CHARLOTTE — Democratic delegates restored to their party platform Wednesday the position that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, reversing a controversial omission that had angered some Jewish organizations and drew criticism from Republicans that President Obama was distancing the United States from its closest ally in the Middle East.
The amendment to the platform, which essentially reinstates the language on Jerusalem from the 2008 version, was introduced by former Ohio governor Ted Strickland. It was put to a voice vote by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa, the convention chairman, who had to ask three times for “aye” votes from the large gathering before determining that the amendment had a two-thirds majority.
The vote was far from decisive, however, and left many delegates who opposed the reinstatement of the language angry about the outcome. Some stood up from their seats inside the Time Warner Arena, shaking their fingers at Villaraigosa.
At the same time, the change did not go as far as some delegates or Jewish organizations had wanted, and it underscored yet again how complicated and perilous Obama’s relationship is with the American politics over Israel. An Obama campaign official said the president intervened Wednesday to strengthen the platform language on Jerusalem.
The adopted language reads, “Jerusalem is and will remain the capital of Israel. The parties have agreed that Jerusalem is a matter for final status negotiations. It should remain an undivided city accessible to people of all faiths.”
The party’s original 2012 platform, characterized by Republican nominee Mitt Romney’s supporters as a “radical distancing” of the United States from Israel, had become a point of contention here during the Democratic convention and a potential new source of tension between Obama and Jewish voters.
But some major Jewish organizations, while expressing disappointment in the new Democratic platform statement on Jerusalem, on Wednesday described it nonetheless as strongly supportive of Israel and not likely to generate widespread Jewish antipathy toward Obama in the weeks before Election Day.
“AIPAC believes this is a very pro-Israel platform,” said a person close to the most politically influential Jewish organization, known formally as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
The primary source of controversy over the Democrats’ platform was their decision to omit any reference to Jerusalem, even though the 2008 plank stated that the city “is and will remain” Israel’s capital.
But some Jews and Romney supporters noted that the 2012 platform also changes the party position on the rights of Palestinian refugees and their descendents — it no longer rules out their right to return to property inside Israel under a final peace agreement.
The 2008 platform said Palestinians would be able to resettle only inside the future Palestinian state, not inside Israel. But Democratic delegates did not add that to the 2012 platform, nor did they add a line from 2008 that described Israel as “our strongest ally in the region.”
The amendment to the platform, which essentially reinstates the language on Jerusalem from the 2008 version, was introduced by former Ohio governor Ted Strickland. It was put to a voice vote by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa, the convention chairman, who had to ask three times for “aye” votes from the large gathering before determining that the amendment had a two-thirds majority.
The vote was far from decisive, however, and left many delegates who opposed the reinstatement of the language angry about the outcome. Some stood up from their seats inside the Time Warner Arena, shaking their fingers at Villaraigosa.
At the same time, the change did not go as far as some delegates or Jewish organizations had wanted, and it underscored yet again how complicated and perilous Obama’s relationship is with the American politics over Israel. An Obama campaign official said the president intervened Wednesday to strengthen the platform language on Jerusalem.
The adopted language reads, “Jerusalem is and will remain the capital of Israel. The parties have agreed that Jerusalem is a matter for final status negotiations. It should remain an undivided city accessible to people of all faiths.”
The party’s original 2012 platform, characterized by Republican nominee Mitt Romney’s supporters as a “radical distancing” of the United States from Israel, had become a point of contention here during the Democratic convention and a potential new source of tension between Obama and Jewish voters.
But some major Jewish organizations, while expressing disappointment in the new Democratic platform statement on Jerusalem, on Wednesday described it nonetheless as strongly supportive of Israel and not likely to generate widespread Jewish antipathy toward Obama in the weeks before Election Day.
“AIPAC believes this is a very pro-Israel platform,” said a person close to the most politically influential Jewish organization, known formally as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
The primary source of controversy over the Democrats’ platform was their decision to omit any reference to Jerusalem, even though the 2008 plank stated that the city “is and will remain” Israel’s capital.
But some Jews and Romney supporters noted that the 2012 platform also changes the party position on the rights of Palestinian refugees and their descendents — it no longer rules out their right to return to property inside Israel under a final peace agreement.
The 2008 platform said Palestinians would be able to resettle only inside the future Palestinian state, not inside Israel. But Democratic delegates did not add that to the 2012 platform, nor did they add a line from 2008 that described Israel as “our strongest ally in the region.”