
ALARM IN ISRAEL: Fears Mount That Bipartisan U.S. Support Has Suffered Permanent Damage
Growing cracks in American political support for Israel are setting off alarm bells in Jerusalem, with Israeli officials and experts increasingly concerned that the decades-old bipartisan consensus surrounding the Jewish state may be undergoing a fundamental — and potentially irreversible — shift.
Those concerns intensified following Abdul El-Sayed’s victory in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, which critics view as another indication of Israel’s deteriorating standing within segments of the Democratic Party. At the same time, signs of growing skepticism toward Israel have also emerged among some Republican voters, particularly younger Americans.
Critics of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu argue that his government’s close alignment with President Donald Trump and the Republican Party has come at the expense of maintaining Israel’s traditional relationships across the American political spectrum.
A Washington Post-Ipsos poll cited in the report found that a majority of Americans, including nearly three-quarters of Democrats, support reducing or ending U.S. military assistance to Israel.
Professor Yael Sternhell of Tel Aviv University described the political shift in stark terms, saying, “Hostility and anger toward Israel are today one of the few issues that unite the right and left in American politics.”
According to The Washington Post, dissatisfaction with Israel has surfaced in several major Democratic primary contests, while divisions over Israel are simultaneously becoming more visible among Republican voters.
Analysts say the war in Gaza, together with the perception among some Americans that Israel pushed the Trump administration toward war with Iran, has further accelerated the erosion of support.
Former Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren warned that Israel now finds itself in an unprecedented political position.
“This is the first time in the history of our relationship with the United States that we don’t have an alternative channel,” Oren said, referring to Israel’s diminished ability to turn to the opposing American political party when relations with one side of the aisle become strained.
The issue is taking on additional urgency as Netanyahu heads toward Israel’s elections in October. Opposition figures and some political analysts have suggested that a change in government could provide an opportunity to reset Israel’s relationship with Washington and rebuild ties with Democrats.
But Oren and other experts warn that the problem may extend far beyond Netanyahu or any particular Israeli government.
They argue that Israel must begin diversifying its foreign-policy relationships and reconsidering its overwhelming dependence on Washington, particularly as younger generations of Americans in both parties increasingly question longstanding U.S. support for Israel.
The concern in Jerusalem is that what was once viewed as a temporary political divide may instead represent a generational transformation — one that could fundamentally reshape the U.S.-Israel relationship for decades to come.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)