“We can disagree in this party and still be unified, and as a result, I am going to ask us to withdraw this resolution, and I am going to appoint a committee or taskforce comprised of stakeholders on all sides of this to continue to have the conversation, to work through this, and bring solutions back to our party,” Martin said at the resolutions committee meeting Tuesday.

The Democratic Party has struggled to reconcile different factions’ responses to the Israel-Hamas war. Establishment Democrats have long supported Israel, while those further to the left have pushed to end U.S. aid for Israel due to allegations of genocide and famine in Gaza.

At the DNC summer meeting, two competing resolutions demonstrated the tensions in the party more than a year after the Uncommitted movement urged Democrats not to support former President Joe Biden’s and former Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaigns.

DEMOCRATS URGE PARTY MEMBERS TO STOP FIGHTING EACH OTHER AT DNC MEETING

Martin proposed Resolution 3, Resolution for Humanitarian Aid to Gaza and an End to the Israel-Hamas War. Resolution 18, Resolution on Gaza, also calls for an immediate ceasefire, but it went further than Martin’s resolution and called for an arms embargo on Israel and the suspension of military aid.

Martin’s Resolution 3 was easily passed by the committee without any opposition before Resolution 18, introduced by 26-year-old Allison Minnerly, a Florida DNC member, was defeated after a lengthy discussion.

The Generation Z-backed Resolution 18 failed twice. Once, after a DNC member proposed an amendment changing some of its language to include supporting a two-state solution. It then failed a second time after members discussed the tensions that remain in the party over the Israel-Hamas war.

“I commend this committee for taking the first step and passing Resolution 3. But it’s not enough,” said Sophia Danenberg, a DNC member from Washington state who gave a passionate speech to members.

Martin pulled Minnerly to the side after the defeat of her resolution for a chat before he later withdrew his resolution.

“So, earlier today, I introduced a resolution, Resolution 3, which was focused on finding common ground in our party on a very heartbreaking humanitarian issue. And it’s aligned with our party platform,” Martin said.

“Now I know there are some who are interested in making changes today. But as we’ve seen, there’s a divide in our party on this issue. This is a moment that calls for shared dialogue. It calls for shared advocacy, and that’s why I’ve decided today at this moment, listening to the testimony and listening to people in our party, to withdraw my amendment and resolution to allow us to move forward in a conversation on this as a party,” Martin continued.

“We need to keep working through this. We have to find a path forward as a party, and we have to stay unified,” he said.

DEMOCRATS HUDDLE IN MINNESOTA AS PARTY FACES MONEY AND VOTER WOES

Jewish Democrats from several states lobbied DNC members to oppose Resolution 18 and urged the party to support Resolution 3 before the meeting began.

“I am a good lifelong Democrat, and I just want to make sure that the safety and interests of Jews in North Carolina are really thought about,” said Lisa Jewel, president of the North Carolina Democratic Jewish Caucus.

Jewel was a signee of a letter to DNC members that claimed Resolution 18 “lacks nuance with regard to the myriad of complex issues surrounding the conflict and neglects to voice support for Israel’s security or a release of the hostages.”

What comes next for the DNC on Gaza remains to be seen after Martin’s retraction.

“There is a possibility that there can be further conversation on this in future meetings, but also through formation of maybe separate and distinct committees, which we’re looking forward to seeing how those conversations go,” Minnerly told reporters after Martin withdrew his resolution.

Last year’s Democratic presidential primary season saw the rise of the Uncommitted movement, which urged Democrats not to support the party’s nominees during the primary as a form of protest against the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.

The Uncommitted movement was buoyed by Arab American, progressive, and young voters uneasy about Israel’s counterattack on Hamas after the Oct. 7 terrorist attack. Martin’s actions on Tuesday were an attempt to unify a party that remains conflicted on how to support Israel.

“We’re hoping that whatever does come of this conversation that was started today really reflects the grassroots movement of not only young people but a multigenerational coalition of people that follow the long-standing tradition of being anti-war and pro-peace in the Democratic Party,” Minnerly said.