Progressives are gearing up for a platform fight on Israel at the Democratic convention

WASHINGTON — Activists at odds with President Joe Biden over his handling of Israel’s war with Hamas are planning to shift the focus oftheir pressure campaign from the ballot box to the Democratic Party platform at this summer’s nominating convention in Chicago.

The Biden campaign is anticipating the effort, which could extend a bruising, and divisive, political battle over several months to the Democratic National Convention, according to multiple activists and party insiders.

Progressive Democrats already have identified a list of issues where they hope to influence the party platform, including calling for filibuster reform in the Senate, declaring a national climate emergency and ending private funding of elections. But the war in the Gaza Strip and potential conditions on future U.S. military assistance to Israel is poised to be the most contentious as Democrats prepare for their convention this August.

“We’re gearing up for a fight and we’re drawing a line in the sand, though we hope it doesn’t come to that,” said Joseph Geevarghese, the executive director of Our Revolution, which spun off from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ first presidential campaign.

“We’ll negotiate out as much agreement as possible beforehand so that we can avoid large scale fights,” Geevarghese added. “That being said, if there needs to be a fight on important issues, we’ll do it.”

The Democratic National Committee has not yet publicly outlined its process for developing the 2024 platform. A DNC spokesperson said the party “will engage diverse voices from across the Democratic coalition.”

“The Democratic Party platform will reflect President Biden’s vision for how we can move our nation forward,” Hannah Muldavin, the spokesperson, said in a