LOS ANGELES (Feb. 13)
Pro-Israel forces won a clear victory at the California Democratic Party convention Sunday, carrying their own resolution while defeating measures advanced by an Arab-American group.
The victory was hailed by Jewish leaders, who had feared that a contrary vote by the volatile Democratic Party in the nation’s largest state could have caused a ripple effect across the country.
The face-off in Sacramento was triggered by two resolutions submitted by the Arab-American Democratic Club and the California Democratic Council, a grassroots organization, calling for the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
Neither proposal got past the Resolutions Committee, which instead reported out a counter-resolution, backed by pro-Israel forces, which reaffirmed the state party’s standing Middle East plank.
The plank urges a dialogue involving the United States, Israel and the Palestinians to secure a just political resolution to the conflict.
It also lauds Israel as America’s most dependable and democratic ally in the Middle East.
The pro-Israel resolution was carried by about 70 percent to 30 percent of the 2,800 delegates.
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