Chaos During Dems Platform Vote on adding language on Jerusalem.



Take it away Chuck Todd:

NBC News has learned that the Democratic Party will reinstate the language recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Republicans — including the Romney campaign — criticized President Obama and the Democrats after it was discovered this language had been omitted in the Democratic Party’s platform This will all be changed on the floor today, NBC has learned, and it will probably mean just simply reinstating the 2008 language.

The Democratic Party was under increasing pressure to explain why they had removed language from the 2012 party platform that referred to Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The 2008 language said:

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.

UPDATE: Al Monitor‘s Laura Rozen reports that President Obama “personally intervened” to ensure that the Democratic platform language was changed. More from Rozen:

“President Obama personally intervened to strengthen the language,” a Democratic aide involved in the process told Al-Monitor Wednesday. Obama campaign officials saw the issue as an unnecessary distraction, a source said, adding:. “They were and continue to be comfortable with the original language [in the DNC 2012 platform] that they feel is stridently pro-Israel. But they felt that the manufactured controversy over Jerusalem was an unnecessary distraction.” “The platform is being amended to maintain consistency with the personal views expressed by the President and in the Democratic Party platform in 2008,” DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz said in a statement Wednesday. The pro-Israel lobby group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), praised the decision. “We welcome reinstatement to the Democratic platform of the language affirming Jerusalem as Israel’s capital,” the statement from AIPAC said. “Together, these party platforms reflect strong bipartisan support for the US – Israel relationship.”

The whole episode brings to mind this clip from the Simpsons. Antonio R. Villaraigosa says the nays have it: