | demmajorityforisrael |
Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI) is an American advocacy group that supports pro-Israel policies within the United StatesDemocratic Party.
DMFI was founded in January 2019 in reaction to polling that showed that Democrats and younger voters were less supportive of Israel than previous generations. Its current president and CEO is Brian Romick, a former senior advisor to Rep.Steny Hoyer, and the Chair of its Board of Directors is former Rep.Kathy Manning. DMFI's separate sister organization is thepolitical action committee DMFI PAC, founded in July 2019.
DMFI PAC backs candidates that support Democratic policies and defend Israel inside the Democratic Party. The PAC opposedBernie Sanders in the 2020 Democratic presidential caucuses in Iowa, endorsedJoe Biden early in the 2020 Democratic primaries and again in 2024. After President Biden withdrew, DMFI announced its endorsement of Kamala Harris in July 2024. It has endorsed Democratic candidates in both primary and general elections across the country who align with DMFI's political stances.
DMFI was founded on January 29, 2019. The founding came in reaction to polling showing that Democrats and younger voters were less supportive of Israel than previous generations.[1]Mark Mellman and other Democratic Party strategists started the organization.[2] In July 2019 the group formed a political action committee, DMFI PAC, which supports pro-Israel Democratic candidates.[2][3]
On May 19, 2025, Brian Romick, a former senior advisor and Chief of Staff to former House Majority Leader Rep.Steny Hoyer was named President and CEO of Democratic Majority for Israel.[4][5] Former Rep.Kathy Manning also became the Chair of DMFI's Board of Directors at the same time.[5] Romick noted that a top priority is educating lawmakers and voters on why Israel deserves their backing. Manning said she wants to prioritize flipping the House for Democrats and supporting pro-Israel candidates in open primaries.[4][5]
According to DMFI, 28 of its 29 candidates won their primaries between 2020 and 2021.[6]
In the months before the first contests in Iowa and New Hampshire in the2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, DMFI sent organizing staffers to identify pro-Israel Democrats, send volunteers to Democratic candidates' campaign events, and signal support for Israel.[7]
DMFI PAC endorsedJoe Biden for president in March 2020 and ran online ads supporting him.[8][9] DMFI PAC endorsed more than 100 Democrats forHouse andSenate in the 2020 election cycle and ran attack ads opposingBernie Sanders's candidacy during the2020 primaries.[10] In total, the PAC spent over $1.4 million on advertising attacking Sanders.[11] The anti-Sanders advertising concentrated on arguing that Sanders would lose to Trump in the general election, including arguments about his "socialism" label and Sanders's recent heart attack.[2][12] The Sanders campaign said that the ads led to a surge in donations from supporters.[13] JournalistJonathan S. Tobin wrote that DMFI "played a not insignificant role in helping to undermine Sanders at a point in the campaign when he was the frontrunner and Biden seemed dead in the water".[14] Political reportersJonathan Allen and Amie Parnes credited DMFI PAC's primary ads with helping Biden secure the nomination.[15] After his election, Biden wrote to DMFI, "I am grateful for and humbled by your statement of support for this campaign."[16] FutureUnited States Secretary of StateAntony Blinken read the letter aloud during a virtual meeting.[16]
In the2020 New York House election in district 15, DMFI PAC supported incumbentEliot Engel joining SpeakerNancy Pelosi, Majority WhipJim Clyburn, and theCongressional Black Caucus's political action committee. DMFI PAC ran ads against his primary opponent,Jamaal Bowman, who won the election.[17][18][19][20][21][22]
DMFI PAC made an endorsement in the2021 Ohio 11th congressional district special election, in which the front-running candidates were progressive former State SenatorNina Turner and more moderate Democratic county councilwomanShontel Brown.[23][24] The PAC endorsed Brown, citing her likely support for Israel, Turner's interest in placing conditions on U.S. aid to Israel, and Turner's lack of a statement onBDS.[23] The endorsement came alongside other support from mainstream Democrats, including endorsements from elected officials like RepresentativesJim Clyburn andJoyce Beatty.[25][26][27] By July 2021, DMFI had spent over $660,000 in the race.[28] Much of the advertising suggested that Turner was too divisive.[29] In late July, DMFI released a poll of 400 likely Democratic voters that placed Brown five points behind Turner.[30][31] Brown defeated Turner.[32] By the end of the race, DMFI PAC had spent over $1 million on television ads and over $2 million total.[32][33] Journalist Daniel Marans ofHuffPost said that "there's no question that DMFI played a pivotal role" in the election, which was held to replace RepresentativeMarcia Fudge, now the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.[34]Jewish Insider's Matthew Kassel called Brown's win a "major victory for DMFI."[35]
In the month before the2020-2021 U.S. Senate special election runoff in Georgia, DMFI PAC endorsedRaphael Warnock against Republican SenatorKelly Loeffler.[36] Warnock thanked DMFI PAC on Twitter for its endorsement, saying he would "stand for Israel's security" and "work to strengthen the alliance between our nations".[36][37] The endorsement followed DMFI PAC's earlier endorsement of Democratic Senate candidateJon Ossoff against Republican SenatorDavid Perdue.[36] Warnock and Ossoff defeated their Republican opponents in the January 5 runoffs.[38]
In May, DMFI PAC endorsee RepresentativeShontel Brown defeated former State SenatorNina Turner inOhio's 11th Congressional District in a rematch of the previous year's special election, winning 66.3% of the vote to Turner's 33.7%.[39][40] DMFI said it had spent more than $1 million to support Brown through independent expenditures this cycle.[39][41][42] DMFI PAC was also the largest outside spender supporting RepresentativeSean Casten against RepresentativeMarie Newman inIllinois's 6th congressional district.[43] By July, it had spent over $426,000 supportingGlenn Ivey against former RepresentativeDonna Edwards for a Maryland House seat.[44] Ivey won.[45] DMFI President Mark Mellman said that 85% of the candidates his organization supported in the 2022 cycle won.[46]
In the 2022 U.S. Senate elections, the organization endorsed successfully reelected incumbentsCatherine Cortez Masto andRaphael Warnock, and in an open race, Lieutenant GovernorJohn Fetterman.[47] DMFI PAC undertook several independent expenditure programs in support of Democrats against Trump-endorsed opponents. In Georgia, it ran print and digital ads in support of Warnock's campaign againstHerschel Walker.[48] In Pennsylvania, DMFI PAC ran a program targeting Republican nomineeMehmet Oz in support of Fetterman.[49] DMFI PAC also ran an ad campaign targetingMadison Gesiotto Gilbert, the Republican candidate inOhio's 13th congressional district, to support State RepresentativeEmilia Skyes's successful general election campaign.[50]
In February 2023, DMFI PAC supportedJennifer McClellan in her successful campaign to become the first Black congresswoman in Virginia history after the death of Representative Donald McEachin triggereda special election.[51][52] DMFI endorsed President Biden in the 2024 presidential election shortly after he announced his candidacy.[53]
DMFI PAC announced endorsements for 81 House incumbents in December 2023, including RepresentativesLizzie Fletcher,Bill Foster, andJimmy Gomez, all of whom are facing primary challenges from Israel critics according to DMFI PAC.[54] The PAC also endorsed RepresentativeAdam Schiff in his successful Democratic primary campaign in the Democratic primary for the2024 United States Senate elections in California and former RepresentativeTom Suozzi inthe special election winning bid to replace RepresentativeGeorge Santos inNew York's 3rd congressional district after Santos'expulsion from Congress.[55][56] RepresentativePete Aguilar, Chair of theHouse Democratic Caucus, released a statement praising DMFI PAC’s work in electing “more Democratic leaders that are committed to strengtheningthe U.S.-Israel alliance.”[57]
In May 2024, DMFI PAC announced endorsements for several more candidates.[58] The PAC declared its support for incumbent Democratic SenatorsBob Casey,Jacky Rosen, and Jon Tester, all of whom are facing competitive general election races.[59] Additionally, DMFI PAC is on opposing sides as theAmerican Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in three highly contested U.S. House races where DMFI PAC has endorsed the Democratic candidate and AIPAC has endorsed the Republican incumbent, inPennsylvania's 10th district, andCalifornia's 22nd and40th districts.[58]
