A victory for the pro-Israeli bloc: Congresswoman Haley Stevens, from the 11th district in the state of Michigan, won tonight in the primary of the Democratic Party, over Andy Levin, a sitting member of Congress and a Jew.
Stevens, who is not Jewish, was supported by the local Jewish community and by the AIPAC and "Democratic Majority for Israel" lobbies, and received 60 percent of the vote.
Levin, who has expressed harsh positions against Israel in recent years, obtained only 40 percent of the vote, even though he enjoyed the support of a number of anti-Israel groups, including J Street and Senator Bernie Sanders - who previously called not to provide Israel with weapons "that can kill children in Gaza."
Congresswoman Rashida Talib also expressed support for Levin.
She herself fought tonight for her place as the candidate for the 12th district in Michigan.
Although several local leaders challenged her, Talib won by a large margin.
AIPAC refrained from running a candidate against Talib, following the assessment that her victory was guaranteed.
Andy Levin, with his wife, Mary Freeman, addresses his supporters after losing to Hayley Stevens in the Democratic primary, yesterday, photo: AP
Levin's loss to Stevens caused great satisfaction in the Jewish community which acted to help it and stop him.
Many members of the community attended the victory party held by Stevens at a local hotel this evening.
A resident of Detroit who asked not to be identified told Israel Hayom: "I am a Reform and liberal Jew, but I was ashamed of the positions expressed by Andy Levin regarding Israel. That is why I am here. He speaks about Israel in an intolerable way."
In a conversation with "Israel Today", after her victory speech, Stevens said that she is committed to the Jewish community.
"I thank all the members of the district who voted for me, the workers, and the Jewish and African-American community. I especially thank the congresswoman, Brenda Lawrence, who supported me early on and became a mentor for me. If I do something wrong, she will already know what to say to me."
Stevens' victory continues the success of the pro-Israel lobbies in preventing the strengthening of the anti-Israel elements in President Biden's party.
Although it is only a preliminary election, IPAC has invested millions of dollars in Stevens's run because her district will definitely vote for the Democratic candidate - and therefore whoever wins the primaries is the one who will become a member of Congress.
More details on the effort to curb the anti-Israel elements in the Democratic Party, in the "Israel this week" supplement, on Friday.
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