Middle Israel: Who lost America? - opinion
Columnist Amotz Asa-El argues that bipartisan US support for Israel is eroding, blaming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 2015 speech to Congress, the Gaza war, and a failure of education about the conflict. He cites the election of anti-Israel figures like Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed and Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and notes that Vice President JD Vance has called to change the US-Israel relationship.
Columnist Amotz Asa-El argues that the nearly 80-year bipartisan American consensus supporting Israel is collapsing. He traces the shift from the 1948 Madison Square Garden rally where Democrats and Republicans alike celebrated the new Jewish state, to the current political landscape where anti-Israel candidates like Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed and Mayor Zohran Mamdani have won office. The article blames Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 2015 speech to Congress attacking President Obama for alienating half of America's political establishment, and says the Gaza war made Israel controversial. It also faults both Netanyahu and former President Donald Trump for undermining democratic norms, and criticizes Israel for failing to initiate a plan to end US military aid. The piece asserts that younger politicians across both parties are now less supportive of Israel, and that the alliance has lost its 'moral compass.'