WASHINGTON Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) showed just how far successors to President Donald Trump may go to reshape the U.S. relationship with Israel and the Palestinians , taking the stage at a Jewish American groups conference on Monday to deliver impassioned remarks about his sympathy for Palestinians and issue a proposal that would have once been considered political suicide.

$3.8 billion is a lot of money, and we cannot give it carte blanche, Sanders said, referring to the amount of military aid Washington provides Israel each year. If you want military aid, youre going to have to fundamentally change your relationship to the people of Gaza... I think it is fair to say that some of that $3.8 billion should go right now into humanitarian aid.

Until recently, U.S. politicians of all stripes mostly avoided proposing policy changes to respond to Israels decade-plus-long collective punishment blockade of the Hamas -controlled Gaza Strip for fear of being painted as sympathetic to the militant group.

Sanders remarks, delivered at the annual confab for J Street, which advocates for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, represent a top presidential candidates boldest departure yet from that norm. But theyre only the latest step in an evolutionary process for the Democratic Party . In the past nine months, Democratic 2020 contenders have one by one warmed to putting conditions on American security assistance in order to push Israeli officials to negotiate with the Palestinians. Theyve mulled blocking aid from being used in violations of international law, such as annexing Palestinian land. And theyve clearly committed themselves to using new tactics to resurrect the decades-old push for two independent states, Israel and Palestine.

So perhaps it should be no surprise that Sanders proposal was greeted by cheers and that it was largely treated as just one more in a range of options for dealing with a human rights crisis. J Street officials didnt feel the need to run damage control. Neither did Sanders campaign. And so far, his rivals for the Democratic nomination havent attacked him for his comments. At the end of former President Barack Obamas time in office, Democrats regularly boasted about the massive new annual aid package he had secured for Israel. This is where they are now.

Sanders has driven a lot of that change. The independent Vermont senator, who in his 2016 primary run demonstrated the potential for mainstream Democratic realignment on Israel with frequent commentary on respecting Palestinians and tough words for the traditionally dominant pro-Israel lobby AIPAC, seemed omnipresent at the J Street conference. Of the four politicians who spoke Monday, he drew the loudest cheers. Even when he wasnt in the room, like at a side panel on Palestinian organizing, his name came up: Rawan Odeh of the group New Story Leadership spoke of him as a model for listening to the communitys concerns in a way powerful Americans usually havent.

The fact that even Sanders rivals, such as centrist fellow speaker Pete Buttigieg, have urged big changes to Obamas aid policy shows how much of the Democratic Party now believes a major reboot to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process is essential. It suggests they dont see the issue as a political loser. And it indicates that many politically savvy Democrats arent ready to be cowed by Trumps bid to paint them as anti-Semitic for questioning Israels actions.

I am very proud to be Jewish and look forward to being the first Jewish president, Sanders said Monday, using an approach far more personal than his usual stump speech. If there is any people on earth who understands the danger of racism and white nationalism, it is certainly the Jewish people, and if there is any people on Earth who should do everything to fight against Trumps efforts to divide us it is the Jewish people.