DMFI PAC endorsedSt. Louis County prosecutorWesley Bell andWestchester County ExecutiveGeorge Latimer in their successful primary challenges to two members of "The Squad,"Cori Bush andJamaal Bowman.[60] Latimer defeated Bowman by 17% of the vote, supported by advertisements run in part by DMFI PAC, while Bell defeated Bush by over 5% of the vote, also in part supported by DMFI PAC.[61][62] A June poll commissioned by DMFI PAC showed Bush and Bell in a statistical dead heat, and DMFI's previous poll in the Latimer–Bowman primary ended up having the victory margin exactly correct.[63][64][65] DMFI PAC launched broadcast and cable TV ads to support Bell in his primary against Cori Bush, and to supportYassamin Ansari, a candidate inArizona’s 3rd congressional district.[66]Punchbowl described DMFI PAC as “putting significant resources” in the race against Bell, with DMFI President Mark Mellman saying that Bush “has been one of the most bellicose, vituperative anti-Israel figures in Congress.”[67]
In response to former President Trump’s pick of SenatorJ.D. Vance as his running mate, DMFI President Mark Mellman said that Vance “is a far-right extremist” and pointed to Vance’s denial of the 2020 election results, support of a national abortion ban, and his vote against aid to Israel during the Israel-Hamas War.[68] Mellman also emphasized Vance’s promotion of the antisemitic “Great Replacement” theory.[68]
DMFI PAC endorsed Vice PresidentKamala Harris on July 22, after President Biden announcedhis withdrawal from the campaign.[69] DMFI President Mark Mellman said that Harris "helped lead the most pro-Israel administration in American history" in a statement announcing DMFI's support. The statement also noted that Harris said "support for Israel is central" to who she iswhen she ran for President in 2020.[69] After the selection of Minnesota GovernorTim Walz as Harris’s running mate, DMFI praised Walz for ordering state flags to be flown at half-mast after the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel and for his condemnation of the “horrific attacks on Israel by Hamas.”[70] The group also cited his public call at a vigil for people who had not condemned Hamas to “reevaluate where you’re at” after the attack and his earlier praise of Israel as “our truest and closest ally in the region."[70]
During the2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, DMFI hosted a reception with several dozen Democratic elected officials.[71][72] The Dispatch said the event was a “celebration” for the group after a successful primary season and wrote that "the consistent theme from the slate of speakers was this: Support for Israel is entirely consistent with liberal and progressive values.”[71] Elected speakers included SenatorBen Cardin, GovernorAndy Beshear, and New York City MayorEric Adams, along with several U.S. House members.[71]
In the general election, DMFI PAC launched a multi-pronged campaign in swing states to support Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign.[73] DMFI PAC released an ad “educating Jewish voters in swing states on Harris' pro-Israel record.”[74] DMFI PAC also ran an ad in swing states that emphasized President Trump's ties to antisemites, citing his connections withKanye West andNick Fuentes.[75] Another DMFI PAC ad highlighted negative comments from Trump national security personnel about President Trump’s fitness for office.[75][76] DMFI’s Mark Mellman released a statement criticizing Trump for his purported statement to his Chief of Staff Mark Kelly about wanting “the kind of generals that Hitler had.”[76]
DMFI says it pushes for pro-Israel support among Democratic Party leadership, for autonomous Israeli defensive capacity, for atwo-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, for American global leadership, for progressive values, and for education of Democratic leadership. It says it opposes "efforts to isolate, stigmatize or delegitimize Israel".[77][non-primary source needed] DMFI has been described asmoderate andleft-leaning.[78][79][80][81] DMFI supports theIHRA definition of antisemitism and, before he won the presidency, called on Biden to adopt it, which he did.[82][83] When the Biden White House released its National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism in May 2023, DMFI's President Mark Mellman strongly supported the plan in a statement and highlighted its inclusion of the IHRA definition.[84][85] DMFI also backed the Nita Lowey Middle East Partnership for Peace Fund, which is intended to promote Israeli–Palestinian dialogue and support the Palestinian economy.[86][87] DMFI supported the Iron Dome Supplemental Appropriations Act, which would provide Israel with $1 billion to restock its missile defense system that was depleted during the2021 Israel–Palestine crisis. It shared social media posts highlighting Democrats' support for the bill and criticized the delay of the bill by SenatorRand Paul.[88][89]
