Massive Democratic wins in this week’s midterms have observers wondering about the United States’ evolving relationship with Israel. The nation once had bipartisan U.S. support, but many Democrats newly elected to Congress ran on a platform of shrinking its lobbying influence. With Israel also being rocked by electoral changes, the relationship may never be the same.
What did the commentators say?
Republican midterm losses have “only added to Israel’s growing sense of international isolation after years of war,” said The New York Times. Billions of dollars in aid to Israel could now potentially dry up, considering “how far traditional support for Israel has fallen.” Critics of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — who is fighting to keep power in his own country amid an opposing coalition effort to oust him — have “seized on the results” of the U.S. election as “proof of his mishandling of Israel’s national security interests.”
As Democrats prepare to take congressional control, Israel will “become a litmus test” for a party in which “only 13% have a positive view” of the country, said Bloomberg, citing a March NBC News poll. The incoming surge of pro-Palestine politicians in Congress will likely push to limit cooperation with the nation. “Legislation restricting U.S. arms transfers is unlikely to become law under Trump,” but shifting public sentiment “could eventually translate into policy that would limit Israel’s access to munitions and expose it to broader sanctions.”
Trump’s recent pledge to end aid to Israel was “condemned across the board,” said The Guardian. Pro-Palestinian advocates dismissed the move as “‘desperate’ and pro-Israel ones as ‘unserious.’”
What next?
The “future of U.S. policy toward Israel rides heavily on who will lead the country next,” said The Christian Science Monitor. And “come January,” said The Guardian, the House will “include an army doctor who went on a medical mission in Gaza, a lawyer who was fired by her firm over a blog post criticizing Israel’s war, a Jewish lawmaker who was recently detained by Israeli forces while helping Palestinians harvest olives in the occupied West Bank, and a community organizer who participated in a pro-Palestine student encampment.” Of course, this still “does not mean that the Democratic party is unified on Israel and Palestine.”
Many are calling the elections a rebuke of the United States’friendliness with the nation
