Democrats must still be in awe over the hard blow that was dealt to them by America on Nov. 2. Understandably, it was strong one, and long time is needed for recovery. To those who may be trying to understand why, here is an opinion: Democrats sold out.

Instead of taking a steadfast stand on the principles that have defined the party for decades, democrats tiptoed around the issues, picking some and dropping others. In the midst of trying to satisfy special-interest groups, they lost their path, confused their base of support, and for the most part, they appeared to be catering to Israel supporters.

The Democrats’ mortal sin is one that many liberals have committed. I call it selective liberalism: standing up for true liberal principles of justice, peace, equality, human and civil rights almost everywhere until it comes to Israel and Palestine, and liberals find themselves in a sudden harmony with George W. Bush, his hawks, and their cohorts of the David Horowitz and Daniel Pipes likes.

Traditionally, the Democratic Party opposed war, particularly unjustified war. However, they caved in and voted in favor of the Iraq war. To put things in perspective, the flawed intelligence of which the pretext for the war consisted was largely Israeli-sourced. And the main hawks advocating the war, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Pearle and Dough Feith among others, are known for their prominence in the pro-Israeli lobbying establishment before their links to the U.S. government. Some, like Pearle, have been indicted of spying on the United States for Israel.

The Democratic Party’s unconditional support for Israel over the years, in the hope of garnering the Jewish vote, flies in the face of its ideals, as this support includes an implicit rejection of the United Nations Charter, the Geneva Convention on Human Rights, international law and basic human and civil needs of Palestinians, including rights to food and education. Yet, it was not until the Democrats moved against the will of their constituents in their support for the war, that they paid for their ignorance so dearly.

The Democratic defeat in the 2000 presidential elections is by no means as humiliating as this year’s. But it should go into history books as the great missed warning sign. The liberal vote went to a third-party candidate, a reminder to the Democrats that they no longer represented their true liberal values. The warning should have served to bring the democrats back to what they stood for, and they almost did, when the nomination of Howard Dean as a presidential candidate seemed imminent.

Dean was the party’s true choice, particularly of its young supporters, who looked toward a bright new future. But his solid opposition to the war and judicious view of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict made him an unpopular candidate among the unprincipled leadership of the party and the mass media. Despite his wide public support, he was painted as a lunatic monster in the days of the first state caucuses, eliminating his chances in receiving the nomination.

The flip-flop charge against Kerry is not fictional. He need not vote for and against the war to acquire it; his vote for the war is against the party’s ideals and the voice of his constituents. The Democrats did not miss this fact, but they miscalculated as they assumed they could take for granted the liberal vote, on the account that they are not Bush, and appeal to the center. Well, however hard they tried, they couldn’t out-hawk the hawks. Betrayed, the liberal vote stayed home.

Over his eight years in office, Bill Clinton failed to facilitate a peace agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians because he hesitated to take to the core of the issue, occupation, and solve the problem at the root, for that may have upset his Jewish constituents. He won his second term that way but caused an ever-growing frustration with the Democratic Party.

Florida, the battleground state with the largest “Jewish vote,” did not buy into the Democrats’ claims, and being largely in favor of the war, it voted for the war party. The Democrats lost the bargain; it remains a mystery, however, whether they will accept the truth or ignorantly repeat the same mistake.

There is more freedom to criticize Israel within Israel than there is in the United States. This cycle must be broken out of, and liberals as well as Democrats must be unwavering in their position on their principles. Those who support the human rights of blacks under apartheid, East Timorese, Tibetans and refugees in Darfur, must also stand for the human rights of the Palestinians.

Fayyad Sbaihat ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in chemical engineering.