In the U.K. and France, There Was a Gaza Vote. And in the U.S.?

Labour ended up winning 64 percent of parliamentary seats
with only 34 percent of the popular vote (distortions are a common occurrence
in British politics under its first-past-the-post system, but this level of
mismatch had never been seen before). A chunk of Labour’s traditional core vote
had simply deserted the party, and the issue driving that is clear: Gaza.  

We know this because a new phenomenon emerged, including the
mobilization of a grassroots campaign calling itself “The Muslim Vote.” A slew
of independent candidates, not all Muslim, was fielded in districts across the
country. The Green Party had also led on Gaza, calling early and clearly for a
cease-fire and respect for international law, securing four seats, up from one
in the previous Parliament, in what is being viewed as a potential breakthrough
election for that party.

The centrist Liberal Democrats also positioned themselves
to Labour’s left in relation to Palestine-Israel. A high-profile Labour
front-bencher lost his seat to one of these independents, and Wes Streeting, the
most popular figure in the party, its new health minister, and a top contender
for leadership in the future, came within a whisker (528 votes) of losing his
district to a former unknown British Palestinian, Leanne Mohammed.