DMFI congratulated the incoming Lapid–Bennett government in 2021 alongside many Jewish and pro-Israel groups. It called the new coalition the "most inclusive government ever" politically, religiously, and ethnically.[79][90] In his first call after assuming office, Foreign MinisterYair Lapid spoke to DMFI, during which he emphasized reinvigorating Israel's ties with the Democratic Party.[91] After Lapid became prime minister of Israel,Haaretz noted that DMFI's president and CEO Mark Mellman was Lapid's most "significant relationship in America".[92] DMFI also joined a broad range of pro-Israel and Jewish groups in lauding Biden's nomination ofDeborah Lipstadt to the post in July 2021[93] and urged Republican senators to stop blocking her nomination.[94]
DMFI called former president Trump's critical comments at the end of the 2022 election about the American Jewish community "insulting and ill-informed".[95] DMFI was one of numerous organizations that called onUC Berkeley to rescind a provision that banned any speakers who support Israel orZionism.[96] It also praised Hakeem Jeffries's selection asHouse Minority Leader.[97]The Times of Israel called Jeffries "one of the most pro-Israel Democrats in the House".[97] In September 2023, DMFI praised the nomination of former Treasury SecretaryJacob Lew to serve as U.S. ambassador to Israel.[98]
Following theOctober 7 attacks byHamas on October 7, 2023, where Palestinian militants killed over 1,200 Israeli civilians, including women and children, andabducted around 250 civilians, including children, women and elderly people to the Gaza Strip, DMFI's President Mark Mellman noted that "the savagery of Hamas has moved the center of gravity in a pro-Israel direction" in American politics and felt that the movement of American liberals towards supporting Israel after the attack represented "a fundamental shift."[99][100] Mellman also praised Joe Biden's supportive stance towards Israel, saying that Biden demonstrated "unparalleled diplomatic competence."[101]
AfterDonald Trump's Gaza Strip proposal, DMFI’s President Mark Mellman denounced it as “cruel, immoral, and impractical” in a statement.[102] DMFI also called on Republicans to disavow a Heritage Foundation plan to withdraw military for funding for Israel within 20 years, and called on Al Williams, a candidate for the Michigan Democratic Party chair position, to withdraw from the chair election because of antisemitic comments.[103][104]
In February 2025, Mellman congratulatedKen Martin claiming "he assured us that he supports a strong U.S.-Israel relationship and reminded us that his support for that alliance has been longstanding"[105]
Romick argued against anarms embargo resolution in the DNC in 2025 saying it would "embolden Israel’s adversaries."[106]
Top donors to DMFI PAC by January 2020 included energy executive and philanthropistStacy Schusterman, the largest single donor ($995,000), and Gary Lauder, who had donated half a million.[2][107][108] Donations in the third and fourth quarters of 2019 totaled nearly $2.3 million.[108] According to FEC filings, the organization Americans for Tomorrow's Future gave DMFI PAC $100,000 in the early 2020 primary season, followed by another $400,000 on June 5 and June 10.[109]
DMFI announced new leadership in May 2025.[4][5] The current DMFI President and CEO is Brian Romick, and the Chair of the Board of Directors is former Representative Kathy Manning.[4] Pollster Mark Mellman and other Democratic Party strategists established DMFI.[1][2] Other prominent board members include Chair EmeritusAnn Lewis and Todd Richman, formerSecretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)Henry Cisneros, and LGBTQ rights activist Meghan Stabler.[1][110][111][112]
When Biden was too low on cash to compete with the onslaught of ads from other campaigns, Unite the Country and a second group called Democratic Majority for Israel picked up some of the slack. The airtime, a stronger debate performance, and Biden's argument that Trump saw him as the toughest possible opponent combined to give the former vice president a lift of about 5 points in mid-January 2020—enough for him to retake a lead for almost two weeks.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)Brown... comes from the party's more moderate wing
...the Democratic Majority for Israel, which is aligned with centrist pro-Israel policy...
Today, Democratic Majority for Israel President & CEO Mark Mellman released the following statement: "Congratulations to Ken Martin on his election as the next DNC Chair. DMFI's leadership spoke with him before his election and he assured us that he supports a strong U.S.-Israel relationship and reminded us that his support for that alliance has been longstanding. Ken will be an excellent leader for our Party and will help Democrats achieve victories across the country."
