Dory Benami

Israeli American. Father. Author of BAD JEW. Former congressional candidate. Independent-minded Democrat. Standing with Israel and common sense.

[Dory Benami @dory_benami]

I wrote a book.

BAD JEW: How October 7 Changed Everything I Thought I Knew.

It’s about Israel, America, politics, identity, fatherhood, and what happens when the world you thought you understood suddenly looks very different.

Available now on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited.

[Dory Benami @dory_benami]

@Pantha266 @brud_m I voted for Trump zero times and ran for Congress as a Democrat this year. Voting for several Republicans in local races doesn’t make me a Trump acolyte. It means Democrats have to earn my vote too. Insults won’t earn it.

[Dory Benami @dory_benami]

After 34 years as a Democrat, working for Obama twice, and running for Congress as a Democrat this year, I’m voting for several Republicans this November. I’ve never voted for a Republican as an adult. My values haven’t changed, but my approach has. Going forward, I’m voting for people, not parties. Principles matter more than party loyalty.

[Dory Benami @dory_benami]

@blackhillslvr Neither party is a monolith. Local races matter, and keeping DSA candidates out of power matters to me. I’m judging each candidate on their record and values. And yes, my background is real and publicly documented.

[Dory Benami @dory_benami]

I grew up in Los Angeles. I’m raising my daughter here. We should expect better.

These numbers include both sheltered and unsheltered homelessness. Sheltered means people staying in emergency shelters or transitional housing. Unsheltered means people living outside, in vehicles, or in places not meant for habitation.

Give Karen Bass credit: homelessness declined in the city in 2024 and 2025 under her administration. Moving people indoors matters, even when they still need permanent housing.

But the count rose again in 2026, and the city’s total remains about 76% higher than in 2015. Recognizing progress and demanding better results should go together.

[Dory Benami @dory_benami]

@TheDemocrats No. He definitely isn’t what Michigan or the United States needs.

[Dory Benami @dory_benami]

Nidal Hasan murdered 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009. The Pentagon says his December 3 execution by firing squad will be livestreamed. Seventeen years later, the man responsible is scheduled to face the sentence handed down in 2013.

[Dory Benami @dory_benami]

@NolandTt @Elepitts1997 Are you in Denver? Will you vote for an independent instead of the dsa?

[Dory Benami @dory_benami]

@brud_m Yes. I think the trend is scary and that’s been the wake up call this year.

[Dory Benami @dory_benami]

@LancePinkham Not voting for those people. Local elections here in California.

[Dory Benami @dory_benami]

@claudiaBLG73 I haven’t changed any party affiliation.

[Dory Benami @dory_benami]

@garnie I’m cohosting a fundraiser for Dr. Shimon Blau here in Los Angeles.

[Dory Benami @dory_benami]

Of the roughly 50 Muslim-majority countries in the world, Senegal is the only one Freedom House rates as “Free,” with a score of just 70/100.

That should give anyone who values liberal democracy something to think about.

[Dory Benami @dory_benami]

@KyteasSky That’s on you!

[Dory Benami @dory_benami]

For me, Abdul El-Sayed calling Israel’s war against Hamas a genocide is reason enough not to support him. A Democrat next to your name doesn’t entitle you to my vote. My support for Israel and my concern for Jewish safety aren’t negotiable.

[Dory Benami @dory_benami]

@DomingueJordan It took him 105 hours to comment on the flydubai terrorist attempted hijacking and only did so when prompted by Fox.

[Dory Benami @dory_benami]

I appreciate you reconsidering Hamas’s responsibility. But you’re now making an extraordinary claim that Israel had been planning genocide long before October 7. What evidence do you have of such a plan? The suffering in Gaza is undeniable, but genocide is a specific legal accusation requiring intent to destroy a protected group, in whole or in part. Civilian deaths alone don’t establish that intent. We can discuss Israel’s conduct and hold it accountable without treating an allegation as an established fact.

[Dory Benami @dory_benami]

A reminder to the world: Hamas launched the October 7 massacre, murdered civilians, and took hostages into Gaza. Israel did not choose that attack or the war that followed. Hamas initiated the fighting, knowing Israel would respond and civilians in Gaza would suffer. Never forget who started this war.

[Dory Benami @dory_benami]

I was born in Israel and raised in America. I’ve worked on presidential campaigns, run for Congress, and spent most of my adult life as a Democrat.

Now I’m being told that supporting Israel makes me disloyal to America, and that Zionists aren’t welcome in the Democratic Party.

I’m not asking anyone to agree with me about Israel. But my birthplace doesn’t make me less American, and my Jewish identity doesn’t disqualify me from participating in American politics.

I won’t accept either premise.

[Dory Benami @dory_benami]

Dan, I see you’re a cantor, and I suspect we have more in common than you think. I worked for Obama twice, have never voted for Trump, and spent decades working to elect Democrats. I understand coalition building. But I also know what it feels like to watch people in my own party turn their backs on Israel and dismiss legitimate concerns about antisemitism.

I’m an American and a Jew. Those identities have never been in conflict for me, and I don’t believe I should have to compromise either one to belong in the Democratic Party. I still believe in many of the same things I always did. I just refuse to let party loyalty override my conscience.

I hope there’s room for both of us in this conversation. Our people need more bridges, not more divisions.

[Dory Benami @dory_benami]

Let me help you. I was born in Israel and came to the United States when I was 20 months old. I grew up in the San Fernando Valley, went to American schools, worked on American presidential campaigns and ran for the United States House of Representatives. I’m an American citizen, a proud American and equally proud of where I was born. That’s what an Israeli American is. Any other questions?