“We need better hasbara.”
“We need to reach out to Democrats.”
“We need to cultivate ties with the Latino community.”
These are the kinds of ideas I have been hearing repeatedly in recent weeks from Israelis and American Jews who are alarmed by the sharp decline in support for Israel in the United States. The concern is real and justified, since what we are seeing is a historic shift that may never return to the way things once were.
The vote in the Senate last week, for example, when 40 out of 47 Democratic senators supported a resolution to block the sale of bulldozers to Israel, and 36 backed a similar move on bombs, was not an outlier. It was a reflection of a broader trend that has been building for years and is now prevalent on both sides of the aisle.
A Pew Research Center survey published earlier this month found that 60% of American adults now hold an unfavorable view of Israel, including the share of Republicans, which has surged since last year, driven by those under 50.
Gallup data published just before the war showed how, for the first time in a quarter of a century, more Americans said they sympathized with Palestinians than with Israelis.
What makes this moment particularly striking, though, is the timing. The decline comes after the most vivid illustration of the strength and importance of the US-Israel alliance – the war against Iran. For 40 days, the US and Israeli militaries operated in a way never seen before. Intelligence was shared in real time, missions were planned in joint command centers, and aircraft flew side by side over hostile territory.
And yet, back in the United States, public sentiment was moving in the opposite direction.
In Israel, there is a tendency to dismiss this as the result of two external problems: growing antisemitism and a generational shift within the US that is independent of Israel’s actions. Both are partially true. Antisemitism is rising, and younger Americans lack the historical or emotional connection to Israel held by their parents. In addition, there is also a broad turn inward in American politics – from “America First” on the Right to skepticism of foreign alliances on the Left.
But these explanations are also an escape. They let us point a finger outward instead of asking the more uncomfortable question: What needs to change here in Israel?
And it is time we recognize that there is a blatant contradiction in how we talk about and treat the alliance with the US. When Washington supports us, we celebrate our diplomatic genius, yet when friction arises, we dismiss it as betrayal. This binary way of thinking – is the president for us or against us – misses the complexity of how modern statecraft actually functions, and it treats the alliance as one-dimensional.
We see this lack of nuance repeatedly.
When former US president Joe Biden visited Israel in the aftermath of October 7 and authorized a massive military resupply, deploying aircraft carriers to the region, and issuing his now-famous “don’t” warning, he was praised across the Israeli political spectrum. But when disagreements later emerged, and he delayed the delivery of certain munitions, the narrative flipped overnight. Suddenly, he was portrayed as hostile to Israel.
The same pattern is emerging with Donald Trump. During the kinetic phase of the war against Iran, he was viewed by many on the Israeli right as strongly supportive. Now, as he extends the ceasefire with Iran, even the Right in Israel is starting to have doubts.
This transactional mindset distracts us from the more important question: How is our own behavior eroding our most vital asset?
Take, for example, the issue of Jewish extremism in the West Bank. Everyone in Israel understands that it exists, even if it’s a tiny fringe minority. Yet, it resonates in the United States across both parties. We know the violence is wrong, we know it is damaging, and yet the government refuses to do anything to stop it.
Judicial reform was another example. While I personally supported many of the ideas, the way the reforms were being advanced expanded an already-existing rift between Israel and progressive Americans. People felt the ground shifting under the moral fabric that has sustained this alliance since the beginning, but despite warnings, the government refused to pause.
Another example was the refusal to outline a coherent political vision for Gaza during the war. For two years, Israel refused to discuss how it wanted the war to end and who it wanted to control Gaza the day after. The result was a perception that Israel was fighting just to fight and destroying just for the purpose of destroying without any other objective. That perception was further reinforced when Israeli ministers made extreme or irresponsible statements, whether about annexation or even the use of nuclear weapons.
Israels actions shape how the country is viewed
What we need to realize is that none of this exists in a vacuum. It shapes how Israel is viewed, how its actions are interpreted, and ultimately how people feel about the state. When they see an Israel that is embroiled in conflict for more than two years without end, even if it is justified, they distance themselves. A country at war is not one the average American wants to be identified with.
The hard truth is that while Israelis are experts in the tactics of war, they are strategically illiterate regarding the United States. Because if they were not, they would behave differently. If Israelis truly understood the value of the alliance, they would demand a different kind of behavior from their leaders. They would demand disciplined messaging, careful policies, and an awareness that our actions in Jerusalem have immediate consequences in Washington.
This is not just about military aid, even though that remains a critical issue. It is about something deeper – the strategic and moral framework at the foundation of Israel’s most important relationship.
In Washington, organizations like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee have spent decades educating lawmakers and shaping understanding of the alliance. It is time to build an AIPAC-style organization aimed at educating Israeli leaders and the public about the importance of this relationship, how it works, and how fragile it is when it is taken for granted.
Because the reality is simple: the alliance is not just defined in Washington. It is also shaped in Jerusalem, and if we want it to last, the work needs to start here.
The writer is a co-founder of the MEAD policy forum, a senior fellow at JPPI, and a former editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post. His latest book is While Israel Slept.
Source:
www.jpost.com
